Monkeys - 英语听力.mp3

[00:00.10]Now, the VOA
[00:12.72]Special English program
[00:14.52]WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.
[00:17.72]Monkeys are very similar
[00:20.37]to us in many ways.
[00:22.51]Most have ten fingers
[00:24.82]and ten toes, and brains
[00:27.93]much like ours.
[00:30.07]We enjoy watching them
[00:32.17]because they often act like us.
[00:35.56]In fact, Charles Darwin's
[00:38.43]theory of evolution says
[00:41.22]that monkeys and humans
[00:42.76]share a common ancestor.
[00:45.85]Songwriter William Gilbert,
[00:48.72]in the musical "Princess Ida",
[00:51.05]wrote:"Darwinian man,
[00:53.70]though well-behaved, at best
[00:56.09]is only a monkey shaved."
[00:58.34]His words
[01:00.13]-- sung to Sir Arthur Sullivan's music
[01:03.35]-- make listeners smile.
[01:06.13]Well, monkeys make us smile, too,
[01:09.17]because they are creatures
[01:11.37]full of playful tricks.
[01:13.47]This is why many monkey
[01:17.00]expressions are about
[01:19.34]tricky people or playful acts.
[01:22.79]One of these expressions
[01:25.37]is monkeyshines, meaning tricks
[01:29.50]or foolish acts.
[01:31.00]The meaning is clear
[01:33.41]if you have ever watched
[01:35.35]a group of monkeys
[01:36.74]playfully chasing each other:
[01:38.88]pulling tails, stealing food,
[01:41.67]doing tricks.
[01:43.36]So, when a teacher says
[01:46.23]to a group of students:
[01:47.64]"Stop those monkeyshines right now!"
[01:51.22]you know that the boys and girls
[01:54.68]are playing, instead of studying.
[01:57.41]You might hear that same teacher
[02:01.64]warn a student not to
[02:04.85]monkey around with
[02:07.24]a valuable piece of equipment.
[02:09.45]You monkey around with something
[02:12.93]when you do not know
[02:15.07]what you are doing.
[02:16.21]You are touching
[02:18.35]or playing with something
[02:20.71]you should leave alone.
[02:22.50]Also, you can monkey around
[02:26.54]when you feel like doing something,
[02:29.72]but have no firm idea of what to do.
[02:33.55]For example, you tell your friend
[02:38.19] you are going to spend the day
[02:41.26]monkeying around with your car.
[02:44.39]Weel, you do not have
[02:47.18]any job or goal in mind.
[02:48.91]It is just a way to pass the time.
[02:52.54]Monkey business usually means
[02:56.87]secret, maybe illegal, activities.
[03:00.70]A news report may say there is
[03:05.39]monkey business involved
[03:07.30]in building the new airport,
[03:09.04]with some officials getting
[03:11.63]secret payments from builders.
[03:13.82]You may make a monkey out
[03:17.91]of someone when you make
[03:19.66]that person look foolish.
[03:21.32]Some people make a monkey
[03:24.55]out of themselves
[03:25.70]by acting foolish or silly.
[03:28.54]If one monkey has fun,
[03:31.49]imagine how much fun
[03:34.03]a barrel of monkeys can have.
[03:36.02]If your friend says
[03:38.61]he had more fun than a barrel
[03:41.64]of monkeys at your party,
[03:43.33]you know that he
[03:45.42]had a really good time.
[03:46.98]Monkey suits are common names
[03:50.51]for clothes or uniforms soldiers wear.
[03:54.14]In earlier years
[03:56.18]in many American cities,
[03:58.38]you would find men playing
[04:01.32]musical hand organs on the street.
[04:04.42]Dancing to the music would
[04:07.93]be the man's small monkey
[04:10.32]dressed in a tight-fitting,
[04:12.88]colorful jacket similar
[04:15.37]to a military uniform.
[04:18.43]So, people began to call
[04:22.06]a military uniform a monkey suit.
[04:25.85](MUSIC)
[04:35.48]This VOA Special English program,
[04:41.60]WORDS AND THEIR STORIES,
[04:43.92]was written by Marilyn Rice Christiano.
[04:47.45]Maurice Joyce was the narrator.
[04:50.29]I'm Shirley Griffith.