美国国家公共电台 NPR Not My Job: Quarterback Steve Young Gets Quizzed On Not So Great Grandsons

Not My Job: Quarterback Steve Young Gets Quizzed On Not So Great Grandsons

play pause stop mute unmute max volume 00:0010:10repeat repeat off Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser¹ to a recent version or update your Flash plugin. MIKE PESCA, HOST: 

And now to the game where we ask someone who's done great things to do something dumb. It's Not My Job. Steve Young is a Hall of Fame quarterback. With BYU, he won the award for the best quarterback in college. He was signed by NFL rival league, the USFL, to the highest total contract ever paid to a player. He went on to win an MVP award in a Super Bowl for the San Francisco 49ers. And yes, he became the first left-handed quarterback ever voted into the Pro² Football Hall of Fame. His new book is "QB: My Life Behind The Spiral."

Steve Young, welcome to WAIT WAIT... DON'T TELL ME.

(APPLAUSE)

PESCA: So keeping in mind all the glory I mentioned, I want to go back to high school. You know, in high school, we're all a little awkward, we're all a little unsure of ourselves. Let me read from the book, quote, "in addition to being starting QB, I was the point guard on the basketball team, the best pitcher³ on the baseball team. I had a 4.2 GPA. I was a member of the honor society. I never missed a day of school. I was dating the head cheerleader. By the way, that cheerleader would go on to win the Miss USA competition, beating Halle Berry." Steve Young, why should we not hate you?

(LAUGHTER)

STEVE YOUNG: No, I was somebody that always went to school.

PESCA: Yeah.

YOUNG: I got good grades. I played sports. And so I think if you take it all in its totality, it seems like it's a big deal. But you know what? In high school, you would just do what you normally do. So I had no idea that looking back it would sound like that.

(LAUGHTER)

PESCA: So after high school, there was Brigham Young. And the newspapers had a great time pointing out that you are, in fact, the great-great-great-grandson of the actual Brigham Young, and of course, the 4.2 average in high school and one of the best quarterbacks in America. So the question here is, is it possible you were the easiest decision a college admission committee ever made?

(LAUGHTER)

YOUNG: (Laughter) It's another thing, in retrospect⁴, seemed so obvious. But the truth was, no one knew until it was - I started to play for the team. And then the outside press said, oh, my gosh, you're related to Brigham Young. No wonder you're playing quarterback. And I was like, no one cared until then. In fact, no one knew my name. The head coach, when he found out, he said, oh, your last name's Young?

(LAUGHTER)

P J O'ROURKE: To be perfectly⁵ fair, Brigham Young was dead by then. So it wasn't like he, you know, had - wielding⁶ a lot of influence...

YOUNG: Exactly. And it's pretty common name too, you know?

O'ROURKE: Yeah.

PESCA: Yeah.

FAITH SALIE: So, Steve, you're the great-great-great-grandson of Brigham Young. You're a stand-up guy. I understand you wouldn't even drink beer in high school or college. You were guzzling⁷ milk. But when you're on the field, like, you know, professional athletes are famous for talking smack⁸ to each other and using a few, you know, foul⁹ words. So did you ever curse when you were on the...

YOUNG: Yes.

SALIE: Oh, you did.

(LAUGHTER)

SALIE: OK, good. You're human.

YOUNG: But I also - some of the funnest (ph) conversations are that when you can let people know you really mean business without using curse words. It's actually a nice challenge, try it. Next time you are just - mad...

(LAUGHTER)

YOUNG: ..Try not to swear. And see, how can I communicate the same thing? And see if you can make the effect. It's been - it's difficult, especially on the football field. But it's a fun little project.

PESCA: Do you think it's easier to make your point without cursing as a quarterback in the NFL when you have Jerry Rice to help you make that point?

YOUNG: Yeah, that's exactly - you don't need to swear. I'd just point at Jerry Rice.

