美国国家公共电台 NPR Dog, Park, Or Monster?

 

OPHIRA EISENBERG, HOST: 

All right. Next we're going to play a version of our favorite game - This, That or the Other. This one is celebrating National Parks and Japanese monsters. But first, let's check in with our contestants¹. David Pickett, now you got into the Boston Symphony Orchestra choir² on a double dog dare? Is that correct?

DAVID PICKETT: Yeah, definitely. I had a co-worker that became aware of a cattle call that the BSO was holding. And he was saying that, you know, we should go do this. And I said, OK, fine, let's do it. And I wound up getting a call back and I wound up getting in and wound up singing with them for eight seasons.

JONATHAN COULTON: How about your pal³?

PICKETT: Yeah. It's still kind of a sore point.

EISENBERG: (Laughter).

COULTON: Oh, geez.

PICKETT: Whenever we get together he makes a point of pointing out that I got in and he did not, you know, it's just - he can't let it go.

COULTON: It's hard to have success, David. Believe me, I understand how difficult it is.

EISENBERG: Well, you know, it's lonely at the top. Remember that.

COULTON: That's right.

EISENBERG: Mary Bucklin, you interned⁴ at "America's Test Kitchen." So what's one of the best tests you witnessed?

MARY BUCKLIN: That was another job where you got to eat everything at the end. So I remember we were - they were testing a beef tenderloin recipe and that was the best day.

EISENBERG: Oh, yeah.

COULTON: (Laughter).

EISENBERG: You were like, I need one more little bit of the one.

BUCKLIN: You're like, I - this one isn't quite right. I think we got to do it again.

(LAUGHTER)

EISENBERG: OK. So it's time for This, That or the Other. Contestants, I'm going to give you a word and you have to tell me which of three categories it belongs to. And today's categories are dog breeds, national parks or Japanese kaiju monsters. Those are, of course, the ones who destroy cities. So we're going to alternate back and forth⁵, no need to buzz in. Mary, you won the last game so if you win this you'll go straight to the final round. And, David, you need to win this or we're going to hang up on you.

PICKETT: OK.

EISENBERG: OK.

(LAUGHTER)

COULTON: That's very sad. Click.

EISENBERG: David, we'll start with you - Akita.

PICKETT: Akita is a dog.

EISENBERG: Yes, it is. It's a dog that was bred for large game hunting. All right, Mary - El Morro.

BUCKLIN: National Park?

EISENBERG: That is a national park.

BUCKLIN: Yay.

EISENBERG: Yeah. There's a monster in that park named Morro.

(LAUGHTER)

EISENBERG: No, I'm just kidding.

COULTON: They named the park after the monster?

EISENBERG: Yeah, exactly.

COULTON: Happens a lot.

EISENBERG: David - Ghidorah.

PICKETT: That's a Japanese monster.

EISENBERG: That is a Japanese monster. Do you know this monster?

PICKETT: No, but it sure sounds like one.

EISENBERG: Yeah. It's a three-headed serpent or dragon. They love going on walks. Mary - Borzoi.

BUCKLIN: Dog breed.

EISENBERG: It is a dog breed. It looks like a greyhound but with Motley Crue hair, for lovers of Motley Crue.

(LAUGHTER)

PICKETT: Was very popular in the '80s.

COULTON: Yeah, it's a little dated. This dog looks a little dated.

EISENBERG: David - Basenji.

PICKETT: A Basenji is a dog.

EISENBERG: It is. And you know what's famous about a Basenji?

PICKETT: Yeah, it doesn't bark, I think.

EISENBERG: It doesn't bark.

COULTON: Do they make another sound instead of barking or they just don't...

PICKETT: They make this weird⁶ whimper. My neighbor used to have one. They just kind of make that kind of odd whimpering sound that sometimes dogs make.

EISENBERG: They were bred to drive monkeys and small cats up trees.

ART CHUNG: Sure, with their weird barkless...

CHUNG: With their weird - yeah, exactly, just with their eyes.

COULTON: (Laughter).

CHUNG: Mary - Hedorah.

BUCKLIN: Japanese monster.

EISENBERG: You are correct. Yeah, it's a smog monster. It's named for the Japanese word for sludge, slime, vomit⁷, chemical ooze⁸.

