What's Up?：Female humans, female animals

放大圖片

　■3月8日是國際婦女節，慶祝婦女在經濟、政治和社會各領域做出的重要貢獻和成就。 資料圖片

Every March, we celebrate the International Women's Day, not only to acknowledge and fight for the inalienable(= that cannot be taken away) rights of women all over the world, but also to mark the economic, political and social achievements of women. There is a theme for each year, and the one for 2011 is "equal access to education, training and science and technology: Pathway(= a path, a way) to decent(= good and acceptable) work for women". This is indeed a timely(= happening at the right time) topic.

Today, let's look at a few quotes from the great English playwright William Shakespeare, to see how he views women:

Frailty = woman?

— "Frailty, thy name is woman!" (Hamlet) To say that "weakness, your name is woman" is, of course, an insult that even men should not agree with!

— "I have no other but a woman's reason. I think him so because I think him so." (The Two Gentlemen of Verona) Is that precisely the reasoning of at least some women?

— "Her voice was ever soft, / Gentle and low, an excellent thing in woman." (King Lear) Finally some praises about women!

— "She's beautiful and therefore to be wooed: She is a woman, therefore to be won." (Henry VI) The meaning of 'woo' is to court, ie, to 'chase' a woman.

Ducks and drakes?

We know that a male human is called a 'man' (plural 'men'), and a female human is called a 'woman' (plural 'women'). For children, a male is called a 'boy', and a female is called a 'girl'. But how about other animals? Here are some common names for the male and female adults:

— chicken: a male is a cock or rooster, a female is a hen; its year in the Chinese zodiac is most often called Year of the Rooster;

— duck: a male is a drake, a female is a duck; 'ducks and drakes' is a game in which you throw flat stones so that they move along the surface of water;

— goose: a male is a gander, a female is a goose; a 'wild goose chase' is an impossible search that wastes our time;

— cat: a male is a tom or tomcat, a female is a queen;

— dog: a male is a dog, a female is a bitch; people also use the word 'bitch' to insult a female person;

— lion: a male is a lion, a female is a lioness;

— tiger: a male is a tiger, a female is a tigress.

Bull or Ox?

— cattle: a male is a bull, a female is a cow; an ox is a bull that has been castrated(= sex organs removed);

— horse: a male is a stallion, a female is a mare;

— deer: a male is a buck, a female is a doe; a buck is also a dollar in some countries, like the United States, Australia and New Zealand;

— sheep: a male is a ram, a female is a ewe; the pronunciation of 'ewe' is exactly the same as 'you'.

Questions

1. What is a male bee called?

2. What are the two kinds of female bees?

3. What is the plural for 'ox'?

Answers

1. A drone.

2. The queen and the workers.

3. Oxen. 　■MT Ness