英语专业晨读美文-文化篇 12 Game Show

[00:02.60]Could a Game Show Format¹ Work at University
[00:05.43]Educators, are you ready? Hands on your buzzers³.
[00:10.64]Here we go with our first starter for 10:
[00:13.56]do television quiz show formats⁴ offer a useful tool for teaching?
[00:17.91]Anyone? Well, OK, it was a bit of a tricky⁵ one.
[00:21.60]But the correct answer is yes, or so says
[00:24.38]at least one international institution of higher education.
[00:27.48]Some British universities, already under fire for dumbing down,
[00:31.64]may be wary⁶ of the idea. Others may be susceptible⁷
[00:35.82]to the showbiz appeal of a bit of classroom University Challenge.
[00:39.90]In America, the Montgomery County Community College
[00:43.78]has discovered that tuning⁸ into the format
[00:46.28]of a popular television quiz show adds a bit of extra relevance⁹,
[00:50.47]and fun, to its student review sessions.
[00:53.57]At the college's annual technology conference
[00:56.74]in Utah this week, computer science instructor¹⁰
[00:59.83]Patricia Rahmlow explained how she divides
[01:03.02]her students into teams, handing each an electronic buzzer²
[01:06.73]while cueing the theme music of the popular quiz programme,
[01:09.85]Jeopardy, to create the right ambience
[01:12.71]as she and her teaching colleagues fire off the day's questions.
[01:16.03] The winning team gets 10 points
[01:18.68]of additional credit for their efforts.
[01:20.81]Among the software available for such sessions is
[01:24.30]the rather nifty-looking Gameshow Prep,
[01:26.07]which allows educators to set up their own
[01:28.65]“universal question library” that stores questions,
[01:32.41]information about the various teams and players,
[01:34.71]point values for correct answers, logo graphics¹¹,
[01:39.11]themes and opening music.
[01:40.73]Another academic institution uses
[01:43.26]something similar for its Shakespeare classes.
[01:45.75](And for the not-so-faint of heart,
[01:48.12]here's another American institution
[01:50.40]that incorporates a television show format
[01:53.11]into its pedagogical bag of tricks.)
[01:54.99]And why not? For more than a decade now,
[01:58.75]some scholars have argued for the intellectual benefits
[02:01.86]of allowing young people a greater exposure to
[02:05.12]the likes of Who Wants To Be a Millionaire and even Wheel of Fortune.
[02:09.14]Bringing the same format into the classroom
[02:12.46]may sound a little desperate, but who's to say that,
[02:15.34]used judiciously¹², it can't jolly things along.
[02:18.31]As Rahmlow told the recent American conference,
[02:21.51]she had never had students ask her
[02:24.53]“when are we going to do the review?”
[02:26.45]until she took the televisual plunge¹³.
[02:28.68]Ready for the next question? Marvellous.
[02:32.73]Oh wait, I think I hear a gong. We've run out of time.

1 format   

n.设计，版式；[计算机]格式，DOS命令:格式化(磁盘)，用于空盘或使用过的磁盘建立新空盘来存储数据；v.使格式化，设计，安排

参考例句：

• Please format this floppy disc.请将这张软盘格式化。
• The format of the figure is very tasteful.该图表的格式很雅致。

2 buzzer   

n.蜂鸣器；汽笛

参考例句：

• The buzzer went off at eight o'clock.蜂鸣器在8点钟时响了。
• Press the buzzer when you want to talk.你想讲话的时候就按蜂鸣器。

3 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

4 formats   

n.（出版物的）版式( format的名词复数 )；[电视]电视节目的总安排（或计划）

参考例句：

• They are producing books in all kinds of different formats. 他们出版各种不同开本的书籍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A true GUI includes standard formats for representing text and graphics. 真正的图形用户界面包括表示文字和图形的标准格式。 来自互联网

5 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

6 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

7 susceptible   

adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的

参考例句：

• Children are more susceptible than adults.孩子比成人易受感动。
• We are all susceptible to advertising.我们都易受广告的影响。

8 tuning   

n.调谐，调整，调音v.调音( tune的现在分词 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• They are tuning up a plane on the flight line. 他们正在机场的飞机跑道上调试一架飞机。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The orchestra are tuning up. 管弦乐队在定弦。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 relevance   

n.中肯，适当，关联，相关性

参考例句：

• Politicians' private lives have no relevance to their public roles.政治家的私生活与他们的公众角色不相关。
• Her ideas have lost all relevance to the modern world.她的想法与现代社会完全脱节。

10 instructor   

n.指导者，教员，教练

参考例句：

• The college jumped him from instructor to full professor.大学突然把他从讲师提升为正教授。
• The skiing instructor was a tall,sunburnt man.滑雪教练是一个高高个子晒得黑黑的男子。

11 graphics   

n.制图法，制图学；图形显示

参考例句：

• You've leveraged your graphics experience into the video area.你们把图形设计业务的经验运用到录像业务中去。
• Improved graphics took computer games into a new era.经改进的制图技术将电脑游戏带进了一个新时代。

12 judiciously   

adv.明断地，明智而审慎地

参考例句：

• Let's use these intelligence tests judiciously. 让我们好好利用这些智力测试题吧。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His ideas were quaint and fantastic. She brought him judiciously to earth. 他的看法荒廖古怪，她颇有见识地劝他面对现实。 来自辞典例句

13 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。