兔子啦，還有小狗小貓啦，都曾被英國人當(dāng)作他們不想去上班或?qū)W生沒有完成作業(yè)的借口。不過你可是沒有任何理由不來讀一讀這篇文章啊！

課文內(nèi)容

Vocabulary: Excuses 詞匯: 借口

Have you ever taken a?sickie? If so, what did you say to your boss? It seems many people in the UK like to blame their pets for their?absence.?

你請過病假嗎?如果是這樣，你對你的老板說了什么?似乎很多英國人都喜歡把自己的缺席歸咎于寵物。

One person said they couldn't come to work because their rabbit was missing. Perhaps that was a?white lie; this next one though sounds more like a?porky.

一個人說他們不能來上班，因為他們的兔子不見了。也許這是一個善意的謊言;下一個聽起來更像一個豬。

A worker said that he couldn't come to work because he had to take his dog to the vet. This might seem reasonable - apart from the fact that the man told his boss his dog was dead as a previous excuse for?skiving off.

一個工人說他不能來上班，因為他必須帶他的狗去看獸醫(yī)。這似乎是合理的——除了這名男子之前告訴老板他的狗死了作為逃跑的借口。

If you've ever worked as a teacher, you'll know that children can be very creative when it comes to excuses for not doing their homework.

如果你曾經(jīng)當(dāng)過老師，你就會知道孩子們在找不做作業(yè)的借口時是非常有創(chuàng)造力的。

Once again, it's popular to blame pets. According to a BBC survey, almost 10 percent of excuses involve pets eating the?assignment. "The dog ate my homework" is a?legendary?excuse - no one is sure if a student has ever really used it.

再一次，責(zé)怪寵物很流行。根據(jù)BBC的一項調(diào)查，近10%的借口是寵物吃了作業(yè)?！肮烦粤宋业淖鳂I(yè)”是一個傳說中的借口——沒有人確定學(xué)生是否真的用過這個借口。

But it's not just workplaces and schools which attract?fibbers. People caught claiming?welfare benefits?illegally have also tried to?con?the authorities. A husband whose wife was working while also?on the dole?said that he didn't know she had a job because he was always in the?garden shed?during working hours.?

但不只是工作場所和學(xué)校會吸引愛說謊的人。非法領(lǐng)取福利的人也曾試圖欺騙當(dāng)局。一位丈夫的妻子一邊工作一邊領(lǐng)取救濟金，他說他不知道妻子有工作，因為他在工作時間總是在花園的棚子里。

There are many more?ridiculous?excuses people have made for not doing the things they were supposed to do. But there isn't enough room on this page to fit them all. And besides, I can't carry on because… the cat's eaten my keyboard. And what about you: what's your excuse?

人們?yōu)椴蛔鏊麄儜?yīng)該做的事情找了許多更荒謬的借口。但是這一頁沒有足夠的空間放得下它們。而且，我沒法繼續(xù)了，因為貓把我的鍵盤吃了。那你呢，你的借口是什么?

詞匯表

sickie 裝病 ? ?
absence 缺勤，缺席
white lie 善意謊言
porky 謊言
to skive off 曠工，逃學(xué)
assignment?作業(yè)
legendary 傳奇的，典型的（借口）
fibber?愛撒小謊的人 ?
welfare benefit 福利津貼 ?
con?欺騙 ?
on the dole?領(lǐng)取政府救濟的 ?
garden shed?花園小棚屋 ?
ridiculous 荒謬可笑的

測驗與練習(xí)

1.?閱讀課文并回答問題。

1. What happened to a rabbit which was used as an excuse for someone not going to work?
2. Why was taking the dog to the vet not a good reason to miss work?
3. True or false? A pupil used the excuse "The dog ate my homework" for not finishing their school work.?
4.?When is claiming welfare benefits considered a con?
5. What did the author say that you can be sure is just an excuse?

2.?請你在不參考課文的情況下完成下列練習(xí)。從每個表格中選擇一個意思合適的單詞填入句子的空格處。

1. If you say you can't go to work or school because you are ill when you are in fact healthy, we call this _________.

a white lie??????????????????? a sickie??????????????? an assignment???????????????????? a holiday

2. I told my teacher I saw a ghost flying away with my homework and she said it was _________ excuse!

a reasonable???????????????? a white??????????????? a ridiculous?????????????? ???????? an illegal ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ??

3. When it comes to excuses, my 10-year old nephew _________.

is very creative???????????? is a fibber??????????? tells a white lie????????? ??????? skives off

4. The teacher didn't believe her pupil's excuse when he said the dog ate his homework. "It _________ more like a porky", she said.

looks???????????? ? ?????????????feels ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?tastes ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? sounds

5. John told his auntie her stew was delicious. He actually hated it but he told a _________ because he didn't want to upset her.

sickie?????????????????????????? con ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? white lie?????????????????? legendary excuse

答案

1.?閱讀課文并回答問題。

1. What happened to a rabbit which was used as an excuse for someone not going to work?
The rabbit owner said the animal was missing.

2. Why was taking the dog to the vet not a good reason to miss work?
Because the person had previously said the dog was dead.

3. True or false? A pupil used the excuse "The dog ate my homework" for not finishing their school work.
False. According to the article no one is sure if that excuse has really been used.

4. When is claiming welfare benefits considered a con?
When the person claiming is not entitled to the benefit.

5.?What did the author say that you can be sure is just an excuse?
That the author's cat ate his keyboard.

2.?請你在不參考課文的情況下完成下列練習(xí)。從每個表格中選擇一個意思合適的單詞填入句子的空格處。

1.If you say you can't go to work or school because you are ill when you are in fact healthy, we call this?a sickie.

2. I told my teacher I saw a ghost flying away with my homework and she said it was?a ridiculous?excuse!

3. When it comes to excuses, my 10-year old nephew?is?very creative.

4. The teacher didn't believe her pupil's excuse when he said the dog ate his homework. "It?sounds?more like a porky", she said.

5. John told his auntie her stew was delicious. He actually hated it but he told a?white lie?because he didn't want to upset her.

文章來源BBC，侵權(quán)刪，本文僅用于英語學(xué)習(xí)。