美国国家公共电台 NPR Contents Under Pressure

Contents Under Pressure

OPHIRA EISENBERG, HOST:

Let's meet our next two contestants¹. First up, Ross Freilich. You work in mergers² and acquisitions, and you just got back from a trip to an island north of the Arctic Circle.

ROSS FREILICH: That's correct.

EISENBERG: Is it the Island of Misfit Toys?

(LAUGHTER)

FREILICH: No toys, no Santa, just Norwegians.

EISENBERG: Norwegian. So what made you want to go to this particular island?

FREILICH: I had a trip planned to Norway and...

EISENBERG: Yeah.

FREILICH: ...Wanted to go to the most adventurous³ place that we could figure out.

EISENBERG: And what's on the island other than Norwegians?

FREILICH: Just midnight sun, cool hiking.

EISENBERG: How long were you there?

FREILICH: Just over a week.

EISENBERG: And you're back how long?

FREILICH: I guess two weeks now.

EISENBERG: Yeah, how's it feel?

FREILICH: Work is a real hard reality sometimes.

(LAUGHTER)

EISENBERG: It sure is, yeah. Your opponent is Scott Wojtanik. You are a printer wholesaler⁴ but apparently⁵ you're mistaken for a vampire⁶ quite often. I'd love to talk to you about your printer business, but let's get to this vampire stuff.

(LAUGHTER)

EISENBERG: Is it because you drink blood?

SCOTT WOJTANIK: My first job out of college, I worked at my neighborhood youth center. And my neighbor's kids were there. And they'd always called me the pale one because I'm kind of pale. My - the teeth next to my incisors are pointy. It's a recessive⁷ gene⁸. I have dark circles under my eyes. I don't go out in the sun. So they kind of started a rumor⁹. So everyone's like, is he a vampire? So those kids that believed it I kind of would lean on that and get them to behave and if not, time out works, so...

(LAUGHTER)

EISENBERG: So you actually went with it. You're like, yeah, I am a vampire...

WOJTANIK: Yeah, go with what you know.

(LAUGHTER)

EISENBERG: OK, you're in for some great fun. Do you like Billy Joel?

FREILICH: Of course.

EISENBERG: Scott?

WOJTANIK: I've heard of him.

EISENBERG: OK.

(LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE)

EISENBERG: You might be a vampire. You might be a vampire.

WOJTANIK: I have heard of him.

EISENBERG: All right, well, I'm glad you sort of like him or have heard of him. Otherwise, this would be a pretty long game for you. Julian Velard, take it away.

JULIAN VELARD: We've taken Billy Joel's song "Pressure" and rewrote it to be about things that react to pressure. So buzz in when you know the thing I'm talking about. OK, here we go.

(Singing) You have a big job interview - pressure. A good impression is what's due - pressure. No time to dry clean, you must act alone. Now, here you stand at the board with your iron getting hot. Time to demand smooth reward, make these items taught with pressure.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

EISENBERG: Scott.

WOJTANIK: Ironing your clothes.

EISENBERG: Puzzle guru Art Chung.

ART CHUNG: We'll accept that - wrinkled clothes.

EISENBERG: Yeah, that's right.

(APPLAUSE)

EISENBERG: Do you iron your clothes?

WOJTANIK: No, I don't. I just tumble everything until it's - looks decent and then it goes on a hanger¹⁰. And then that's how it stays.

EISENBERG: OK.

(LAUGHTER)

EISENBERG: Scott, you're super weird¹¹ to talk to, but I really enjoy it.

(LAUGHTER)

WOJTANIK: I get that a lot.

VELARD: (Singing) This instrument is weather geared - pressure. Measuring in the atmosphere, pressure.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

EISENBERG: Ross.

FREILICH: A barometer¹².

EISENBERG: Yes.

(APPLAUSE)

EISENBERG: It doesn't matter if you know this or not, but if the barometer says low pressure, do you know what that means? Or you're like, oh, I should wear a hat. Like, do you know what that means?

FREILICH: Storm's coming.

EISENBERG: Storm's a-coming. All right. High pressure, what's happening?

FREILICH: Nice weather.

EISENBERG: God, thank you, Ross.

(LAUGHTER)

VELARD: (Singing) My voice is changing and my acne's gross. Can't drive a car, hormones¹³ rage, no one's asked me to the prom. Can't hit the bar, under age, no I can't stay calm. There's pressure.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

EISENBERG: Ross.

FREILICH: Teenagers.

CHUNG: That's right.

EISENBERG: Yeah. Yeah, that's right.

(APPLAUSE)

VELARD: Red cells carry oxygen 'round. White cells fight the infections unsound. All your life, it's mostly unseen. Arteries¹⁴, veins¹⁵ - what does it mean?

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

EISENBERG: Scott.

WOJTANIK: Circulatory system.

CHUNG: Yeah, we'll take that. We're looking for blood.

EISENBERG: Yeah.

(LAUGHTER)

EISENBERG: Trying to hide behind that question, Scott?

WOJTANIK: I'm familiar with blood.

