美国国家公共电台 NPR Categories To The Letter

 

OPHIRA EISENBERG, HOST:

Now it's time to crown our big winner. Let's bring back our finalists - Sonny Farnsworth, who says that people who work in the sex toy industry are very friendly, and Rob Martinez, who owns a dummy¹ that he throws off buildings for comedy.

(APPLAUSE)

EISENBERG: Puzzle guru Art Chung, take it away.

PUZZLE GURU ART CHUNG: Thanks, Ophira. Sonny and Rob, your final round is called Categories to the Letter. In this round I'll give you a category and a letter. You tell us the only item in that category that has that letter in it. For example, if I said the only U.S. president's last name with the letter X, you'd answer Nixon. You only have a few seconds to give me that answer. And we're playing this round like a penalty shootout. The contestant² who scores the most points will be our big winner. Your prize is an ASK ME ANOTHER Rubik's Cube signed by Kathleen Madigan and Lewis Black and a spork that's been in Ophira's purse for two years.

(LAUGHTER)

CHUNG: We flipped³ a coin backstage and Sonny is going first. Here we go. Sonny, it's the only chess piece with the letter A in it.

SONNY FARNSWORTH: Pawn⁴.

CHUNG: That is correct.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

CHUNG: Rob, the only U.S. coin containing the letter K.

ROB MARTINEZ: Nickel.

CHUNG: Correct.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

CHUNG: Sonny, the great lake with the letter T in it.

FARNSWORTH: Um...

CHUNG: Three seconds.

(SOUNDBITE OF BUZZER)

CHUNG: I'm sorry, we were looking for Ontario. Rob, a classic five-card poker⁵ hand with the letter Y. Three seconds.

(SOUNDBITE OF BUZZER)

CHUNG: I'm sorry, we were looking for a royal flush. Sonny, the zodiac sign with the letter M as in Mike.

FARNSWORTH: Gemini.

CHUNG: Correct.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

CHUNG: Rob, the planet in our solar system with the letter C. And don't give us any of that dwarf⁶ planet garbage.

MARTINEZ: Mercury.

CHUNG: Correct.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

CHUNG: Sonny, Disney's "Snow White" dwarf with the letter F as in foxtrot.

FARNSWORTH: Oh, God.

CHUNG: Three seconds.

(SOUNDBITE OF BUZZER)

CHUNG: These are tough. The answer was Bashful. Rob, Santa's reindeer⁷ with the letter Z. I need an answer.

(SOUNDBITE OF BUZZER)

CHUNG: Sorry, we were looking for Blitzen. In this tough game we are at the halfway⁸ point, and the game is tied two points each. Sonny, one of the seven deadly sins with the letter W.

FARNSWORTH: Wrath⁹.

CHUNG: Correct.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

CHUNG: Rob, a current summer Olympic sport with the letter Q as in Quidditch. Three seconds.

(SOUNDBITE OF BUZZER)

CHUNG: We were looking for equestrian¹⁰. Sonny, the African country with the letter J in it.

FARNSWORTH: Djibouti.

CHUNG: Correct.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

CHUNG: Rob, you need to get this question right or Sonny wins. The noble gas with the letter X.

MARTINEZ: Xenon.

CHUNG: That is correct.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

CHUNG: We're on the last question for each of you. Sonny, if you get this right you're going to win. The only U.S. state containing the letter Z.

FARNSWORTH: Arizona.

CHUNG: Correct. Congratulations, you're our winner.

(APPLAUSE)

EISENBERG: All right, that was an insane game. Well done, both of you. Congratulations, Sonny. You're our big winner. And that's our show. ASK ME ANOTHER's puzzle guru is Art Chung.

CHUNG: Hey, my name anagrams to narc thug.

EISENBERG: Our house musician is Jonathan Coulton.

CHUNG: Thou jolt¹¹ a cannon¹².

