2005年NPR美国国家公共电台三月-Miracle League Gives the Gift of Sport

Major League baseball players are now deep into spring training.But it is the excitement disabled youngsters bring to the Miracle League that intrigues¹ commentator² Frank Deford.

The warmest moment I've ever enjoyed in sports came a couple of years ago when a little boy named Nicolas sat on my lap.Nicolas had been born without eyes and was not supposed to live.But now here he was proudly holding on to his own baseball glove.I asked Nicolas if he could sing "Take me out to the ball game" and he immediately lit up and together a duet .We sang it all the way right on down to,"for it's one ,two,three strikes you are out at the old ball game."The reason that I was there with Nicolas in his house and the reason he had his own mitt³ is that Nicolas plays baseball too.He plays in what is known as the Miracle League.It all started eight years ago when a man named Adley Baguare in Cannyns, Georgia in R.County outside of Atlanta was coaching a tea ball team and saw a little boy in a wheelchair on the sideline,wistfully watching his healthier friends play ball.Mr.Baguare eventually not only asked the boy in the wheelchair to play but let some other people in town to invite all children with disabilities to come out to the little League park one day.35 handicapped kids showed up.That was more than anybody expected.So then more neighbours began to get interested as the local rotary⁴ club Deen Alford, a former state represetative led the way to build the whole ball park especially for handicapped children.

What was so needed was artificial turfs so that the children could move more easily with their clutches so that their wheelchairs would not get caught in ruts.Incredibly the donations poured in and soon the whole park was built for 1 million dollars.It opened in the spring of 2000 with 62 disabled kids in attendance.They called it the Miracle League.

The rules are simple.Any boy or girl who is not blessed with the wholeness of body or mind could play.Everybody gets the bat and everybody gets to hit the ball one way or another.And everybody gets to run the bases or anyway, wheel the bases.Not only that but every player in the Miracle League is escorted by a healthy child who is called a buddy⁵.I've met some of the buddies⁶ too.Maybe they gain as much from the Miracle League as the players themselves.It's good for children to learn firsthand that they are but for the grace of God,go I to first base.

Five years later and wonderfully the Miracle League is a national institution.There are now 16 rubberized fields,63 more are under construction and the ground will be broken for 29 more this year.Several major league teams have pitched in.The cost of building a field,making a miracle,is down to 450 thousand dollars.The worst thing about being a child who is sick or disabled is being sick or disabled.The second worst thing for that child is being different.Now it's baseball time again and this season 10,000 children won't be so different.They will be on the team in the Miracle league.They will be playing a game just like all their luckier friends.Ah,it's a new season.Take me out to the ball game.But the best part of it in all parts of America now is that when the cry goes up:"Play ball",ten thousand more boys and girls can play.

The comments of Frank Deford ,senior contributing writer at Sports Illustrated⁷.He joins us each Wednesday from member station WSHU in Ph.D.

1 intrigues   

n.密谋策划( intrigue的名词复数 )；神秘气氛；引人入胜的复杂情节v.搞阴谋诡计( intrigue的第三人称单数 )；激起…的好奇心

参考例句：

• He was made king as a result of various intrigues. 由于搞了各种各样的阴谋，他当上了国王。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Those who go in for intrigues and conspiracy are doomed to failure. 搞阴谋诡计的人注定要失败。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 commentator   

n.注释者，解说者；实况广播评论员

参考例句：

• He is a good commentator because he can get across the game.他能简单地解说这场比赛，是个好的解说者。
• The commentator made a big mistake during the live broadcast.在直播节目中评论员犯了个大错误。

3 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

4 rotary   

adj.(运动等)旋转的；轮转的；转动的

参考例句：

• The central unit is a rotary drum.核心设备是一个旋转的滚筒。
• A rotary table helps to optimize the beam incidence angle.一张旋转的桌子有助于将光线影响之方式角最佳化。

5 buddy   

n.（美口）密友，伙伴

参考例句：

• Calm down,buddy.What's the trouble?压压气，老兄。有什么麻烦吗？
• Get out of my way,buddy!别挡道了，你这家伙！

6 buddies   

n.密友( buddy的名词复数 )；同伴；弟兄；（用于称呼男子，常带怒气）家伙v.（如密友、战友、伙伴、弟兄般）交往( buddy的第三人称单数 )；做朋友；亲近（…）；伴护艾滋病人

参考例句：

• We became great buddies. 我们成了非常好的朋友。 来自辞典例句
• The two of them have become great buddies. 他们俩成了要好的朋友。 来自辞典例句

7 illustrated   

adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• His lecture was illustrated with slides taken during the expedition. 他在讲演中使用了探险时拍摄到的幻灯片。
• The manufacturing Methods: Will be illustrated in the next chapter. 制作方法将在下一章说明。