ESL Podcast 458 – Going to the Playground

My wife was out of town on business and our nanny was sick, so I took the day off from work to take care of our two kids: Livia, who is two, and Augustus, who is three and a half. I thought that going to the playground would be a good thing to do, but it turned out to be an accident waiting to happen.

When we got to the playground, the kids jumped out of the car. Livia got onto the merry-go-round, pushing it as hard as she could. The trouble was, there were a couple of toddlers playing on it and they fell backwards¹, getting the wind knocked out of them.

Augustus, on the other hand, ran straight for the swing set and almost got decapitated! Then he went over to the see-saw and almost got smashed² when he tried to run under it! He ran out of my grasp³ and onto the jungle⁴ gym. He started hanging off the monkey bars⁵. I caught him just in time as he fell!

When I turned around, I saw that Livia had got onto the slide and slid head first into the sandbox! Good thing she wasn’t hurt.

By this time, I realized my mistake. Far from a safe place to play, for two lively kids and one father, the playground was a deathtrap!


Script⁶ by Dr⁷. Lucy Tse

1 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。

2 smashed   

adj.喝醉酒的v.打碎，捣烂( smash的过去式和过去分词 )；捣毁；重击；撞毁（车辆）

参考例句：

• Several windows had been smashed. 几扇窗户劈里啪啦打碎了。
• In time-honoured tradition, a bottle of champagne was smashed on the ship. 依照由来已久的传统，对着船摔了一瓶香槟。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 grasp   

n.把握，抓紧，抓，柄，控制，理解；vt.抓住，紧握，领会；vi.抓

参考例句：

• Don't want to grasp my hand!不要抓我的手啊！
• I can't grasp this maths question.我不理解这道数学题。

4 jungle   

n.丛林，密林；原始林

参考例句：

• The lion is the king of the jungle.狮子是丛林之王。
• Wild animals live in the jungle.野生动物们生活在丛林中。

5 bars   

n.马上的齿龈；酒吧间( bar的名词复数 )；售酒的（饮食）柜台；条；（门、窗等的）闩vi.

参考例句：

• The hotel is ideally placed for restaurants, bars and clubs. 这家宾馆地处的位置适宜经营餐厅、酒吧和俱乐部。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The prisoner had filed through the steel bars and escaped. 那囚犯锉断钢条逃跑了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 script   

n.剧本，广播稿；文字体系；笔迹，手迹

参考例句：

• It's easy to identify his script.他的笔迹容易辨认。
• The script is massaged into final form.这篇稿子经过修改已定稿。

7 Dr   

n.医生，大夫；博士(缩)（= Doctor）

参考例句：

• Dr.Williams instructs us in botany.威廉博士教我们植物学。
• The ward of the hospital is in the charge of Dr.Green.医院的这间病房由格林医生负责。