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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
Voice 1
Voice 2
And I’m David Bast. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
Imagine you are about to achieve something great. But just before it happens, someone else makes a mistake. Because of the mistake, you do not reach your goal. How would you feel? How would you react2? What would you say to the person who made the mistake?
Voice 2
Now think about the other side of the story. What if you were the person who made the mistake? How would you feel? What would you do? Would you admit your mistake or try to hide it?
Voice 1
Now imagine all of this happened in front of thousands of people. And millions of people also watched it on television. How would it affect your life?
Voice 2
A situation like this did happen. It happened to baseball player Armando Galarraga. Galarraga was about to achieve something very rare3 in the sport of baseball. He was about to play a "perfect game.” But Jim Joyce, a baseball official, made a mistake. And this mistake cost Galarraga a great honor4. Today’s Spotlight is on the story of Armando Galarraga and Jim Joyce.
Voice 1
The rules of baseball are complex5. But the basic idea is simple. A player from one team throws a baseball. This player is the pitcher7. He throws the ball to a player on the other team. This player is the batter8. The batter tries to hit the ball with a bat - a long thin piece of wood. After the batter hits the ball, he runs and tries to touch four bases. If he touches all four bases, he earns a run, or point, for his team.
Voice 2
But, a batter’s first goal is to get to first base. When he hits the ball he runs as fast as he can to touch first base. The pitcher’s team tries to catch the ball and get it to first base before the batter gets there. If the ball gets to first base before the batter then the batter is out. However, if the batter can get to first base before the ball, he is safe! An umpire, or official, decides if the batter is safe or out.
Voice 1
On June 2, 2010 two Major League Baseball teams were playing an exciting game. The game was almost finished. Jim Joyce was the umpire at first base. And Armando Galarraga was a pitcher for one of the baseball teams. Galarraga was about to pitch6 a “perfect game". For a pitcher, this is a rare achievement.
Voice 2
To earn a perfect game, the pitcher and his team must keep all of the other team’s batters9 from reaching first base. This may sound simple. But teams have been playing Major League baseball for one hundred thirty five [135] years. In that time, Major League teams have played over 300,000 games. But there have only been 20 perfect games.
Voice 1
On that night in June of 2010, Armando Galarraga only needed one more out. He was about to earn the 21st perfect game in Major League Baseball history. The next few seconds were intense10. Jason Donald was the batter. Galarraga pitched11 the ball to Donald. Donald hit the ball. Galarraga moved quickly to get Donald out. Galarraga got the ball. He touched first base. But so did Donald. Jim Joyce, the umpire, quickly decided12 Donald was “safe". But thousands of people were watching the game. And many of them disagreed with Joyce. The crowd was angry. They shouted at Joyce. Many of the baseball players shouted at Joyce too.
Voice 2
But Galarraga had a different reaction. He did not get angry. He did not shout. He only smiled. Galarraga knew the game was not over. He still needed to get one more batter out to end the game. Galarraga pitched to the next batter. Galarraga’s team got the batter out at first base. The game was now over. But people continued shouting at Joyce.
Voice 1
Joyce’s decision ruined Galarraga’s perfect game. But Joyce was sure he had made the right decision. Many sports permit13 umpires to watch recordings15 of important events like this as the game happens. They can watch the event again. Then they can change their ruling if they need to. But Major League Baseball does not permit this.
Voice 2
After the game was over, Joyce left the field. He went into the umpires’ room. Joyce watched the recording14 of the game on television. It was close. But Galarraga had clearly touched first base before Donald. Joyce was wrong! When Joyce saw his mistake, he began to cry.
Voice 1
Galarraga had pitched a perfect game. But Joyce’s original ruling was final. It could not be changed. There was no perfect game.
Voice 2
Joyce felt terrible. He asked if he could talk to Galarraga. This was very unusual. Umpires rarely16 talk to players after a game. But Joyce wanted to apologize. A few minutes later, Galarraga entered the umpires’ room. Joyce began crying again. Galarraga could have been angry or even violent17. Reporter Amy Nelson observed Galarraga and Joyce together. She wrote that instead, Galarraga put his arms around Joyce. And Galarraga said,
Voice 3
“We are all human.”
Voice 1
After this, Joyce continued to cry and apologize to Galarraga. Galarraga later told the Fox Sports news organization,
Voice 3
“No one is perfect. Everyone is human. I understand. I respect him a lot for saying... ‘I am sorry’ ... You do not see umpires saying ‘I am sorry’ after games.”
Voice 2
Joyce also admitted his mistake to news reporters. He told them:
Voice 4
“I just cost that young man a perfect game,”
Voice 1
People felt what had happened to Armando Galarraga was not fair. But people noticed the actions of both Galarraga and Joyce. The next day, there was another game. Galarraga and his team were playing. And Joyce was supposed to be an umpire. What would happen between the men? And how would the people watching the game act?
Voice 2
On June 3rd, Jim Joyce walked on to the field. Before the game, Galarraga met him there. The two men shook hands like friends. It was clear that Galarraga had forgiven Joyce. The crowd cheered for both of them. A day earlier, television cameras had recorded Joyce’s mistake. Now they recorded Galarraga’s forgiveness.
The writer of this program was Jeff Munroe. The producer was Michio Ozaki. The voices you heard were from the United18 States. All quotes19 were adapted and voiced by Spotlight. You can find our programs on the internet at http://www.radioenglish.net This .program is called, ‘The Almost Perfect Game’.
Voice 1
We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye.
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收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
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spotlight
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| n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目 | |
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react
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| vi.起反应，起作用；反抗，起反作用 | |
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rare
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| adj.稀罕的，罕有的，珍贵的，稀薄的，半熟的，非常的；adv.非常 | |
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honor
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| n.光荣；敬意；荣幸；vt.给…以荣誉；尊敬 | |
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complex
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| adj.复杂的，合成的，综合的；n.联合体 | |
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pitch
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| n.球场；声音的高低度；沥青；程度；v.投掷 | |
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pitcher
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| n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手 | |
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batter
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| v.接连重击；磨损；n.牛奶面糊；击球员 | |
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batters
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| n.面糊（煎料）( batter的名词复数 )；面糊（用于做糕饼）；（ 棒球） 正在击球的球员；击球员v.连续猛击( batter的第三人称单数 ) | |
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intense
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| adj.认真的，专注的；强烈的；紧张的；热情的 | |
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pitched
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| adj.（屋顶）有坡度的v.投( pitch的过去式和过去分词 )；用沥青涂；排列；把…定于特定角度 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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permit
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| n.许可证，许可，执照；vt.允许，容许；vi.容许 | |
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recording
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| n.录音，记录 | |
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recordings
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| n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片 | |
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rarely
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| adv.很少，难得；非常地，非凡地 | |
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violent
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| adj.暴力的，猛烈的，激烈的，极端的，凶暴的，歪曲的 | |
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united
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| adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的 | |
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quotes
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| v.引用，援引( quote的第三人称单数 )；报价；引述；为（股票、黄金或外汇）报价 | |
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