[Reading level: B2 – Upper Intermediate]
They prowl through palace gardens stalking pigeons and make cameos (*) on televised press briefings. Some greet tourists at the doors, while others take a sneaky lick of ice cream from staff.
Nineteen feral cats have free rein of Mexico’s National Palace, long roaming the lush gardens and historic colonial halls of the most iconic buildings in the country.
“They have access to every part of the palace, so they walk in on meetings and interviews and wander onto the camera,” said Jesús Arias, the palace veterinarian, as a handful of feline friends brush against his ankles.
Now, the palace cats have made history after the government of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador declared them to be “living fixed assets,” the first animals in Mexico to receive the title.
The investment term “fixed assets” usually applies to buildings and furniture, but by applying it to cats, López Obrador’s government has obligated the country’s Treasury to give them food and care for them for the rest of their lives, even after the leader leaves office in October.
“The cats are now a symbol of the National Palace. Just as we understand this world, I wouldn’t understand the National Palace without the presence of these cats,” said Adriana Castillo Román, general director of the National Palace and Cultural Heritage Conservancy. “We have to make sure the cats are taken care of.”
Nestled in the heart of Mexico City, the presidential palace has long been the seat of Mexico’s executive branch. Now the residence of López Obrador, it is built upon the former palace of Indigenous Emperor Moctezuma. Ironically, Moctezuma’s ancient Aztec culture honored not cats, but hairless dogs known as Xoloitzcuintle, who were even buried with their masters.
But these days, López Obrador is accompanied by Bowie, Bellof, Nube, Coco, Yema, Ollin, Balam and more, who seem to have found a purr-fect home in the building. López Obrador himself has said the cats “dominate” the palace and often walk in front of him during official ceremonies.
Some are named after artists, like an orange tabby “Bowie” named after the rockstar David Bowie, who visited the palace 1997 to see the famous mural by Mexican painter Diego Rivera. Others are named after native rocks or words in the region’s ancient Aztec language, like Ollin, which means “movement.”
Staff say they remember the feral cats living among the cacti and dense brush of the gardens as far back as 50 years ago. But it’s unclear when they first appeared or how they even got into the building. While 19 live in the building full-time, many more come and go, and staff suspect they slip under a small crack in the palace gate by night.
One cat named Zeus, who has since passed away, even became famous in July when he meandered into the president’s morning press briefing. The gray cat stood in front of cameras and wandered among reporters until palace staff had to carry him off.
To avoid a cat-astrophe, Castillo said the government had to ask reporters to stop feeding Zeus because he would spend his days accepting treats from different people around the palace and was “getting really fat.”
When López Obrador first took office in 2018, Castillo said the palace pets were being fed quietly by employees. “Some employees that like cats would bring them leftovers from home and, every once in a while, canned food or rice and soup,” Castillo said.
Palace staff worked with vets from the National Autonomous University of Mexico to vaccinate, sterilize and chip the cats, and build them little cat homes and feeding stations around the garden. They also hired Arias to take care of them on a permanent basis and give them a good life.
Neither Bowie, Coco or Ollin commented when asked how they feel about being “living fixed assets.” Coco swished his tail, while Ollin stretched out below a palace pillar and fell asleep. “Meow,” responded Nube, a gray cat named after the Spanish word for “cloud” who enjoys greeting visitors at the door of the palace.
Source: https://www.msn.com/en-xl/news/other/mexico-gives-19-cats-roaming-presidential-palace-food-and-care-fur-ever/ar-BB1lfypb WORD BANK: prowl /praʊl/ (v): rình mò stalk /stɑːk/ (v): rình mò cameo /ˈkæm.i.oʊ/ (n): nhân vật phụ televised /ˈtel.ə.vaɪzd/ (adj): được phát sóng trên truyền hình press briefing /pres ˈbriː.fɪŋ/ (n): cuộc họp báo feral /ˈfer.əl/ (adj): hoang have free rein of sth /reɪn/ (v – idiom): được tự do đi lại ở đâu đó lush /lʌʃ/ (adj): tươi tốt colonial /kəˈloʊ.ni.əl/ (adj): thời thuộc địa iconic /aɪˈkɑː.nɪk/ (adj): nhà mang tính biểu tượng a handful of /ˈhænd.fʊl/ (quant): một vài feline /ˈfiː.laɪn/ (adj): thuộc về mèo make history (v – idiom): làm nên lịch sử asset /ˈæs.et/ [C1] (n): tài sản obligate sb to do sth /ˈɑːb.lɪ.ɡeɪt/ (v): buộc ai làm gì nestled in somewhere /ˈnes.əld/ (adj): ẩn mình, nép mình ở đâu presidential palace /ˌprez.ɪˈden.ʃəl ˈpæl.ɪs/ (n): dinh tổng thống executive branch /ɪɡˈzek.jə.t̬ɪv bræntʃ/ (n): cơ quan hành pháp indigenous /ɪnˈdɪdʒ.ə.nəs/ (adj): mang tính bản địa accompanied by /əˈkʌm.pə.nid/ (pre): đi cùng với mural /ˈmjʊr.əl/ (adj): bức tranh tường meander /miˈæn.dɚ/ (v): đi lang thang catastrophe /kəˈtæs.trə.fi/ [C2] (n): thảm họa leftover /ˈlefˌt̬oʊ.vɚ/ (n): thức ăn thừa vaccinate /ˈvæk.sə.neɪt/ [C2] (v): tiêm phòng sterilize /ˈster.ə.laɪz/ (v): khử trùng on a permanent basis /ˈpɝː.mə.nənt ˈbeɪ.sɪs/ (adv): vĩnh viễn swish /swɪʃ/ (v): vẫy (đuôi) stretch out /stretʃ/ (v): nằm dài ỦNG HỘ READ TO LEAD! Chào bạn! Có thể bạn chưa biết, Read to Lead là một trang giáo dục phi lợi nhuận với mục đích góp phần phát triển cộng đồng người học tiếng Anh tại Việt Nam. Chúng tôi không yêu cầu người đọc phải trả bất kỳ chi phí nào để sử dụng các sản phẩm của mình để mọi người đều có cơ hội học tập tốt hơn. Tuy nhiên, nếu bạn có thể, chúng tôi mong nhận được sự hỗ trợ tài chính từ bạn để duy trì hoạt động của trang và phát triển các sản phẩm mới. Bạn có thể ủng hộ chúng tôi qua 1 trong 2 cách dưới đây. Lớp luyện thi IELTS online Bạn đang có nhu cầu thi chứng chỉ IELTS cho đầu vào đại học, đi du học, xin việc hay xin cư trú và đang phân vân chưa biết học ở đâu? Nếu bạn đang tìm kiếm dịch vụ luyện thi IELTS online với giáo viên uy tín và chất lượng, cũng như học phí phải chăng, thì thầy Trung (Admin và dịch giả chính của Read to Lead) có thể là một lựa chọn phù hợp dành cho bạn. Hãy liên hệ (nhắn tin) tới trang Facebook cá nhân của mình (https://www.facebook.com/nguyen.trung.509) để tìm hiểu về lớp học và được tư vấn cũng như được học thử nha!
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