PESCA: So you leave BYU one of the best quarterbacks. But you play for the USFL, which was the rival league to the NFL - the LA Express. Now, they sign you for $40 million, which you know gets hyped as the biggest contract ever. So from what I understand, though, it really wasn't $40 million, was it?

YOUNG: No, no. And you guys would appreciate this because this is more finance rather than sports.

(LAUGHTER)

YOUNG: The fact is, is that the contract was an annuity¹⁰ funded by, I would say, a million dollars, which is a lot of money. But that million dollars over 50 years, in annuity payments, totaled $40 million. And so I was touted¹¹ in the newspaper as the $40 million man. At the time, Magic Johnson was making $25 million over five years.

PESCA: Yeah.

YOUNG: And so I went around the league as the $40 million man, this outrageous¹² amount of money, which I understand. But I kept telling - it was famously my mom in the stands because she had never gone to a pro game, the fans were merciless. Forty million down the drain. Forty million down the drain. The whole stands were chanting it. Finally, my mother couldn't take it anymore. She turns to the crowd, these horrible men that are saying this, and said, it's not 40 million, it's an annuity.

(LAUGHTER)

SALIE: And that's an example of getting angry without cursing.

PESCA: Yeah.

(LAUGHTER)

YOUNG: There you have it. That's perfect.

PESCA: So the U.S...

YOUNG: She just baffled them. Everyone in the crowd goes, what's an annuity?

(LAUGHTER)

PESCA: Now, you did say, OK, your USFL team was better than your NFL team. But to be fair, your NFL team was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, I mean.

YOUNG: (Laughter) Well, I'm just telling you, that people want to say the USFL was a joke, the football wasn't. The crowds were. The crowds were so small in Los Angeles and so quiet I had to move the huddle¹³ back and whisper because the defense¹⁴ would hear me.

(LAUGHTER)

PESCA: Yeah.

SALIE: OK, you guys. This is what we're going to do.

YOUNG: Seriously, everybody quiet.

(LAUGHTER)

PESCA: Yeah, well, Steve Young, we've asked you here to play a game we're calling...

YOUNG: Oh, no.

(LAUGHTER)

BILL KURTIS: Not so great, great-great-grandson's.

PESCA: So as we've heard, you're, in fact, the great-great-great-grandson of Brigham Young. We wanted to ask you about grandsons who didn't doing quite live up to their famous forefathers¹⁵.

YOUNG: OK.

PESCA: If you answer these questions about grandsons who shamed the family name, you will win a prize for one of our listeners. Bill, who is Steve playing for?

KURTIS: Jane McDaniel of Concord¹⁶, N.H.

PESCA: All right, you ready to play?

YOUNG: I'm - I'm ready to play.

(LAUGHTER)

PESCA: All right, here is your first question. The grandson of China's Chairman Mao was made the youngest general in that country's army a few years ago. But there were a lot of complaints about him, specifically his calligraphy¹⁷. Which of these is a real quote criticizing his calligraphy? A, I can't read this, it's like it's written in Chinese.

(LAUGHTER)

PESCA: B, his grandfather could use his foot and still write better than him. Or C, it's sometimes not absolutely great. That's as critical as I can be without being sent to a prison camp.

(LAUGHTER)

YOUNG: Oh, I'm feeling B.

PESCA: B is correct, yes.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL, APPLAUSE)

PESCA: It is true. Chairman Mao was great with his foot, I tell you. All right, here's your next question. Wealthy oil magnate J. Paul Getty's grandson was kidnapped. After some back and forth¹⁸ with the kidnappers¹⁹, he agreed to pay part of a $3 million ransom²⁰. But he didn't want to pay the whole thing, why not? A, he said he'd pay $2.2 million because that was the maximum he could deduct²¹ on his taxes; B, he paid 2.8 million because that was all the cash he had lying around the house at the time; or C, he said he'd pay 50 percent because he could only stand to be around his grandson about half the time.

UNIDENTIFIED AUDIENCE: Awe²².

PESCA: Well, it might be fake, guys.

