兔子啦，还有小狗小猫啦，都曾被英国人当作他们不想去上班或学生没有完成作业的借口。不过你可是没有任何理由不来读一读这篇文章啊！

课文内容

Vocabulary: Excuses 词汇: 借口

Have you ever taken a sickie? If so, what did you say to your boss? It seems many people in the UK like to blame their pets for their absence. 

你请过病假吗?如果是这样，你对你的老板说了什么?似乎很多英国人都喜欢把自己的缺席归咎于宠物。

One person said they couldn't come to work because their rabbit was missing. Perhaps that was a white lie; this next one though sounds more like a porky.

一个人说他们不能来上班，因为他们的兔子不见了。也许这是一个善意的谎言;下一个听起来更像一个猪。

A worker said that he couldn't come to work because he had to take his dog to the vet. This might seem reasonable - apart from the fact that the man told his boss his dog was dead as a previous excuse for skiving off.

一个工人说他不能来上班，因为他必须带他的狗去看兽医。这似乎是合理的——除了这名男子之前告诉老板他的狗死了作为逃跑的借口。

If you've ever worked as a teacher, you'll know that children can be very creative when it comes to excuses for not doing their homework.

如果你曾经当过老师，你就会知道孩子们在找不做作业的借口时是非常有创造力的。

Once again, it's popular to blame pets. According to a BBC survey, almost 10 percent of excuses involve pets eating the assignment. "The dog ate my homework" is a legendary excuse - no one is sure if a student has ever really used it.

再一次，责怪宠物很流行。根据BBC的一项调查，近10%的借口是宠物吃了作业。“狗吃了我的作业”是一个传说中的借口——没有人确定学生是否真的用过这个借口。

But it's not just workplaces and schools which attract fibbers. People caught claiming welfare benefits illegally have also tried to con the authorities. A husband whose wife was working while also on the dole said that he didn't know she had a job because he was always in the garden shed during working hours. 

但不只是工作场所和学校会吸引爱说谎的人。非法领取福利的人也曾试图欺骗当局。一位丈夫的妻子一边工作一边领取救济金，他说他不知道妻子有工作，因为他在工作时间总是在花园的棚子里。

There are many more ridiculous excuses people have made for not doing the things they were supposed to do. But there isn't enough room on this page to fit them all. And besides, I can't carry on because… the cat's eaten my keyboard. And what about you: what's your excuse?

人们为不做他们应该做的事情找了许多更荒谬的借口。但是这一页没有足够的空间放得下它们。而且，我没法继续了，因为猫把我的键盘吃了。那你呢，你的借口是什么?

词汇表

sickie 装病    
absence 缺勤，缺席
white lie 善意谎言
porky 谎言
to skive off 旷工，逃学
assignment 作业
legendary 传奇的，典型的（借口）
fibber 爱撒小谎的人  
welfare benefit 福利津贴  
con 欺骗  
on the dole 领取政府救济的  
garden shed 花园小棚屋  
ridiculous 荒谬可笑的

测验与练习

1. 阅读课文并回答问题。

1. What happened to a rabbit which was used as an excuse for someone not going to work?
2. Why was taking the dog to the vet not a good reason to miss work?
3. True or false? A pupil used the excuse "The dog ate my homework" for not finishing their school work. 
4. When is claiming welfare benefits considered a con?
5. What did the author say that you can be sure is just an excuse?

2. 请你在不参考课文的情况下完成下列练习。从每个表格中选择一个意思合适的单词填入句子的空格处。

1. If you say you can't go to work or school because you are ill when you are in fact healthy, we call this _________.

a white lie                    a sickie                an assignment                     a holiday

2. I told my teacher I saw a ghost flying away with my homework and she said it was _________ excuse!

a reasonable                 a white                a ridiculous                        an illegal                   

3. When it comes to excuses, my 10-year old nephew _________.

is very creative             is a fibber            tells a white lie                  skives off

4. The teacher didn't believe her pupil's excuse when he said the dog ate his homework. "It _________ more like a porky", she said.

looks                            feels                          tastes                       sounds

5. John told his auntie her stew was delicious. He actually hated it but he told a _________ because he didn't want to upset her.

sickie                           con                             white lie                   legendary excuse

答案

1. 阅读课文并回答问题。

1. What happened to a rabbit which was used as an excuse for someone not going to work?
The rabbit owner said the animal was missing.

2. Why was taking the dog to the vet not a good reason to miss work?
Because the person had previously said the dog was dead.

3. True or false? A pupil used the excuse "The dog ate my homework" for not finishing their school work.
False. According to the article no one is sure if that excuse has really been used.

4. When is claiming welfare benefits considered a con?
When the person claiming is not entitled to the benefit.

5. What did the author say that you can be sure is just an excuse?
That the author's cat ate his keyboard.

2. 请你在不参考课文的情况下完成下列练习。从每个表格中选择一个意思合适的单词填入句子的空格处。

1.If you say you can't go to work or school because you are ill when you are in fact healthy, we call this a sickie.

2. I told my teacher I saw a ghost flying away with my homework and she said it was a ridiculous excuse!

3. When it comes to excuses, my 10-year old nephew is very creative.

4. The teacher didn't believe her pupil's excuse when he said the dog ate his homework. "It sounds more like a porky", she said.

5. John told his auntie her stew was delicious. He actually hated it but he told a white lie because he didn't want to upset her.

文章来源BBC，侵权删，本文仅用于英语学习。