英语博客：The Furry Salesmen.

　　A strange type of creature has been appearing in Wenatchee recently. Apparently¹, it comes out when the weather gets nice. It is very tall, furry², and generally has a smile on its face. Unlike most other animals, it likes to be close to people and traffic, rather than near trees and bushes. It is also very friendly to humans, just like dogs, but instead of wagging³ its tail, it waves its hand. Have you guessed what these creatures are? They are the happy mascots⁴ of different businesses around town. They stand on the street corners, or just outside where they work, and they wave at the passing cars. I drove past a drive-through coffee business, and found a panda dancing around on the corner. His black and white costume caught my eye, and I suddenly heard, "Mum, please, please, can we go and hug him?" coming from the back seat. So, I pulled the car around and parked in the parking lot. We got out and hugged the silent panda, who is best at hugging, so there is no need for him to talk. My daughter was thrilled. I haven't quite figured out if she knows there is a person inside, or if she chooses to believe that this really is a special kind of creature. Then today, as I was waiting at a traffic light, I spotted⁵ another furry salesman, dancing around outside a fast food hamburger business. I don't know how much business he had encouraged, but he certainly looked happy. Cars were zooming⁷ past him, but he just kept on waving. It actually got quite hot today, and I wondered if these furry salesmen were doing okay in their very warm coats. Perhaps they had been able to have a cold diet coke or an iced latte to cool them down. I have seen mascots at ball games, and in High Schools, but it seems that more and more are getting employment in Wenatchee these days. They are obviously willing to do the work that the natives do not want to do.....
Grammar notes.
Practice of the past with related verbs: to catch someone's eye, to figure out, to spot, to zoom⁶.
1. The colorful clown caught my eye as he walked down the street, holding a large handful of
balloons.
2. My son hasn't figured out the math solution yet; it might take him some time.
3. I spotted my mother's car outside her favorite antique⁸ shop; I know what she was doing......
4. The airplanes zoomed⁹ past our house. They seemed to be very close to our rooves!

1 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

2 furry   

adj.毛皮的；似毛皮的；毛皮制的

参考例句：

• This furry material will make a warm coat for the winter.这件毛皮料在冬天会是一件保暖的大衣。
• Mugsy is a big furry brown dog,who wiggles when she is happy.马格斯是一只棕色大长毛狗，当她高兴得时候她会摇尾巴。

3 wagging   

adj.（左右）摆动，摇摆，摇动v.（使）摇动，摇摆( wag的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The dog ran up, wagging its tail. 那条狗摇着尾巴跑上前去。
• A dog reacts to kindness by wagging its tail. 狗摇尾巴以报答人们的爱护。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 mascots   

n.吉祥物( mascot的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• One of the mascots was the platypus. 吉祥物一是鸭嘴兽。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Information on all things Olympic, including logos, mascots, venues,and bid candidates. 所有事情奥林匹克，包括的标识语，吉祥物，地点，和出价候选人的信息。 来自互联网

5 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

6 zoom   

n.急速上升；v.突然扩大，急速上升

参考例句：

• The airplane's zoom carried it above the clouds.飞机的陡直上升使它飞到云层之上。
• I live near an airport and the zoom of passing planes can be heard night and day.我住在一个飞机场附近，昼夜都能听到飞机飞过的嗡嗡声。

7 zooming   

adj.快速上升的v.（飞机、汽车等）急速移动( zoom的过去分词 )；（价格、费用等）急升，猛涨

参考例句：

• Zooming and panning are navigational tools for exploring 2D and 3D information. 缩放和平移是浏览二维和三维信息的导航工具。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Panning and zooming, especially when paired together, create navigation difficulties for users. 对于用户来说，平移和缩放一起使用时，产生了更多的导航困难。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

8 antique   

adj.古时的，古代的；n.古物，古器，古玩

参考例句：

• The Sunday antique market is a happy hunting ground for collectors.周日的古董市场是收藏家的淘物乐园。
• I saw the vase in the window of an antique shop.我在一家古玩店的橱窗里看见了这个花瓶。

9 zoomed   

v.（飞机、汽车等）急速移动( zoom的过去式 )；（价格、费用等）急升，猛涨

参考例句：

• Traffic zoomed past us. 车辆从我们身边疾驰而过。
• Cars zoomed helter-skelter, honking belligerently. 大街上来往车辆穿梭不停，喇叭声刺耳。 来自《简明英汉词典》