Luis國際資訊事務所

by Leigh Goldberg
Get a cat's-eye view of the world from Cooper the cat.

　　His name is Cooper, and he is taking the art world by storm. How can this five-year-old American Shorthair housecat that walks on all fours possibly create art? He doesn't, but the little digital camera strapped around his neck does.
　　Cooper took up photography three years ago thanks to his owners. Both filmmakers, Michael and Deirdre Cross were curious about what Cooper was doing while they were out during the day. So, they attached a lightweight digital camera to Cooper's collar. The camera is programmed to take a photograph once every two minutes and is encased in plastic so that it shoots rain or shine. Once a week, Cooper is sent out to document his world. From six inches above the ground, Cooper is constantly shooting while he explores the neighbors' yards, sneaks through the bushes, and crawls under cars. His images range from simple shots of the pink flamingos in his front yard to more artistically composed views of the sky. Cooper's best photos are uploaded to his own Flickr and Facebook accounts, the latter of which already boasts nearly 70,000 fans.
　　Cooper's success story doesn't end there. This former stray tabby has appeared on several TV shows and in various newspaper and magazines, had gallery exhibitions around the world, and published a collection of his photographic works of art. A portion of the proceeds from all his print and book sales go to the Progressive Animal Welfare Society or PAWS. Cooper is definitely the cat's meow.

1. take...by storm　　使……神魂顛倒；風靡……
例: Marilyn Monroe took Hollywood by storm with her first movie.
（瑪麗蓮夢露第 1 部電影就風靡了好萊塢。）

2. take up...　　（因感興趣而）開始從事……
例: After my father retired, he took up cooking as a hobby.
（我父親退休後，他開始把烹飪當作嗜好。）

3. be curious about...　　對……好奇
例: Scientists have always been curious about outer space.
（科學家對於外太空始終充滿好奇。）

4. attach vt. 繫住；固定（與介詞 to 並用）
attach A to B　　將 A 繫在∕固定在 B 上
例: The traveler attached a name tag to his suitcase.
（這名旅客在他的行李上繫上名牌。）

5. 次數 + every + 一段時間　　每……（一段時間）若干次
例: Nick goes to the gym twice every week.
（尼克每週上健身房 2 次。）

6. shoot vt. 拍攝（照片、電影）
三態為：shoot, shot , shot。
例: At the press conference, the director said he was shooting a movie featuring monsters and young heroes.
（在記者會上，那名導演說他正在拍 1 部怪獸跟少年英雄的電影。）

7. constantly adv. 經常地
例: Bill and his wife do not get along at all and quarrel constantly.
（比爾和他太太根本處不來，總是不斷地吵架。）

8. sneak vi. 偷偷地走
三態為：sneak, sneaked/snuck, sneaked/snuck。
例: Johnny snuck into the movie theater without buying a ticket.
（強尼沒買票就偷偷溜進戲院。）

9. range from A to B　　範圍從 A 到 B 都有
例: People crazy about video games range from kids to adults.
（瘋電玩的人從兒童到成人都有。）

10. compose vt. 組成
be composed of...　　由……組成；包含……
例: Water is composed of hydrogen and oxygen.
（水是由氫和氧所組成。）

11. the latter　　後者（常與 the former 並用）
the former...the latter...　　前者……後者……
例: Al and Ed are very good friends. The former is handsome, while the latter leaves a lot to be desired.
（艾爾和艾德是很要好的朋友。前者很帥，後者則長得很抱歉。）

12. boast vt. 以（擁有）……而自豪 & vi. 自誇，誇耀
boast of/about...　　自誇……，誇耀……
例: The town boasts specialty foods and fantastic scenery.
（這個城鎮以擁有特色美食和絕佳風景自豪。）
例: Alan is always boasting about how he became a millionaire before he was 20.
（艾倫總愛吹噓他如何在 20 歲前就成為百萬富翁。）

13. collection n. 收集，收藏（品）
例: The artist sold a collection of his paintings at the auction.
（該藝術家在拍賣會上賣掉一批自己的畫作。）

