美国国家公共电台 NPR I'm A Business, Man

I'm A Business, Man

JONATHAN COULTON: From NPR and WNYC, coming to you from The Bell House in beautiful Brooklyn, N.Y., it's NPR's hour of puzzles, word games and trivia, ASK ME ANOTHER. I'm Jonathan Coulton. Now here's your host, Ophira Eisenberg.

(APPLAUSE)

OPHIRA EISENBERG, HOST:

Thank you, Jonathan. We have a great show for you. Four contestants¹ are backstage filling out the Sunday crossword² in pen, waiting to face off against each other in our nerdy games, but only one will become our big winner. And our special guests are Omari Hardwick and Naturi Naughton from the Starz series "Power."

(APPLAUSE)

EISENBERG: It's about a nightclub owner who leads a secret double life as a drug kingpin. And it makes me think about our show. You know, who really holds the power on our show? Is it me, the host and puppeteer³? Is it Jonathan, wielder⁴ of the axe⁵? Or is it Art, guru of puzzles? But the answer is none of us. No, the person who holds all the power on this show is the intern⁶ who runs the buzzers⁷.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL, LAUGHTER)

EISENBERG: Let's get things started with our first two contestants. First up, Mary Rezendes. You are an army officer in the IT department.

MARY REZENDES: Yes, I am.

EISENBERG: OK, how did you learn about all things computer and IT?

REZENDES: The Army saw my general studies degree and said, let's give her a really technical job.

(LAUGHTER)

REZENDES: And then they taught me everything I know.

EISENBERG: So you had no idea what you were doing on the first day of that job.

REZENDES: Absolutely none.

EISENBERG: Oh yeah, OK (laughter). That sounds - that's an interesting position.

REZENDES: And probably still don't on most days.

(LAUGHTER)

EISENBERG: I think your story is both frightening and inspiring, I will tell you that. Now, your opponent is Patrice Gonzales. You are an art photographer and organizing an arts festival in Prospect⁸ Park.

PATRICE GONZALES: The thing that I'm doing for the festival has a lot of photography in it. It's a newsstand. So everything in the newsstand is going to be an art object made by women.

EISENBERG: Oh, very cool, awesome⁹. OK, so Mary and Patrice, the first of you to win two of our games is going to move on to our final round at the end of the show. And we're going to start with a word game called I'm a Business, Man. Are you excited about that. Sure, why not? You're both women. Sounds exciting.

(LAUGHTER)

EISENBERG: Mary, what is a product you would endorse¹⁰ if you had to endorse a product?

REZENDES: It would be a hair product. I spend a lot of money on those. So anything that would get me free, like, hair gel that's sort of gluey. That's what I would use.

EISENBERG: Some gluey - a little...

REZENDES: ...Yeah, gluey hair gel.

EISENBERG: Dippity-Do? A little Dippity-Do?

REZENDES: Sure, something stronger than Dippity-Do.

EISENBERG: OK, a hair product.

REZENDES: Yes, definitely.

EISENBERG: An intense, glue-like hair product.

REZENDES: Yes, yes.

EISENBERG: Patrice, what is a product you'd like to endorse?

GONZALES: So my roommate has two cats. We have a strained relationship, I would say.

(LAUGHTER)

GONZALES: And they have this thing that you bite down on, and it's like a fake cat tongue. So you bite on it and then you lick your cat (laughter) to build a relationship with them because, like, cats groom¹¹ each other. That's like a bonding thing.

EISENBERG: Have you realized that there is no way to build a relationship with a cat?

GONZALES: (Laughter) I think so. I think so.

EISENBERG: It doesn't matter if you lick it like another cat. It still hates you. Yeah, still trying to kill you. I expected nothing, and I got so much.

(LAUGHTER)

EISENBERG: It's a good way to be. So you've heard of Beats by Dre or the Oprah Winfrey Network. Perhaps you've heard of my fragrance¹² line, Musty Top Notes by Ophira. But in this game, you're going to mash¹³ up the name of a famous person with the name of a company. So for an example, let's go to our puzzle guru, Art Chung.

ART CHUNG: If we said this California girl singer tries her hand at men's fashion, you'd answer Katy Perry Ellis. That's combining Katy Perry with the fashion designer Perry Ellis. And a celebrity's name will always come first.

COULTON: Just buzz in to answer. And the winner will be one step closer to the final round at the end of the show. All right, let's go.

EISENBERG: Fans of this classified ad website were initially¹⁴ shaken, not stirred when they found out it was actually being run by this 007 actor.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

EISENBERG: Mary.

REZENDES: Daniel Craigslist.

EISENBERG: That is correct. Yeah.

(APPLAUSE)

EISENBERG: Does anyone else have a real ongoing¹⁵ thing going through their head with Daniel Craig coming to you out of the ocean just every time you need that? It helps you motivate through your life?

REZENDES: I'm there. I'm there with you, yeah - or him, actually. I'm there with him.

EISENBERG: (Laughter) I'm there with him, not you, got it. Patrice, do you know that scene?

GONZALES: I do, but my mom said something very inappropriate when we first watched that movie together and that's all I can think of.

EISENBERG: What did she say?

(LAUGHTER)

GONZALES: She said she wasn't very impressed with the size.

EISENBERG: Oh.

(LAUGHTER)

COULTON: Your mom sounds like a very special woman.

(LAUGHTER)

COULTON: Instead of letting your health collapse¹⁶ like a house of cards, you'll feel like a princess bride as this actress teams up with a drugstore chain.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

COULTON: Mary.

