May 15th, 2009 
kyra } Cats never fail to fascinate human beings. They can be friendly and affectionate towards humans, but they lead mysterious lives of their own as well. They never become submissive like dogs and horses. As a result, humans have learned to respect feline independence. Most cats remain suspicious of humans all their lives. One of the things that fascinates us most about cats is the popular belief that they have nine lives. Apparently, there is a good deal of truth in this idea. A cat’s ability to survive falls is based on fact.
} humans :
Animals dressed as humans.
扮成人的动物。human 这个词在第本课重复出现过，和human-being 是同一个意思。
Cats never fail to fascinate human beings.
(lesson 9)
You’re a horrible human being, and bad things should happen to you.
你是一个坏人，坏事应该发生在你身上。
} Recently the New York Animal Medical Center made a study of 132 cats over a period of five months. All these cats had one experience in common: they had fallen off high buildings, yet only eight of them died from shock or injuries.
} Period:
period 有句号的意思。我举的这两个例子就是由句号引进来的。
Will you stop complaining? We can’t afford a luxury car. Period!
你能不能不要再发牢骚了？我买不起好车，不要再说了。
How many times do I have to tell you? I don’t love you and I don’t want to marry you. Period!
我要跟你说多少遍？我不爱你，我不会跟你结婚，不要多讲了！
} Of course, New York is the ideal place for such an interesting study, because there is no shortage of tall buildings. There are plenty of high-rise windowsills to fall from! One cat, Sabrina, fell 32 storys, yet only suffered from a broken tooth. ‘Cats behave like well-trained paratroopers.’ a doctor said.
} to fall from :
这里我找了几个以介词结尾的句子，这样的句子中国人很少说，老外常这样说。
There‘s something that we really need to talk about.
句尾的 talk about, about指什么？就是指something。
There’s nothing to worry about.
句尾的worry about 什么？Worry about nothing.
You are the person I was meant to spend the rest of my life with.
句尾 with 谁？With the person,you.
} It seems that the further cats fall, the less they are likely to injure themselves. In a long drop, they reach speeds of 60 miles an hour and more. At high speeds, falling cats have time to relax. They stretch out their legs like flying squirrels. This increases their air-resistance and reduces the shock of impact when they hit the ground.
} falling :
falling confetti:
庆祝或典礼时撒的彩色的
纸屑就是falling confetti。
很好听的一个词。
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