53. Monkeying Around p.361

 

　　Thai people believe that keeping monkeys happy brings good luck. So every year there's a day on which they have a special treat for monkeys called the Annual Monkey Feast¹. Hundreds of monkeys come from themountains to "sit at" long buffet² tables which are piled high with bananas, peanuts, watermelons and cabbage.
Monkeys will be monkeys. So they fool around and fights break out. But nobody seems to care. Neither dothe monkeys. They just stare back at the crowds of people who turn out to watch them. Then they continue tomonkey around and have a good time.

 

fool/horse/monkey/goof/idle around 鬼混
keep animal 养
He came on a day when it was rainning.
treat sb to sth 请...客      It's my treat.我请客    The doctor treated me for my illness.治疗
dozens of 好几十   不说：tens of
hundreds of 好几百
thousands of 好几千
tens of thousands of 好几万
hundrds of thousands of 好几十万
Scores of people were standing³ in line to buy a ticket.  (旧式用法: twenties of)
line up 排队   don't cut in (line). 插队
buffet  自助餐厅
Boys will be boys. 本性难移
An idle youth, a needy⁴ age. 少壮不努力，老大徒伤悲
 

1 feast   

n.盛宴，筵席，节日

参考例句：

• After the feast she spent a week dieting to salve her conscience.大吃了一顿之后，她花了一周时间节食以安慰自己。
• You shouldn't have troubled yourself to prepare such a feast!你不该准备这样丰盛的饭菜，这样太麻烦你了！

2 buffet   

n.自助餐；饮食柜台；餐台

参考例句：

• Are you having a sit-down meal or a buffet at the wedding?你想在婚礼中摆桌宴还是搞自助餐？
• Could you tell me what specialties you have for the buffet?你能告诉我你们的自助餐有什么特色菜吗？

3 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

4 needy   

adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的

参考例句：

• Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷，但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。
• They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。