20090623 -- The Picnic (2)

The Picnic
"Yes, of course," Auntie smiled.
"Just don't pick up anything from people's plates,"
she warned her nephews.
"People don't like sharing their lunches with ants --
although I don't know why not.
After all, we eat so little. Anyway," she continued.
"run along and get your food, I'll pick out a spot to eat."

So the two cousins scurried off before long.
Anthony found a delicious bit of cookie.
But Tyrant was picky. He wasn't satisfied with anything.
He picked through some leftover chips.
He found a chicken bone that had been picked clean.
"Yuck! This food is crummy," he complained.
"It's all been picked over. I don't want any of it."
But just then, he saw something he did want --
a piece of cake with chocolate frosting.
"Looks delicious," he said.
"So what if it's on someone's plates.
I'm getting a piece anyway."

"But you mustn't" cried Anthony.
"You heard what Auntie said."
"Oh, what does she know?" laughed Tyrant.
And disoveying Auntie, he marched onto
the paper plate where the cake was sitting.
"Mmmm -- tasty," he grinned as he picked at the chocolate icing.

Suddenly the plate shifted. It was being picked up.
"Whaaoo!" Tyrant hold on.
A plastic fork cut into the cake just above his head.
A bite-sized piece of cake disappeared.
"Help!" screamed the naughty little ant.

But it was too late.
"Ooooh, ants!" a loud voice sounded.
And suddenly Tyrant was strucked by the plastic fork.
Bits of cake, piece of icing and Tyrant tumbled to the ground.
And Auntie and Anthony are still picking up the pieces.


picky adj. 挑剔的
-> only like certain things
picky about
eg: Vivian eats only the finest food. She's very picky.
eg: Nancy knows how to deal with picky clients.
eg: Amanda is picky about what she eats. She only eats gourmet food (美食).

crummy adj. 品質很差的/劣等的
-> discusting
eg: The hotel we stayed in was dirty and cold. It was a crummy place.
eg: The service at this restaurant is crummy. No wonder there aren't many customers.
eg: I can't believe that the hotel charged me $100 per night for such a crummy room.

disobedience n. 反抗
disobey v. 反抗
-> don't obey
dis- 否定
eg: If you disobey the law, you might go to jail.
eg: That soldier was punished for disobeying his superior.
eg: His disobedience really caused a lot of problems at school.

pick out a spot
-> choose/select a spot

scurry v. 急匆匆地跑
-> run very quickly

pick through
-> have several options. Picking through several options
eg: I have a lot of popcorn. I picked through only the best of the popcorn.

pick over

grin v. 露齒而笑

strucked
-> hit

tumble v. 墜落
eg: Tom tumbled over and hit his head on the concrete.



ants in your pants 熱鍋上的螞蟻
-> cannot sit still

//== Grammer on the go ==//

So what if it's on someone's plates.
= Who cares if it's on someone's plates.

So what 那有如何
-> who cares or what does it matter

eg: So what if white shoes aren't popular right now. If you like them, wear them.
eg: So what if I have a lot of work to do. I have a family emergency, so I need to leave now.

//== Chat room ==//

a piece of cake with chocolate frosting
chocolate icing

frosting/icing (蛋糕上面的)糖衣/糖霜
frosting 東北/中西/美西常用
icing 南方常用

icing on the cake 錦上添花
-> additional benefits to something that are already good