(LAUGHTER)

MO ROCCA: Or D, he offered an annuity.

(LAUGHTER)

YOUNG: I'm going to say A. I'm going to say the tax deduction²³...

PESCA: It is. It is A. Yes.

SALIE: Nice.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL, APPLAUSE)

PESCA: He wanted the tax deduction.

YOUNG: Yeah.

PESCA: And for your last question, instead of a disappointing grandson, we have a truly great one - Eric Olson. During Hurricane Matthew, with the phone lines down and emergency services busy, Mr. Olson was so worried about his grandma he took what bold and decisive action? A, he had her paged every hour at her favorite bingo facility until she actually showed up; B, he used the password to her fantasy football team to see that she had been making roster²⁴ changes since the hurricane hit; or C, he had a Papa John's Pizza sent to her house so the delivery guy could confirm she was OK.

YOUNG: I kind of liked the B. I like the idea of kind of reverse engineering the internet, but I don't know.

(LAUGHTER)

SALIE: I think the audience wants to be your lifeline here, Steve.

YOUNG: Yeah, I think I'm going to reach out for C...

PESCA: Are you going to listen to the boo birds in the crowd...

YOUNG: I'm thinking C.

PESCA: C is correct.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL, APPLAUSE)

PESCA: Police and fire couldn't do it. But Papa John's got there in 30 minutes and put the cell phone to her ear, Eric Olson told ABC.

O'ROURKE: (Laughter).

PESCA: Bill, how did Steve Young do on our quiz?

KURTIS: Through the uprights for 3 points.

(APPLAUSE)

PESCA: Congratulations, Steve. You did it for Jane McDaniel. She has the voicemail outgoing message. Thank you for that.

YOUNG: Beautiful, beautiful. It was a pleasure (unintelligible).

(APPLAUSE)

PESCA: Steve Young is a Hall of Fame quarterback and the author of the new memoir²⁵ "QB: My Life Behind The Spiral." Steve Young, thanks so much for joining us.

(APPLAUSE)

YOUNG: This was great. It was fun.

ROCCA: Thanks, Steve. Thank you...

SALIE: Bye, Steve...

O'ROURKE: Thank you, Steve.

(SOUNDBITE OF JOHNNY PEARSON SONG, "HEAVY ACTION")

PESCA: In just a minute, Bill has some stinky health tips. It's the Listener Limerick Challenge. Call 1-888-WAIT-WAIT to join us on the air. We'll be back in a minute with more of WAIT WAIT... DON'T TELL ME from NPR.

1 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

2 pro   

n.赞成，赞成的意见，赞成者

参考例句：

• The two debating teams argued the question pro and con.辩论的两组从赞成与反对两方面辩这一问题。
• Are you pro or con nuclear disarmament?你是赞成还是反对核裁军？

3 pitcher   

n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手

参考例句：

• He poured the milk out of the pitcher.他从大罐中倒出牛奶。
• Any pitcher is liable to crack during a tight game.任何投手在紧张的比赛中都可能会失常。

4 retrospect   

n.回顾，追溯；v.回顾，回想，追溯

参考例句：

• One's school life seems happier in retrospect than in reality.学校生活回忆起来显得比实际上要快乐。
• In retrospect,it's easy to see why we were wrong.回顾过去就很容易明白我们的错处了。

5 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

6 wielding   

手持着使用（武器、工具等）( wield的现在分词 )； 具有； 运用（权力）； 施加（影响）

参考例句：

• The rebels were wielding sticks of dynamite. 叛乱分子舞动着棒状炸药。
• He is wielding a knife. 他在挥舞着一把刀。

7 guzzling   

v.狂吃暴饮，大吃大喝( guzzle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The kids seem to be guzzling soft drinks all day. 孩子们似乎整天都在猛喝汽水。
• He's been guzzling beer all evening. 整个晚上他都在狂饮啤酒。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 smack   

vt.拍，打，掴；咂嘴；vi.含有…意味；n.拍

参考例句：

• She gave him a smack on the face.她打了他一个嘴巴。
• I gave the fly a smack with the magazine.我用杂志拍了一下苍蝇。

