CNN 2010-12-31

Look, we don't know what to do.

If you were awake.

Norad says it's just monitoring the situation.

And near a television set.

Maybe the boy had already fallen out of that craft.

You probably stopped whatever you were doing.

Figure out the altitude of this child or this balloon is.

And just watched, anxiously.

Do you know for sure that a 6-year-old boy is inside that balloon?

Authorities had a good reason to believe that an out-of-control mylar balloon had a passenger on board, a little boy.

The son is the one that came in and told them that his brother had climbed in the basket when it took off and watched it go up.

For two hours, covering three Colorado counties, that balloon spun¹ and listed, rose and fell through the air. News networks around the world carried this image live. The phrase "Balloon Boy" was born.

All right, it's come down. We've all been holding our breath.

By now, you know how the flight ended. Balloon, yes. Boy? No. The subject of worldwide anxiety, 6-year-old Falcon² Heene was never in danger. He was hiding in the attic³ of his family home the whole time.

Falcon's parents were accused of staging an emergency to get a little attention, maybe drum up a little reality show interest. No, they said, no hoax⁴. But then this happened during a live interview on that night's "Larry King Live."

You said that we did this for a show.

Yes.

So?

It was a hoax, and it unraveled. Fast forward, prosecutors⁵ charged that the Heenes wasted public money and manpower for this publicity⁶ stunt⁷, and the judge approves a plea deal.

I'm very, very sorry.

Falcon's father, Richard Heene, and his mom, Mayumi Heene, both get jail sentences, community service, a hefty fine, years of probation⁸, and they're not allowed to make any money from the story for at least four years.

In August, the family moves from Colorado to Florida to get a fresh start, settling outside Tampa.

Hi, I'm inventor Richard Heene.

But it appears he is an eye-on-the money kind of guy.

The patent-pending Bear Scratch.

He is pitching, not phony, terrifying stories about kids in balloons, but a got-to-have-it product he invented.

Bear Scratch is fun for the whole family.

Bear Scratch!

And young Falcon Heene, now 7 years old, he and his brother still being home schooled by their parents and helping⁹ Dad move some of that product.

Now that's a Bear Scratch. That is a Bear Scratch. Rawr!

1 spun   

v.纺，杜撰，急转身

参考例句：

• His grandmother spun him a yarn at the fire.他奶奶在火炉边给他讲故事。
• Her skilful fingers spun the wool out to a fine thread.她那灵巧的手指把羊毛纺成了细毛线。

2 falcon   

n.隼，猎鹰

参考例句：

• The falcon was twice his size with pouted feathers.鹰张开羽毛比两只鹰还大。
• The boys went hunting with their falcon.男孩子们带着猎鹰出去打猎了。

3 attic   

n.顶楼，屋顶室

参考例句：

• Leakiness in the roof caused a damp attic.屋漏使顶楼潮湿。
• What's to be done with all this stuff in the attic?顶楼上的材料怎么处理？

4 hoax   

v.欺骗，哄骗，愚弄；n.愚弄人，恶作剧

参考例句：

• They were the victims of a cruel hoax.他们是一个残忍恶作剧的受害者。
• They hoax him out of his money.他们骗去他的钱。

5 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

6 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

7 stunt   

n.惊人表演，绝技，特技；vt.阻碍...发育，妨碍...生长

参考例句：

• Lack of the right food may stunt growth.缺乏适当的食物会阻碍发育。
• Right up there is where the big stunt is taking place.那边将会有惊人的表演。

8 probation   

n.缓刑(期)，(以观后效的)察看；试用(期)

参考例句：

• The judge did not jail the young man,but put him on probation for a year.法官没有把那个年轻人关进监狱，而且将他缓刑察看一年。
• His salary was raised by 800 yuan after his probation.试用期满以后，他的工资增加了800元。

9 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。