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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
After 146 years, Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey stages its final show on Sunday.
AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:
That means hundreds of circus performers and crew members with extraordinary talents will be out of work, including this guy.
JOHNATHAN LEE IVERSON: I'm Johnathan Lee Iverson, ringmaster of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, the greatest show on Earth.
CORNISH: Iverson was recruited by Ringling almost 20 years ago. He was fresh out of college, where he was studying voice performance and training to be an opera singer.
SHAPIRO: In 1998, he became Ringling's first African-American ringmaster.
IVERSON: Which is a wild little paradox1, you know, to be a first and a last at the same time. I don't know too many people who can say that in any industry.
SHAPIRO: During his two decades with Ringling, Iverson married a fellow performer. They've raised two children while traveling from city to city on the circus train.
CORNISH: He's spent almost half his life in this unusual world. It's been his job, as he puts it, to present his colleagues as the glorious beings they are.
IVERSON: Because they are, they really are. You know, for those eight minutes or 12 minutes, they're doing their thing. The world needs to understand this is very unique, no one else does it. And the only person who can really render that kind of excitement and zeal2 is the ringmaster.
(SOUNDBITE OF KNOCKING)
IVERSON: Oh, come in.
SHAPIRO: An hour before one of his final matinee performances, Iverson is in his dressing3 room, and he introduces his colleague, Ringling's head of wardrobe.
IVERSON: This is my darling, Luz Gutierrez (ph), calote (ph).
LUZ GUTIERREZ: He's already out of time.
IVERSON: She's the one who keeps me looking beautiful. She takes care of me for all these years. She, herself, is a trapeze artist. She's birthed trapeze artists. They come out flying (laughter).
SHAPIRO: Gutierrez helps Iverson into his ringmaster coat, tasseled4 and bedazzled in red, blue, black and gold and, of course, his top hat.
IVERSON: It's funny. This is the only, I think, outfit5 or piece of wardrobe where it's not complete without the hat, you know. In a lot of wonderful churches, the ladies, you know, they wear these fantastically ornamented6 hats, particularly in the black church, so-called black churches, really wonderful how, you know, I mean, it's - they're called crowns. And I sort of think of the ringmaster's hat as that, too. I never let anybody wear it because of how special it is, you know.
I feel like the history and the majesty7 of ringmasters before me are in it, too. You know, you can call it kind of strange. It may be a little cheesy and goofy, but, you know, I feel like their energy comes through my head. It's like all of this doesn't matter without that, as gorgeous as all this is - right? - but until you put the hat on, you're not the ringmaster yet. And this thing is on. See? Now I feel whole. Yeah, I feel whole. So here we go.
CORNISH: Top hat on, Iverson heads into the ring.
IVERSON: Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages, the Feld family is proud to present Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey. Welcome to the greatest show on Earth.
CORNISH: As the acts begin, he introduces ice-skating acrobats8 from China, some of them on stilts9...
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
CORNISH: ...Then daredevil motorcyclists from Paraguay.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
SHAPIRO: A fourth-generation clown from Italy....
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
SHAPIRO: ...And a Brit who commands lions and tigers with a wave of his hand.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: OK. Kashmi (ph) and Max (ph), let's go. Kashmi, come here. Come on, Max. Grab (ph), Max. Good boy. Good boy. Grab. Kashmi, here.
CORNISH: In his sparkling coat and top hat, Iverson is the man in the middle of it all.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
IVERSON: I just finished a show. It's about - oh, wow - 20 to 4. And I'm headed to FedEx to send some folders10 out to agents, potential agents, you know, with the whole professional portfolio11 letting them know I'm going to be free. And I'm looking for quality representation, and that I'm open to do a array of things - musical theater, voiceovers, television, radio hosting, film, whatever.
COMPUTER-GENERATED VOICE: Please select what you would like to create.
IVERSON: So I'm here in the local FedEx, and this is part of the hustle12. You know, this is a part of what you do when you have to create new options for yourself. OK. So right now, I'm at the photo booth, and I'm printing out a couple headshots. Let's do that one.
COMPUTER-GENERATED VOICE: Please remove your memory card by following the screen.
IVERSON: OK. See how nice that is? I mean, you really have to package yourself. I've got a business card in there, cover letter, resume, two headshots. Who doesn't want to hire me? We actually had consultants13 with our resumes and stuff. And I was just wondering, how do you do that with circus people?
I mean, like, what do you - how do you help them write that out? You know, it's just like, wow, how do you - I mean, it's like, how do you write a resume for Superman? (Laughter) You know, it's like he flies, you know.
(CROSSTALK)
IVERSON: Maybe the first trauma14 for me leaving Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey will be entering into what I believe is the authentic15 freak show of the world we have now. I mean, I'm not really looking forward to that. You know, I've spent my time - 18 years here - and not to say it's been perfect and, you know, everybody's just in a paradise, an oasis16, but you recognize here the possibilities of really the best of humanity.
It's a template. It's a model for society of what active serious diversity looks like and should look like, having a place where people are given that chance to reach their heights, you know, to be their utmost. What can be better than that?
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
SHAPIRO: Ringmaster Johnathan Lee Iverson will step into the ring for the final time this Sunday in Uniondale, N.Y.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
收听单词发音 |
1
paradox
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| n.似乎矛盾却正确的说法；自相矛盾的人(物) | |
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2
zeal
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| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
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3
dressing
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| n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料 | |
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4
tasseled
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| v.抽穗， （玉米）长穗须( tassel的过去式和过去分词 )；使抽穗， （为了使作物茁壮生长）摘去穗状雄花；用流苏装饰 | |
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outfit
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| n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装 | |
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ornamented
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| adj.花式字体的v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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7
majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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acrobats
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| n.杂技演员( acrobat的名词复数 )；立场观点善变的人，主张、政见等变化无常的人 | |
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9
stilts
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| n.（支撑建筑物高出地面或水面的）桩子，支柱( stilt的名词复数 )；高跷 | |
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10
folders
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| n.文件夹( folder的名词复数 )；纸夹；（某些计算机系统中的）文件夹；页面叠 | |
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portfolio
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| n.公事包；文件夹；大臣及部长职位 | |
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12
hustle
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| v.推搡；竭力兜售或获取；催促；n.奔忙(碌) | |
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consultants
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| 顾问( consultant的名词复数 )； 高级顾问医生，会诊医生 | |
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trauma
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| n.外伤，精神创伤 | |
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15
authentic
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| a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的 | |
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oasis
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| n.（沙漠中的）绿洲，宜人的地方 | |
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