9 foul   

adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规

参考例句：

• Take off those foul clothes and let me wash them.脱下那些脏衣服让我洗一洗。
• What a foul day it is!多么恶劣的天气！

10 annuity   

n.年金；养老金

参考例句：

• The personal contribution ratio is voluntary in the annuity program.企业年金中个人缴费比例是自愿的。
• He lives on his annuity after retirement.他退休后靠退休金维生。

11 touted   

v.兜售( tout的过去式和过去分词 )；招揽；侦查；探听赛马情报

参考例句：

• She's being touted as the next leader of the party. 她被吹捧为该党的下一任领导人。
• People said that he touted for his mother and sister. 据说，他给母亲和姐姐拉生意。 来自辞典例句

12 outrageous   

adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的

参考例句：

• Her outrageous behaviour at the party offended everyone.她在聚会上的无礼行为触怒了每一个人。
• Charges for local telephone calls are particularly outrageous.本地电话资费贵得出奇。

13 huddle   

vi.挤作一团；蜷缩；vt.聚集；n.挤在一起的人

参考例句：

• They like living in a huddle.他们喜欢杂居在一起。
• The cold wind made the boy huddle inside his coat.寒风使这个男孩卷缩在他的外衣里。

14 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

15 forefathers   

n.祖先，先人；祖先，祖宗( forefather的名词复数 )；列祖列宗；前人

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left. 它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All of us bristled at the lawyer's speech insulting our forefathers. 听到那个律师在讲演中污蔑我们的祖先，大家都气得怒发冲冠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 concord   

n.和谐；协调

参考例句：

• These states had lived in concord for centuries.这些国家几个世纪以来一直和睦相处。
• His speech did nothing for racial concord.他的讲话对种族和谐没有作用。

17 calligraphy   

n.书法

参考例句：

• At the calligraphy competition,people asked him to write a few characters.书法比赛会上，人们请他留字。
• His calligraphy is vigorous and forceful.他的书法苍劲有力。

18 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

19 kidnappers   

n.拐子，绑匪( kidnapper的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They were freed yesterday by their kidnappers unharmed. 他们昨天被绑架者释放了，没有受到伤害。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The kidnappers had threatened to behead all four unless their jailed comrades were released. 帮匪们曾经威胁说如果印度方面不释放他们的同伙，他们就要将这四名人质全部斩首。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 ransom   

n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救

参考例句：

• We'd better arrange the ransom right away.我们最好马上把索取赎金的事安排好。
• The kidnappers exacted a ransom of 10000 from the family.绑架者向这家人家勒索10000英镑的赎金。

21 deduct   

vt.扣除，减去

参考例句：

• You can deduct the twenty - five cents out of my allowance.你可在我的零用钱里扣去二角五分钱。
• On condition of your signing this contract,I will deduct a percentage.如果你在这份合同上签字，我就会给你减免一个百分比。

22 awe   

n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧

参考例句：

• The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

23 deduction   

n.减除，扣除，减除额；推论，推理，演绎

参考例句：

• No deduction in pay is made for absence due to illness.因病请假不扣工资。
• His deduction led him to the correct conclusion.他的推断使他得出正确的结论。

24 roster   

n.值勤表，花名册

参考例句：

• The teacher checked the roster to see whom he would teach this year.老师查看花名册，想了解今年要教的学生。
• The next day he put himself first on the new roster for domestic chores.第二天，他把自己排在了新的家务值日表的第一位。

25 memoir   

n.[pl.]回忆录，自传；记事录

参考例句：

• He has just published a memoir in honour of his captain.他刚刚出了一本传记来纪念他的队长。
• In her memoir,the actress wrote about the bittersweet memories of her first love.在那个女演员的自传中，她写到了自己苦乐掺半的初恋。