(LAUGHTER)

VELARD: Designed to pull a sneak¹⁶ attack - pressure. Though, now they're easier to track - pressure. Deep in the ocean, they're autonomous¹⁷. Torpedoes¹⁸ fire. Crew can see looking through the periscope¹⁹. But it's not dire²⁰ 'cause the key is the haul can cope with pressure.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

EISENBERG: Ross.

FREILICH: A submarine.

EISENBERG: That is perfect, of course it is.

(APPLAUSE)

EISENBERG: All right, puzzle guru Art Chung, that seemed like a very close game.

CHUNG: It was a very close game. Congratulations to Ross. You're one step closer to the final round.

(APPLAUSE)

VELARD: (Playing piano).

EISENBERG: Julian Velard.

(APPLAUSE)

EISENBERG: All right, contestants, good show, good show in that game, well done.

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 mergers   

n.（两个公司的）合并( merger的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Mergers fall into three categories: horizontal, vertical, and conglomerate. 合并分为以下三种：横向合并，纵向合并和混合合并。 来自辞典例句
• Many recent mergers are concentrated within specific industries, particularly in retailing, airlines and communications. 现代许多合并企业集中进行某些特定业务，在零售业、民航和通讯业中更是如此。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

3 adventurous   

adj.爱冒险的；惊心动魄的，惊险的，刺激的　

参考例句：

• I was filled with envy at their adventurous lifestyle.我很羨慕他们敢于冒险的生活方式。
• He was predestined to lead an adventurous life.他注定要过冒险的生活。

4 wholesaler   

n.批发商

参考例句：

• We're the largest furniture wholesaler in Illinois. 我们是伊利诺伊州最大的家具批发商。 来自辞典例句
• These are used to create profiles for each wholesaler. 这是他日常的工作或通过与批发商的正式会谈。 来自互联网

5 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

6 vampire   

n.吸血鬼

参考例句：

• It wasn't a wife waiting there for him but a blood sucking vampire!家里的不是个老婆，而是个吸人血的妖精！
• Children were afraid to go to sleep at night because of the many legends of vampire.由于听过许多有关吸血鬼的传说，孩子们晚上不敢去睡觉。

7 recessive   

adj.退行的，逆行的，后退的，隐性的

参考例句：

• Blue eyes are recessive and brown eyes are dominant.蓝眼睛是隐性的；而褐色眼睛是显性的。
• Sickle-cell anaemia is passed on through a recessive gene.镰状细胞贫血通过隐性基因遗传给后代。

8 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

9 rumor   

n.谣言，谣传，传说

参考例句：

• The rumor has been traced back to a bad man.那谣言经追查是个坏人造的。
• The rumor has taken air.谣言流传开了。

10 hanger   

n.吊架，吊轴承；挂钩

参考例句：

• I hung my coat up on a hanger.我把外衣挂在挂钩上。
• The ship is fitted with a large helicopter hanger and flight deck.这艘船配备有一个较大的直升飞机悬挂装置和飞行甲板。

11 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。

12 barometer   

n.气压表，睛雨表，反应指标

参考例句：

• The barometer marked a continuing fall in atmospheric pressure.气压表表明气压在继续下降。
• The arrow on the barometer was pointing to"stormy".气压计上的箭头指向“有暴风雨”。

13 hormones   

n. 荷尔蒙，激素 名词hormone的复数形式

参考例句：

• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body. 这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。
• The adrenals produce a large per cent of a man's sex hormones. 肾上腺分泌人体的大部分性激素。

14 arteries   

n.动脉( artery的名词复数 )；干线，要道

参考例句：

• Even grafting new blood vessels in place of the diseased coronary arteries has been tried. 甚至移植新血管代替不健康的冠状动脉的方法都已经试过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This is the place where the three main arteries of West London traffic met. 这就是伦敦西部三条主要交通干线的交汇处。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 veins   

n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理

参考例句：

• The blood flows from the capillaries back into the veins. 血从毛细血管流回静脉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I felt a pleasant glow in all my veins from the wine. 喝过酒后我浑身的血都热烘烘的，感到很舒服。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 sneak   

vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行

参考例句：

• He raised his spear and sneak forward.他提起长矛悄悄地前进。
• I saw him sneak away from us.我看见他悄悄地从我们身边走开。

17 autonomous   

adj.自治的；独立的

参考例句：

• They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
• This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。

18 torpedoes   

鱼雷( torpedo的名词复数 )； 油井爆破筒； 刺客； 掼炮

参考例句：

• We top off, take on provisions and torpedoes, and go. 我们维修完，装上给养和鱼雷就出发。
• The torpedoes hit amidship, and there followed a series of crashing explosions. 鱼雷击中了船腹，引起了一阵隆隆的爆炸声。

19 periscope   

n. 潜望镜

参考例句：

• The captain aligned the periscope on the bearing.船长使潜望镜对准方位。
• Now,peering through the periscope he remarked in businesslike tones.现在，他一面从潜望镜里观察，一面用精干踏实的口吻说话。

20 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。