从农耕中学英语(1/2)
概述：农耕是一项有着悠久历史的经济活动，从与农耕相关的词汇中我们可以学习到一些英语惯用表达方式。Hints:
Latin
校对：lexie0406
翻译&注解：Vera-M
组长：风动静泉
答疑：艾晴墨
发音点评：hzfsbdl
本期材料发音模仿地址：http://bulo.hujiang.com/menu/11885/item/844971/
http://t1.g.hjfile.cn/listen/201311/201311120936253547936.mp3In the early days of human history, people survived by hunting wild animals, or gathering wild grains and plants for food. Then, some people learned to grow crops and raise animals for food. They were the first farmers.
Since the 16th century, the word farm has meant agricultural land. But a much older meaning of the word farm is linked to economics. The word farm comes from the Latin word, firma, which means an unchanging payment.
Experts say the earliest meaning of the English word farm was a yearly payment made as a tax or rent.
Farmers in early England did not own their land. They paid every year to use agricultural lands.
In England, farmers used hawthorn trees along the edges of property. They called this row of hawthorns a hedge.
Hedging fields was how careful farmers marked and protected them.
Soon, people began to use the word hedging to describe steps that could be taken to protect against financial loss.
Hedging is common among gamblers who make large bets. A gambler bets a lot of money on one team. But, to be on the safe side, he also places a smaller bet on the other team, to reduce a possible loss.在人类历史早期，人们依靠捕食野生动物或采集野生谷物和植物作为食物来生存。后来，一些人开始学着种植农作物和饲养动物，并以此为生。他们就是最早的农民。
自从16世纪以来，“farm”这个词就意味着农田，不过它的更古老的一个意思和经济有关。“farm”来源于拉丁语“firma”，意思是不变款数。
专家称英语词汇farm最早的意思是作为税收或租金的年付款数。
早期英国的农民没有自己的土地，他们需要每年付款才能使用农田。
在英国，农民们沿着土地边缘种植一排山楂树，并称之为篱笆。
用篱笆把农田围起体现了认真的农民如何标识和保护自己土地。
不久之后，人们开始使用hedging这个词来描
述在保护财产不受损失方面采取的措施。
另外，hedging这个词在下大赌注的赌家中间使用得也很普遍。一个赌家在其中一方押了很多钱，不过为了安全起见，他还会在另一方下一个小注，减少可能的损失。
页:
[1]