Whether wild animals should be kept as pets野生動物是否應該作為寵物被飼養

浙江杭州市富陽區新登中學 胡君祥

作者圍繞“野生動物是否應該作為寵物被飼養”這一話題，從多個方面闡述了他不同意把野生動物當寵物養的原因。

題材熱點話題文章詞數 難度 建議用時議論文體裁326 ★★★ 6 分鐘

難詞探意

1. auction /???k∫n/ n. 拍賣

2. breeder /?bri?d?(r)/ n. 飼養員

3. bacterium /b?k?t??ri?m/ n. 細菌

It's shockingly easy to obtain wild animals as pets these days. They can be easily purchased online, in stores, or through auctions and private breeders. Should wild animals be kept as pets? Many people think that having a wild animal as a pet is really cool because these animals are really unusual or cute, but there are many reasons why they make bad pets.

Firstly, most wild animals do not like being kept in a house. They need their freedom to do their normal activities. It is very true that they act differently when kept in the cage from when they are in the wild. Keeping wild animals as pets might seem fair to people, but it is not fair to the animals. The animals are creatures with wants and feelings differing in degree only from our own, and they surely have their rights. In addition, if many people keep taking animals from the wild, there might not be many left.

More importantly, keeping wild animals as pets will not result in a good owner-pet friendship because wild animals may act like your friend but would much rather be free. People think that having a wild animal as a pet is really fun, but in some countries it's illegal. It could also be dangerous to friends who come over to your house. Sometimes wild animals even attack or kill their owners. After all, most of these animals keep their wild natures.

Finally, wild animals spread disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention discourages keeping wild animals as pets for a simple reason: they can carry diseases that are dangerous to people. Some wild animals carry bacteria and viruses that can quickly evolve to infect another kind of animals in contact with humans. Many infectious and deadly diseases have been passed from animals to humans, or even from humans to animals.

Language Study

Ⅰ. Difficult sentences

1. After all, most of these animals keep their wild natures.譯文：畢竟，這些動物大多數都保持著野性。分析：本句中，after all意為“畢竟”，natures可以理解為“本性；天性”。

2. Some wild animals carry bacteria and viruses that can quickly evolve to infect another kind of animals in contact with humans.

譯文：一些野生動物攜帶的細菌和病毒可以迅速變異，感染與人類接觸的另一種動物。

分析：本句中，bacteria意為“細菌”，是bacterium的復數形式。 evolve的本意是“發展；進化”，在此處語境中，意為“變異”。

Ⅱ. Useful sentence patterns

The animals are creatures with wants and feelings differing in degree only from our own.

譯文：動物是有欲望和感情的生物，只是程度與我們不同。

分析：本句中，with wants and feelings differing in degree only from our own是一個“with+復合賓語”的結構，在句中作后置定語修飾前面的名詞creatures。“with +復合賓語”在句中除了可作定語外還可作狀語。 例如：

She likes sleeping with the window open.她喜歡開著窗戶睡覺。Practice: 用“with+復合賓語”的結構完成句子。

1. The man _________________is our beloved teacher.

那個腋下夾著一本書的人是我們敬愛的老師。

2. _________________, I really hope to have a heart-to-heart talk with you.

隨著高三臨近，我真的想和你說說心里話。

Reading Check

閱讀短文， 根據其內容寫一篇60詞左右的內容概要。

寫作導引

一、析結構，確定中心話題，理要點

二、改寫

Rewrite the key sentences in your own words.

三、修改

Add some conjunctions and polish your summary.