EISENBERG: Our puzzles were written by Shawn Kennedy, David Levinson Wilk and senior writer Kieran Lurie (ph). ASK ME ANOTHER's produced by Mike Katzif, Travis Larchuk, Julia Melfi, Denny Shinn, Rommel Wood and our intern¹³, Toyah Sing (ph), along with Steve Nelson and Anya Grundmann. We're recorded by David Whitimore (ph), Noriko Okabe and David Hertkin (ph). ASK ME ANOTHER was created by Eric Nuzum and Jesse Baker¹⁴. We'd like to thank our home in Brooklyn, New York, The Bell House...

CHUNG: Hot heel blues¹⁵.

EISENBERG: ...And our production partner, WNYC. I'm her ripe begonias...

CHUNG: Ophira Eisenberg.

EISENBERG: ...And this was ASK ME ANOTHER from NPR.

1 dummy   

n.假的东西；(哄婴儿的)橡皮奶头

参考例句：

• The police suspect that the device is not a real bomb but a dummy.警方怀疑那个装置不是真炸弹，只是一个假货。
• The boys played soldier with dummy swords made of wood.男孩们用木头做的假木剑玩打仗游戏。

2 contestant   

n.竞争者，参加竞赛者

参考例句：

• The company will furnish each contestant with a free ticket.公司将为每个参赛者免费提供一张票。
• The personal appearance and interview of the contestant is another count.参加比赛者的个人仪表和谈话也是一项。

3 flipped   

轻弹( flip的过去式和过去分词 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥

参考例句：

• The plane flipped and crashed. 飞机猛地翻转，撞毁了。
• The carter flipped at the horse with his whip. 赶大车的人扬鞭朝着马轻轻地抽打。

4 pawn   

n.典当，抵押，小人物，走卒；v.典当，抵押

参考例句：

• He is contemplating pawning his watch.他正在考虑抵押他的手表。
• It looks as though he is being used as a political pawn by the President.看起来他似乎被总统当作了政治卒子。

5 poker   

n.扑克；vt.烙制

参考例句：

• He was cleared out in the poker game.他打扑克牌，把钱都输光了。
• I'm old enough to play poker and do something with it.我打扑克是老手了，可以玩些花样。

6 dwarf   

n.矮子，侏儒，矮小的动植物；vt.使…矮小

参考例句：

• The dwarf's long arms were not proportional to his height.那侏儒的长臂与他的身高不成比例。
• The dwarf shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. 矮子耸耸肩膀，摇摇头。

7 reindeer   

n.驯鹿

参考例句：

• The herd of reindeer was being trailed by a pack of wolves.那群驯鹿被一只狼群寻踪追赶上来。
• The life of the Reindeer men was a frontier life.驯鹿时代人的生活是一种边区生活。

8 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

9 wrath   

n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒

参考例句：

• His silence marked his wrath. 他的沉默表明了他的愤怒。
• The wrath of the people is now aroused. 人们被激怒了。

10 equestrian   

adj.骑马的；n.马术

参考例句：

• They all showed extraordinary equestrian skills.他们的骑术都很高超。
• I want to book two equestrian tickets.我想订两张马术比赛的票。

11 jolt   

v.（使）摇动，（使）震动，（使）颠簸

参考例句：

• We were worried that one tiny jolt could worsen her injuries.我们担心稍微颠簸一下就可能会使她的伤势恶化。
• They were working frantically in the fear that an aftershock would jolt the house again.他们拼命地干着，担心余震可能会使房子再次受到震动。

12 cannon   

n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮

参考例句：

• The soldiers fired the cannon.士兵们开炮。
• The cannon thundered in the hills.大炮在山间轰鸣。

13 intern   

v.拘禁，软禁；n.实习生

参考例句：

• I worked as an intern in that firm last summer.去年夏天我在那家商行实习。
• The intern bandaged the cut as the nurse looked on.这位实习生在护士的照看下给病人包扎伤口。

14 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

15 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。