L10 Has the Cat Got Your Tongue?

先備知識

據說在古代有犯人因某種原因被處以割舌刑，割下來的舌頭常會被拿去餵國王的寵物—貓。這就是Cat got your tongue. 的由來。

在現在通常用來說一個人因為不高興、腦筋一片空白說不出話來或是講話結結巴巴的樣子。此時被說：Has the cat got your tongue?/Cat got your tongue?

課文重點分析

1. It’s a classic image---a child hiding her head in her mother’s skirts when she meets a stranger, or a student blushing and stammering when the teacher asks his name.（見第1行）

用分詞來代替形容詞子句中的關係代名詞＋動詞時，主動用現在分詞，被動用過去分詞。
The children studying (= who study) at this school are all from wealthy families.
All the proposals submitted (= that/which were submitted) will be considered.


2. The person must be shy.（見第3行） must是助動詞，must +動詞原形：對「現在」肯定的推測。 例：Barbara hasn’t eaten in twelve hours---she must be starving.

3. Shyness probably affects 40 to 50 percent of all people in North America.（見第5行）
不可數／單數名詞＋單數動詞 數字＋percent of＋表單數的集合名詞＋單數動詞 複數名詞＋複數動詞

Thirty percent of my income comes from stocks and shares.
In Taiwan, 48 percent of the labor force is female.
Research shows that 60 percent of online game players are male.

4. One well-known talk-show host, whose show is watched by millions of viewers, has to plan performances down to the last detail---in order to appear spontaneous.（見第19行）

(1) well-known: famous; renowned; noted; celebrated 著名的 「副詞＋過去分詞」是複合形容詞的組合方式之一，而「well-過去分詞」更是其中很常見的一種，例如： well-behaved 行為端正的， 穛{優良的 well-built 體格健美的 well-dressed 穿著時髦的 well-educated 受過良好教育的 well-preserved 保存良好的

5. If you smile and show you’re interested, people will respond and conversation will be easier.（見第54行）
條件句講述有可能發生的未來，if子句用現在式，主要子句用未來式。
例：If you don’t hurry, you will miss the train.
John will go to the concert if he can get a ticket. 　
Will you go to the party if they invite you?

Vocabulary
1. blush with 因……而臉紅；blush at sth. 對……臉紅
例：Did I say something that embarrassed you? You’ve blushing.
Whenever he sees his dream girl, Gordon blushes with shyness.
The little girl blushed in shame at the lie she told.

3. in private 私底下 private school 私立學校 private enterprise/company 私人企業 private detective/investigator 私家偵探 private property 私人產業 private life 私生活

4. self-confident adj. 自信的 confidential adj. 機密的 be confident of 對……有信心的 have confidence in 對……有信心
例：If you lack confidence in yourself, you are not likely to succeed.
I don’t like his arrogantly self-confident manner.
To access any confidential files, you need a password.
We are confident of the expert’s ability to solve the crime.

6. be visible to the naked eye 肉眼可見的 tunnel vision 狹隘的思想，目光如豆

7. 【補充】 通常某種學問字尾改為ist就會變成「……學家」，例如： biology（生物學）→ biologist（生物學家） chemistry（化學）→ chemist（化學家） archaeology（考古學）→ archaeologist（考古學家） entomology（昆蟲學）→ entomologist（昆蟲學家） physics（物理學）→ physicist（物理學家） 不過，例外的有： philosophy（哲學）→ philosopher（哲學家） history（歷史）→ historian（歷史學家）

12. play host to 主辦…… host nation 主辦國 host family（提供外國留學生食宿的）寄宿家庭

16. 【補充】 下面這些形容詞都可以拿來形容一個人的個性： introverted 內向的 lively 活潑的 stubborn 頑固的 cunning 狡猾的 optimistic 樂觀的 pessimistic 悲觀的 easygoing 隨遇而安的 humorous 幽默的 gentle 溫文儒雅的 impulsive 衝動的 nosy 愛管閒事的 conservative 保守的 snobbish 傲慢的 sensitive 敏感的 childish 幼稚的 greedy 貪心的

18. figure n. [C] 人物；人影；（圖畫或故事中的）角色；（尤指女性的）身材；數字 figure v. [T] 估量；猜想；計算 political/leading/central/public figure 政治人物／領導人物／核心人物／公眾人物 figure on (doing) sth. 打算…… figure out 想出，理解；算出

22. encounter v. [T] 遭遇（多半指壞事）（【同】meet with, run into）；偶遇，邂逅（尤指陌生的人、事、物）（【同】come across）

23. inheritance n. [U, C] 繼承；遺傳；遺產 inheritor n. [C] 繼承人（【同】heir）

27. financial/economic/political/family crisis 金融危機／經濟危機／政治危機／家庭危機 crisis management 危機處理 midlife crisis (mid-life crisis) 中年危機

28. be confronted with/by sth. 面臨……，遇上……
例：People usually feel anxious when they are confronted with news of an accident.

課外閱讀

Building Your Confidence! 　　

If you are shy, it can be hard to act more confidently, but you might find that, if you give these ideas a go, being around other people can be more fun. Make friends. If you have problems making friends, look at our topics on “Making friends” for some good ideas. Remember, other people like having friends, and if they are a bit shy too, they might be really happy that you want to be friends with them. Practice skills like ball skills, skipping, running, bike riding, or playing computer games, so that you can get some confidence. This will help you to join in conversations, It will also give you something to talk about. Build up your self-esteem. Our topics on “Self-esteem” and “Resilience” have ideas to help you. Practice in front of the mirror and in front of your family if you have to give a talk at school. Make a plan of what you want to say, then write key words onto cards so that you can remember what to say. Smile at people and encourage them and they will encourage you in return. Give compliments, such as “You gave a good talk, ”or “I think you are a good runner,” and people will want to encourage you, too. Look for other shy kids and tell them that you are feeling a bit shy. Tell your teacher if you are really scared to talk, and she will help you to try and to develop your confidence. Realize that everyone feels shy sometimes, but watching others do things is not half as much fun as having a go yourself. Once you start to get over your shyness, you will quickly become much more confident.
（以上選文選自Kids?Health網站http://www.cyh.com/ HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetailsKids.aspx?p=335&np=287&id=2285）

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