英语听力精选进阶版 6362

Have you ever raced against a horse, charmed worms or smashed an egg against your head?

These wacky activities are amongst the sports taking place in the World Alternative Games in the Welsh town of Llanwrtyd Wells. You might not see the likes of Usain Bolt around, but those who take part are extremely dedicated¹ and compete for gold, silver and bronze medals in 35 events.

Gordon Green, who is involved in organising the games, says: "We've been staging a number of events since 1980, but we wanted an alternative to the Olympics to show that people who take part in unusual sports are as committed as their Olympic counterparts. (...) They may not train as hard, but they have easily as much fun."

Let's take a look at some of the weird² and wonderful disciplines that are hosted. In the man-versus-horse race, men race against horses across the Welsh countryside. Predictably, the horses usually win, although men have won twice in the past.

Russian egg roulette is less dangerous and more quirky that the sport its name derives³ from. Competitors smash eggs against their heads: all the eggs are raw except one. Whoever gets the hard-boiled egg is the winner.

Worm charmers produce vibrations⁴ with a garden fork and a piece of metal or wood to entice⁵ worms to come out of the ground. The World Record was set by ten-year-old Sophie Smith in 2009, when she collected 567 worms in just 30 minutes.

Those with extraordinary strength might want to take part in wife carrying, where competitors carry another person - who may not be their wife and can be of the same sex - across a river and fields. The prize for the winner is the weight of the person they carried in beer.

Other off-the-wall games are stiletto racing⁶, where competitors race in 3-inch high heels, running backwards⁷, underwater hockey and bog⁸ snorkelling⁹.

So if what's missing in your life is a grain of folly¹⁰, you might want to consider taking part. All you need is dedication¹¹, an eccentric streak¹² and a penchant¹³ for ridicule¹⁴.

Quiz 测验

Read the article and find as many adjectives as possible that have a similar meaning to 'eccentric'.

Wacky, unusual, weird and wonderful, quirky, off-the-wall.

Is the following statement true, false or not given? You might see Usain Bolt taking part in the World Alternative Games.

False. Although you won't see athletes like Usain Bolt in these alternative games, the competitors are still very dedicated to these quirky sports.

What does the man-versus-horse race involve?

It involves people competing against horses by racing across the countryside.

Is the following statement true, false or not given? Worm charmers play music to entice worms to the surface.

False. They use a garden fork and a piece of metal or wood to create vibrations.

What does the winner of a wife-carrying race receive?

The winner receives beer - the amount is equivalent to the weight of the person they carry.

Glossary 词汇表

wacky 古怪的

alternative 另类的，非主流的

unusual 不寻常的

weird and wonderful 怪异但又精彩的

Russian egg roulette 俄罗斯蛋轮盘赌

quirky 古怪的

a worm charmer 一个蠕虫诱导训练师

extraordinary 非凡的

off-the-wall 异乎寻常的

stiletto 细高跟鞋

bog snorkelling 沼泽潜水

a grain of folly 有点愚蠢，做蠢事

an eccentric streak 趋向古怪的性格 （性格有些刁钻古怪）

a penchant for ridicule 喜欢捉弄嘲笑

1 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

2 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。

3 derives   

v.得到( derive的第三人称单数 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取

参考例句：

• English derives in the main from the common Germanic stock. 英语主要源于日耳曼语系。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He derives his income from freelance work. 他以自由职业获取收入。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 vibrations   

n.摆动( vibration的名词复数 )；震动；感受；（偏离平衡位置的）一次性往复振动

参考例句：

• We could feel the vibrations from the trucks passing outside. 我们可以感到外面卡车经过时的颤动。
• I am drawn to that girl; I get good vibrations from her. 我被那女孩吸引住了，她使我产生良好的感觉。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 entice   

v.诱骗，引诱，怂恿

参考例句：

• Nothing will entice the children from television.没有任何东西能把孩子们从电视机前诱开。
• I don't see why the English should want to entice us away from our native land.我不明白，为什英国人要引诱我们离开自己的国土。

6 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

7 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

8 bog   

n.沼泽；室...陷入泥淖

参考例句：

• We were able to pass him a rope before the bog sucked him under.我们终于得以在沼泽把他吞没前把绳子扔给他。
• The path goes across an area of bog.这条小路穿过一片沼泽。

9 snorkelling   

v.使用水下呼吸管潜游( snorkel的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The planned snorkelling was cancelled due to rough waves. 原计划进行的潜泳因巨浪而被迫取消了。 来自互联网
• Snorkelling was amazing, daily seeing reef sharks, parrot fish and sting rays. 浮潜是惊人，每天看礁鲨，鹦鹉鱼和魟鱼。 来自互联网

10 folly   

n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话

参考例句：

• Learn wisdom by the folly of others.从别人的愚蠢行动中学到智慧。
• Events proved the folly of such calculations.事情的进展证明了这种估计是愚蠢的。

11 dedication   

n.奉献，献身，致力，题献，献辞

参考例句：

• We admire her courage,compassion and dedication.我们钦佩她的勇气、爱心和奉献精神。
• Her dedication to her work was admirable.她对工作的奉献精神可钦可佩。

12 streak   

n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动

参考例句：

• The Indians used to streak their faces with paint.印第安人过去常用颜料在脸上涂条纹。
• Why did you streak the tree?你为什么在树上刻条纹？

13 penchant   

n.爱好，嗜好；（强烈的）倾向

参考例句：

• She has a penchant for Indian food.她爱吃印度食物。
• He had a penchant for playing jokes on people.他喜欢拿人开玩笑。

14 ridicule   

v.讥讽，挖苦；n.嘲弄

参考例句：

• You mustn't ridicule unfortunate people.你不该嘲笑不幸的人。
• Silly mistakes and queer clothes often arouse ridicule.荒谬的错误和古怪的服装常会引起人们的讪笑。