(单词翻译:单击)
情景对话
John: So Sarah, I was wondering, what kind of sports do you like to play?
约翰：萨拉，我想知道，你喜欢什么运动？
Sarah: Well, I love riding horses. And actually, when I was in college, I took a lot of classes about horseback riding. So I can do all sorts of sports on horseback.
萨拉：我喜欢骑马。实际上，我大学时参加了很多马术课程。所以我可以在马背上做各种运动。
John: Wow! That's amazing. Don't you think riding horses is scary?
约翰：哇哦！那太不可思议了。你不认为骑马很可怕吗？
Sarah: I think, it's part of the fun. For example, I used to be in the rodeo and I did a sport called saddle bronc riding. And the way you do this is they put the saddle on the horse and then they let the horse just go crazy. And the horse runs, and bucks, and tries to get you off, and you try to stay on. And it's really scary but it's also really exciting.
萨拉：我认为那也是乐趣的一部分。比如，我以前参加过牛仔竞技比赛，我参加的项目是有马鞍骑术竞技。就是把马鞍放在马背上，然后让马发狂。马会跑、会高抬后蹄，试图把你甩下去，而你要做的是要尽量留在马背上。那真的很可怕，不过也很刺激。
John: Wow! That's what's called a bucking bronco, right?
约翰：哇哦！那是不是野马？
Sarah: Yeah. And it's really hard to stay on. In fact, you win if you can stay on 8 seconds.
萨拉：对。在那种情况下很难留在马背上。实际上，如果你能坚持8秒，那你就赢了。
John: Oh, that doesn't seem very long.
约翰：哦，听起来要坚持的时间不是很长。
Sarah: It's really, really long. When I was – it's really long when you're on the horse. My first time, I only stayed on about 4 seconds and then I fell off in the middle of ring and I got knocked out.
萨拉：其实非常长。当你在马背上的时候，你会觉得那几秒的时间真的很长。第一次，我只在马背上坚持了4秒钟左右就掉下来了，我摔在竞技场中间，晕了过去。
John: Whoa!
约翰：哇哦！
Sarah: Yeah. And the rest – yeah, and I had a big black eye for about two months.
萨拉：对。后来我的眼睛肿了两个月。
John: Wow! From falling off a horse. That's why it seems scary. Isn't it really dangerous?
约翰：天哪！从马上掉下来。所以我才说很可怕。那是不是很危险？
Sarah: It is. It is really dangerous. And they don't make you wear helmet or any safety gear. I didn't wear a helmet my first time. I think it was pretty stupid. You start – so the horse starts in a metal cage. So the horse can't move. And then you sit on top of the horse, on the horse's back in the saddle. And then you say, I'm ready and they open the door. And the horse explodes and just starts jumping, and turning and twisting. And the horse did about three or four jumps and I fell off.
萨拉：对。非常危险。你要戴上头盔，穿上安全装备。第一次我没有戴头盔。那真是太蠢了。一开始马被限制在金属笼里，它不能动。在你坐在马背上以后，准确地说是坐在马鞍上以后，你要说准备好了，然后他们会打开门。马会突然爆发，开始不停地跳，不停地转向和扭动。在马跳了三四次以后，我就摔下来了。
John: Wow! How many seconds did you make it?
约翰：哇哦！你坚持了秒钟？
Sarah: Three.
萨拉：3秒钟。
John: Three?
约翰：3秒钟吗？
Sarah: Probably about 3 seconds.
萨拉：大概有3秒钟吧。
John: So you would have to do that more than twice as long to win.
约翰：要想获胜，你得坚持那个时间的两倍以上才可以。
Sarah: Yeah. I got better at it, but I never could stay on for 8 seconds.
萨拉：对。后来我的表现比之前好了很多，不过我从来没能坚持到8秒钟。
John: Did you try any other rodeo events?
约翰：你有参加过其他牛仔竞技项目吗？
Sarah: Yeah. I tried to do calf roping.
萨拉：有，我试过套小牛。
John: What's that?
约翰：那是什么？
Sarah: This is a sport where you have your horse and your horse is trained. It's not the wild horse from before. And there's a calf, and you try to throw your rope so that you catch the calf. And a calf is a baby cow.
萨拉：在这个项目中，你所骑的马是经过训练的。并不是刚才提到的那种野马。你要骑马用绳索套小牛。你要套的是那种牛犊。
John: Wow! And so, what do you have to do if you get your rope around the cow?
约翰：哇哦！套住小牛以后要做什么？
Sarah: Then you have to run up to the cow and you have to tie the cow's legs together. And when you finish tying the cow's legs together, the timer stops. So you want to do it as fast as you can.
萨拉：你要跑到小牛身边，将小牛的腿绑在一起。绑好以后，计时器就会停止。所以要尽快完成。
John: That sounds really fun. And it doesn't sound as dangerous as the saddle bronc competition.
约翰：听起来很有意思。而且不像有马鞍骑术竞技那样危险。
Sarah: No. It's not as dangerous. But after a while, I started to feel bad for the baby cow.
萨拉：对。这个项目没有那么危险。不过我在做了一段时间之后，开始同情那只小牛。
John: I see.
约翰：我明白。
Sarah: It's just he's a small little baby and he's really scared, and he's trying to run away. And I started to feel bad about catching him with the rope and tying him up. So I stopped doing it.
萨拉：它只是小牛犊，它非常害怕，它一直试图逃跑。我开始觉得用绳子抓它然后把它绑起来是一件残忍的事情。所以我就停下来了。
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重点讲解
重点讲解：
1. fall off 脱落；掉落；
例句：Mary scrape her knee when she fall off her bike.
玛丽从脚踏车上摔下来擦伤了膝盖。
2. run away 离开；逃离；躲开；
例句：The fox ran away before the hunter shot it.
那只狐狸在猎人向它射击前跑掉了。
3. tie up 将(动物)拴牢；把…系牢；
例句：They dismounted, tied up their horses and gave them the grain they had brought.
他们下了马，把马拴起来，把带来的粮食喂给它们吃。
4. feel bad about 抱歉的；难过的；内疚的；
例句：I feel bad about losing your dictionary.
我很抱歉把你的字典丢失了。