COULTON: They just have one word for all those things?

EISENBERG: Yeah. They think we're crazy. Those Americans have so many words for Hedorah.

(LAUGHTER)

EISENBERG: All right. These are your last clues. David - Cuyahoga.

PICKETT: Cuyahoga National Parks.

EISENBERG: Yeah. Have you been there?

PICKETT: No, but I'm familiar with it.

EISENBERG: Mary, here's your last one - Aniakchak.

BUCKLIN: National park?

EISENBERG: Yes. It's a national park. It's in Alaska. It's the least visited national park, which, you know, does it exist if no one goes? (Laughter) I don't know. But you are correct, that's all that matters. Let's go to our puzzle guru Art Chung. How did our contestants do?

CHUNG: They got them all right, so we're going to a quick tiebreaker. Hands on your buzzers⁹. Your clue is Gojira.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

CHUNG: Mary.

BUCKLIN: Japanese monster.

CHUNG: That is correct. Well done. That was how you say Godzilla in Japan. Congratulations, Mary, you've won both games and you're headed to the final round.

BUCKLIN: Yay.

EISENBERG: So coming up, we'll find out who will face off against Mary in our final round at the end of the show. And Jonathan Coulton will perform a word game hidden inside of a music parody¹⁰ that will make you sing, can you eel¹¹ the love tonight? I'm Ophira Eisenberg and you're listening to ASK ME ANOTHER from NPR.

1 contestants   

n.竞争者，参赛者( contestant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The competition attracted over 500 contestants representing 8 different countries. 这次比赛吸引了代表8个不同国家的500多名参赛者。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency. 两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 choir   

n.唱诗班，唱诗班的席位，合唱团，舞蹈团；v.合唱

参考例句：

• The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
• The church choir is singing tonight.今晚教堂歌唱队要唱诗。

3 pal   

n.朋友，伙伴，同志；vi.结为友

参考例句：

• He is a pal of mine.他是我的一个朋友。
• Listen,pal,I don't want you talking to my sister any more.听着，小子，我不让你再和我妹妹说话了。

4 interned   

v.拘留，关押( intern的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was interned but,as he was in no way implicated in war crimes,was released. 他曾被拘留过，但因未曾涉嫌战争罪行而被释放了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• These soldiers were interned in a neutral country until the war was over. 这些士兵被拘留在一个中立国，直到战争结束。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 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。

6 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

7 vomit   

v.呕吐，作呕；n.呕吐物，吐出物

参考例句：

• They gave her salty water to make her vomit.他们给她喝盐水好让她吐出来。
• She was stricken by pain and began to vomit.她感到一阵疼痛，开始呕吐起来。

8 ooze   

n.软泥，渗出物；vi.渗出，泄漏；vt.慢慢渗出，流露

参考例句：

• Soon layer of oceanic ooze began to accumulate above the old hard layer.不久后海洋软泥层开始在老的硬地层上堆积。
• Drip or ooze systems are common for pot watering.滴灌和渗灌系统一般也用于盆栽灌水。

9 buzzers   

n.门铃( buzzer的名词复数 )；蜂音器（的声音）；发嗡嗡声的东西或人；汽笛

参考例句：

• Scout in with Buzzers(Via The Swarm) or whatever fast unit you have. 用技能召唤的蜂群（或者任何你拥有的快速单位）探路。 来自互联网
• Buzzers have the ability to clear garrisoned structures. 蜂群拥有清除驻军建筑得能力。 来自互联网

10 parody   

n.打油诗文，诙谐的改编诗文，拙劣的模仿；v.拙劣模仿，作模仿诗文

参考例句：

• The parody was just a form of teasing.那个拙劣的模仿只是一种揶揄。
• North Korea looks like a grotesque parody of Mao's centrally controlled China,precisely the sort of system that Beijing has left behind.朝鲜看上去像是毛时代中央集权的中国的怪诞模仿，其体制恰恰是北京方面已经抛弃的。

11 eel   

n.鳗鲡

参考例句：

• He used an eel spear to catch an eel.他用一只捕鳗叉捕鳗鱼。
• In Suzhou,there was a restaurant that specialized in eel noodles.苏州有一家饭馆，他们那里的招牌菜是鳗鱼面。