REZENDES: Robin¹⁷ Rite¹⁸ Aid.

COULTON: You got it.

(APPLAUSE)

EISENBERG: This woman's career move from supermodel to soup model will have you saying mm-mm (ph) good.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

EISENBERG: Patrice.

GONZALES: Naomi Campbell's Soup.

EISENBERG: Exactly, yes.

(APPLAUSE)

COULTON: A real sign of the times - this online auction¹⁹ company wants to lead a glamorous²⁰ life by teaming up with a singer, percussionist²¹ and Prince protege.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

COULTON: Mary.

REZENDES: Sheila eBay.

CHUNG: That is correct.

EISENBERG: Yeah.

(APPLAUSE)

EISENBERG: This gold-medal-winning decathlete and E! reality star won the Arthur Ashe Courage Award in 2015. Now her garage is full of Cadillacs, Chevrolets and Buicks.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

EISENBERG: Mary.

REZENDES: Caitlin GMC?

CHUNG: No, I'm sorry. That's not what we're...

EISENBERG: Yeah.

CHUNG: ...Looking for.

CHUNG: It's close, but can you steal, Patrice?

GONZALES: Oh, General Motors - maybe? No, well, that's what...

EISENBERG: Yeah, make a decision.

CHUNG: Say it all together.

GONZALES: Caitlyn General Motors.

EISENBERG: Yes. Yeah, that was it. Yeah, OK.

CHUNG: ...All right.

(APPLAUSE)

COULTON: This 1980s singer knows love is a battlefield. You know what else is a battlefield? The 10 items or less line at this big-box store, am I right?

CHUNG: The big-box store has a circle as its logo.

EISENBERG: (Laughter) I know you can do it. I know one of you can ring in and just take a chance...

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

EISENBERG: ...And make it happen. Mary.

REZENDES: Pat Benatarget.

EISENBERG: Yeah, that's right.

(APPLAUSE)

EISENBERG: Puzzle guru Art Chung, how did our contestants do?

CHUNG: It was a tough game, but congratulations to Mary. You're one step closer to moving on to our final round.

(APPLAUSE)

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 crossword   

n.纵横字谜，纵横填字游戏

参考例句：

• He shows a great interest in crossword puzzles.他对填字游戏表现出很大兴趣。
• Don't chuck yesterday's paper out.I still haven't done the crossword.别扔了昨天的报纸，我还没做字谜游戏呢。

3 puppeteer   

n.操纵木偶的人，操纵傀儡

参考例句：

• Mr. Sullivan is a professional puppeteer.沙利文先生是一位专业的木偶戏表演者。
• One puppeteer controls the doll's head,face,and right hand.一个表演者控制木偶的头部，面部和右手。

4 wielder   

行使者

参考例句：

• Thought Bastion: This shield protects the wielder as the Psychic Bastion feat. 思维堡垒：该盾牌如同“心力堡垒”专长那样保护持用者。
• Psychic: A psychic weapon's power depends on its wielder. 灵力：灵力武器的能力依赖于持用者。

5 axe   

n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减

参考例句：

• Be careful with that sharp axe.那把斧子很锋利，你要当心。
• The edge of this axe has turned.这把斧子卷了刃了。

6 intern   

v.拘禁，软禁；n.实习生

参考例句：

• I worked as an intern in that firm last summer.去年夏天我在那家商行实习。
• The intern bandaged the cut as the nurse looked on.这位实习生在护士的照看下给病人包扎伤口。

7 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

8 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

9 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

10 endorse   

vt.(支票、汇票等)背书，背署；批注；同意

参考例句：

• No one is foolish enough to endorse it.没有哪个人会傻得赞成它。
• I fully endorse your opinions on this subject.我完全拥护你对此课题的主张。

11 groom   

vt.给（马、狗等）梳毛，照料，使...整洁

参考例句：

• His father was a groom.他父亲曾是个马夫。
• George was already being groomed for the top job.为承担这份高级工作，乔治已在接受专门的培训。

12 fragrance   

n.芬芳，香味，香气

参考例句：

• The apple blossoms filled the air with their fragrance.苹果花使空气充满香味。
• The fragrance of lavender filled the room.房间里充满了薰衣草的香味。

13 mash   

n.麦芽浆，糊状物，土豆泥；v.把…捣成糊状，挑逗，调情

参考例句：

• He beat the potato into a mash before eating it.他把马铃薯捣烂后再吃。
• Whiskey,originating in Scotland,is distilled from a mash of grains.威士忌源于苏格兰，是从一种大麦芽提纯出来的。

14 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

15 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

16 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

17 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

18 rite   

n.典礼，惯例，习俗

参考例句：

• This festival descends from a religious rite.这个节日起源于宗教仪式。
• Most traditional societies have transition rites at puberty.大多数传统社会都为青春期的孩子举行成人礼。

19 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

20 glamorous   

adj.富有魅力的；美丽动人的；令人向往的

参考例句：

• The south coast is less glamorous but full of clean and attractive hotels.南海岸魅力稍逊，但却有很多干净漂亮的宾馆。
• It is hard work and not a glamorous job as portrayed by the media.这是份苦差，并非像媒体描绘的那般令人向往。

21 percussionist   

n.打击乐器演奏者

参考例句：

• She overcame her deafness and eventually became a successful percussionist. 她克服了耳聋的毛病，最后当了打击乐队敲打手。 来自辞典例句
• For many years I practiced these techniques as a professional percussionist in jazz and new music. 许多年来作为一个职业的爵士乐和新音乐演奏者我不断实践着。 来自互联网