听播客学英语 219 长跑

 　　There are lots of English idioms and expressions in this podcast. I have explained them in a Grammar and Vocabulary note. Go to the podcasts website to see this note.

　　Kevin and Joanne were reading the local newspaper. There were news stories like “Local man on speeding charge” and “Mayor opens WI sale”. On page 6 they found a story about a Fun Run which was to take place in two weeks time, to raise money for a cancer charity¹.

　　“Lets do it,” said Joanne.

　　“Do what?” asked Kevin.

　　“Enter the Fun Run,” said Joanne.

　　“What’s a Fun Run?” asked Kevin.

　　Joanne explained that a Fun Run was a group of people who decide that they will all run, say, 8km, and get their friends to sponsor² them, and give the money they collect to a charity.

　　“But that’s a marathon³,” said Kevin.

　　“No, a marathon is over 40km,” said Joanne. “This is only 7km. We can do it. Let’s have a go!”

　　So Kevin and Joanne put their names down for the Fun Run. Kevin went round all his friends in the pub⁴, and his colleagues⁵ at work, to get them to sponsor him. George said that he would give ?5 for every kilometer that Kevin ran, but expected that he would still have change out of ?10. Kevin also went training – well, running slowly around a nearby park.

　　Then, two days before the Fun Run, Joanne fell and hurt her ankle⁶. Kevin would have to run alone.

　　When Kevin arrived at the start of the Fun Run, his heart sank. All the other runners looked fit and were wearing flashy trainers. They started running; the fit runners quickly took the lead and Kevin was near the back. The first kilometer was OK, but the second and third kilometers were not so good. By the end of the fourth kilometer, Kevin was hurting all over his body. He was about to give up, when he saw Joanne standing⁷ at the side of the road.

　　“Move it, Kevin, you idle⁸ slug. If you give up now, I’ll murder you!”

　　These gentle words of encouragement helped Kevin to keep going. And by the end of the fifth kilometer, he wasn’t feeling too bad. And in the last kilometer he was actually enjoying himself and overtook⁹ several of the fit runners with flashy trainers. He arrived at the finishing line to a hero’s welcome, and several cans of beer, from his friends. Altogether, Kevin raised ?523.14p for the cancer charity. “Next year, the London Marathon,” he said. Maybe.

1 charity   

n.慈悲，博爱，慈善团体，施舍

参考例句：

• He founded the charity in memory of his late wife.他兴办那个慈善机构以纪念他已故的妻子。
• He gave a handsome sum of money to charity.他向慈善团体捐了一笔相当可观的钱款。

2 sponsor   

vt.发起，主办；资助；n.发起者，资助人

参考例句：

• Sponsor stated they have no idea where he is.赞助方表示他们不知道他在哪儿。
• The sponsor has permanent ad on the website commonly.赞助商一般在网站上有永久性广告。

3 marathon   

n.长距离赛跑；需要耐力的比赛；(M-)马拉松

参考例句：

• I'm hoping to be in the marathon next year.我希望明年能参加马拉松赛。
• The meeting was a bit of a marathon.这次会议有点马拉松赛的味道。

4 pub   

n.[英]旅馆，小店，酒馆

参考例句：

• He is the landlord of this pub.他是这家酒店的店主。
• They saw that four large men marched into the pub.他们看到四个彪形大汉走进了酒吧。

5 colleagues   

n.同事，同僚( colleague的名词复数 )；同人

参考例句：

• He wanted to confer with his colleagues before reaching a decision. 他想与他的同事先商议一下再作出决定。
• She is held in high esteem by her colleagues. 她深受同事的敬重。

6 ankle   

n.踝，踝节部

参考例句：

• She twisted her ankle when she fell.她摔倒时扭伤了脚踝。
• She turned her ankle while ice-skating.她滑冰时扭伤了脚踝。

7 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

8 idle   

adj.空闲的，闲置的；无用的；懒散的；v.空费

参考例句：

• Mike doesn't study at all.Instead,he sits idle all day.迈克根本不肯读书，相反地，他终日游手好闲。
• How much trouble in this life is caused by idle talk!生活中有多少麻烦不都是由闲谈引起的么！

9 overtook   

v.追上，赶上，超过( overtake的过去式 )；（不愉快的事情）突然发生；突然降临；（在数量或重要性方面）大于

参考例句：

• The blue car overtook ours. 那辆蓝色的汽车超过我们的车子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A storm overtook the little boat. 小船突然遇到了暴风雨的袭击。 来自《简明英汉词典》