我也談談 English learning!

呢兩日見到一位 blog 老友 (哈哈哈) 講開去進修英文嘅文章, 攪到我都覺得, 自己要多D閱讀英文。雖則話日常應對無問題, 但就一定仲有無限的改善空間呢。

於是今日下午就拿出每日都取嘅免費英文報章, 抽一篇自己唔熟題材嘅文章看。真係唔讀由自可, 一讀即刻發覺, 自己英文認真係水皮不堪呀!! 點解我咁講呢? 大家估下我睇呢篇文章係關於怎麼呢?  等我將成篇文章打出來先....

**************************************

Source: The Standard (Tuesday, September 6 2011)

'Outdated' sex practice comes under legal attack

It's a sex case that may curtail the power of many rich men - not to mention affect the perks of genuine studs around the world.

But if the former chairman of the Sydney Turf Club will have his way, a requirement that thoroughbred horses physically mate to produce offspring should be overturned.

Bruce McHugh claims a ban on artificial insemination is an illegal restraint of trade in a lawsuit that may change horse racing worldwide.  The trial will take at least six weeks.

International rules ban the registration of thoroughbreds produced by artificial insemination to maintain the integrity of the sport.  To be eligible to race, thoroughbreds must be registered in a recognized stud book.

But the ban is outdated and designed to protect large-scale commercial stud farms, which currently have a license to print money, McHugh said.

A victory for McHugh will benefit small operators -- the vast majority of breeders in Australia -- who won't have to ship their mares to stud farms and will gain access to the sperm of top-rated horses from around the globe.

It could also make Australia a trendsetter, tempting other stud book operators to follow its lead.

Each year, owners of prized horses - including Dubai's ruler, Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum -- send so-called shuttle stallions around the globe to breed with mares.

And it's not surprising that it has become a multibillion-dollar trade: the price of one roll in the hay can exceed US$330,000 (HK$2.57 million).

*************** END ********************

我睇完篇文章之後, 思索左一陣..... 大件事, 我英文好差呀!!!

我大概知道篇文章係講澳洲純種馬, 但裡頭有好多詞語係唔識。

1) Thoroughbreds (n.) 係解純種動物, 最常用來講馬匹, 我查 wikipedia先知, 原來 thoroughbred horses 通常都係用來作跑馬比賽之用 (for horse racing purposes)。

2) artificial insemination係解: 人工授精 (to put sperm into a woman or female animal in order to make her pregnant), e.g. The cows are artificially inseminated (這些母牛是人工授精的。).

3) stud (n.) 解: 種馬.... 原來所謂「種馬」, 意思係: an animal, especially horses, that is kept for breeding (交配繁殖 / 飼養)。莫講英文, 我連中文乜野叫「種馬」 都係今日先知道。另外, 種馬場都係叫 a stud farm (a place where animals, epecially horses, are kept for breeding).

4) stud book: 以下為較詳細解釋...The strict rules of thoroughbred breeding are controlled through entry to the Australian Stud Book - a ledger of lineage managed by Sydney's Australian Jockey Club, and the Victoria Racing Club. And the rules of listing specify that only animals conceived by natural means can be entered in the book and by consequence be eligible to race and to breed.

5) mares (n.) 母馬 (a female horse) // 另外, stallion (n.) 就係「種馬」(a fully grown male horse, especially one that is used for breeding) // 而 yearlings (n.) 係幼馬 (an animal, especially a horse, between one and two years old.)

6) trendsetter (n.) 呢個字好用喎, 創新潮流嘅人

7) a roll in the hay (informal): an act of having sex with sb, 咁即係引伸, 替純種馬交配呢個行業, 利潤非常高。

**************************************

好多時, 我閱讀英文報紙文章都會選擇去閱讀我本來已經大概明白內容嘅文章, 但我發現, 當閱讀我唔熟悉題材嘅文章時, 係好唔明白, 但, 呢類文章反而係我應該要更多接觸的。

我好奇誰是 Bruce McHugh, 同埋佢有乜arguments, 提倡廢除人工授精嘅純種馬不准作 race horses之用呢個條例, 於是我在網上尋找到: http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2009/s2740428.htm

估唔到講講下講左咁長添..... !!  好奇想問問大家, 多唔多時間會睇英文報紙的呢?