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The Loudest Cat? 这只英国猫可能是世界上嗓门最大的

英语学习点: Phrases Describing Volume 形容音量的短语

Smokey being filmed

Smokey is rather camera-shy

What's that loud, droning noise?

Is it a telephone?

Or maybe a pigeon?

No, it's Smokey. This English cat might soon be named the world's loudest purrer after she made an official attempt at a world record.

Smokey's strident purr was recorded as being an ear-splitting 73 decibels. To put that in context, normal room atmosphere is a hushed 40 decibels, whereas a jet engine is a deafening 120 decibels.

Smokey's purr is roughly the same volume as a loud telephone ring and 16 times louder than a normal cat.

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The 12-year-old was recorded by a sound expert in front of four witnesses. Smokey's owner, Ruth Adams, said that her cat was surprisingly timid for an animal that makes such a racket.

"Smokey is actually quite camera-shy so I was very conscious not to upset her during the record attempt, so we kept it all very calm and low-key."

Smokey may enjoy a calm atmosphere but she's certainly not as quiet as a mouse... or indeed any pet that doesn't says boo.

The evidence from Smokey's record attempt has now been submitted to the Guinness Book of World Records.

With any luck, Smokey will have delivered a record-breaking purr-formance.

Quiz 小测验

Is Smokey the world's loudest cat?

She is not officially the loudest cat according to this article, but she might be named the loudest cat soon.

True or false: Smokey is very loud and outgoing.

False. She's loud, but at times timid.

Why did Ruth Adams make sure the record attempt was "low key"?

So that Smokey didn't become upset and not perform well.

Look at the article. Find a common idiom usually used to describe a quiet person.

As quiet as a mouse.

In the last line, the word purr-formance is a pun. What is a pun?

It is a joke that is made using two words, or one word which has two meanings.

Glossary 词汇表 (收听发音, 请单击英语单词)