第二段句型分析
Cooper's best photos are uploaded to his own Flickr and Facebook accounts,
　　　　　　　　　　(1)
the latter of which already boasts nearly 70,000 fans.
　　　　　　　　　　(2)
(1) 主要子句
(2) 關係代名詞 which 引導的形容詞子句，修飾 (1) 中的 his own Flickr and Facebook accounts，此處 the latter 代表的『後者』指的是 his own Facebook account。

1. shutterbug　 n. 業餘攝影迷
2. digital　 a. 數位的
a digital camera　　　數位相機
3. strap　 vt. 以繩子捆綁 & n. 帶子
4. photography　 n. 照相，攝影
5. lightweight a.　 輕量的
6. collar　 n. 頸圈
7. program 　vt. 設定
8. photograp　 n. 照片，相片（= photo）
take a photograph/photo　　　拍照
9. encase　 vt. 將……裝進容器
10. document　 vt.（以拍照的方式）記錄 & n. 文件
11. crawl　　 vi. 爬（行）
12. shot　 n. 照片；攝影
13. flamingo　 n. 火鶴，紅鶴
14. artistically　 adv. 藝術地
15. upload　 vt. 上傳
download vt. 下載
16. stray 　a. 流浪的，無家可歸的
17. tabby 　n. 虎斑貓
18. gallery　 n. 畫廊，美術館
19. photographic　 a. 攝影的
20. proceeds 　n. 收益（恆用複數）
21. progressiv　e a. 進步的
22. paw n.　 腳爪
23. meow　 n. 貓叫聲
the cat's meow　　（喻）令人讚嘆的人或物

1. walk on all fours　　　以四肢行走
＊ all fours 指的是動物的四肢。
2. rain or shine　　　不論晴雨

貓眼看世界
透過古柏這隻貓的雙眼，看看牠眼裡的世界是什麼模樣。
　　牠的名字叫古柏，牠在藝術界造成了一股風潮。這隻用 4 條腿走路的 5 歲美國短毛家貓怎麼能創作藝術？牠並沒有創作藝術，而是由繫在牠脖子上的迷你數位相機來代勞。
　　古柏 3 年前會開始攝影全拜牠的 2 位飼主所賜。克洛斯夫婦麥可和戴德兒都是電影製作人，他們很好奇古柏在他們白天外出時都在幹什麼。所以，他們把一台輕巧的數位相機綁在古柏的頸圈上。這台 相機設定每 2 分鐘拍攝 1 張照片，而且被裝進塑膠盒裡，這樣無論晴雨都可以拍照。古柏每星期都會被放到外面 1 次替自己的小天地作紀錄。當古柏探索鄰居的庭院、偷偷進出灌木叢，以及在車底爬行時，這台距離地面 6 英寸的相機不斷地拍照。牠拍攝的照片包羅萬象，有自家前院粉紅火鶴的簡單照片，也有更具藝術構圖的天空照。古柏拍下的最佳照片都上傳到牠自己的 Flickr 和 Facebook 帳號，而後者更是吸引了近 7 萬名粉絲。
　　古柏走紅的故事尚未就此結束。這隻曾流浪街頭的虎斑貓已經在幾個電視節目和各式報紙及雜誌中亮過相，也在全球舉辦展覽，還出版了牠自己的攝影集。牠印刷品和書籍的一部分收入捐給『動物福利促進協會』（簡稱 PAWS）。古柏真是隻讓人刮目相看的貓咪。

　　如今，隨著全世界愛貓人士願意出高達 200 英鎊（約台幣 9 千 5 百元），購買古柏拍的附框照片，令牠變得更炙手可熱。牠的飼主至今已幫古柏辦過 2 次攝影展，並將牠的作品銷售至世界各地。
　　古柏拍的一些照片甚至幫牠自己解決了 1 個問題，因為克洛斯夫婦從照片中發現牠不斷地望著後門，才想到牠需要一個貓用活板門（cat flap）。（資料來源：自由電子報）

想一睹古柏的攝影功力，可上牠的 Facebook 點閱：
http://www.facebook.com/photographercat#!/media/albums/?id=108993887999