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. 

  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.

  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.

  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.

  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.

  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. 

  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?

  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.