美国国家公共电台 NPR 'People Are Afraid Of Cinema': Fran?ois Ozon Takes On Church Sexual Abuse

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

If you've spent any time around ice arenas¹, you know this signature sound.

(SOUNDBITE OF ZAMBONI WHIRRING)

SIMON: It's a Zamboni. Even the name sounds magical - Zamboni. Zamboni, circling the rink, replacing the bad, old ice with a new surface that's immaculate and smooth. As the philosopher Charlie Brown once observed in that seminal² work, "She's A Good Skate, Charlie Brown"...

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "SHE'S A GOOD SKATE, CHARLIE BROWN")

ARRIN SKELLEY: (As Charlie Brown) There are three things in life that people like to stare at - a flowing stream, a crackling fire and a Zamboni clearing the ice.

SIMON: This year marks the 70th year they've been able to do that, thanks to Frank Zamboni, a Californian with an ice rink and a problem.

PAULA COONY: It took a significant amount of time and labor³ to resurface the ice.

SIMON: That's Paula Coony, spokesperson for the Zamboni Company.

COONY: It took four or five people with planer and some squeegees and some hoses close to an hour and a half to do the resurfacing.

SIMON: That's an hour and a half when people could be paying to skate. So Frank Zamboni took some war surplus parts, including a Jeep chassis⁴, and almost a decade. By 1949, he had concocted⁵ a machine to make quick work of that rough, old ice.

COONY: It took that hour and a half down to about a 10- or 15-minute resurfacing.

SIMON: Ten to 15 minutes. Now, this machine was supposed to be a miracle Frank Zamboni used only at his skating rink, but know who came to that rink one day?

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED ANNOUNCER: Now, Chris Linden (ph), our petite star to entertain you with an exhibition of free skating.

SIMON: Norway's three-time Olympic gold champion figure skater and Hollywood star Sonja Henie. She was in Paramount⁶, Calif., with her traveling ice revue and needed a place to practice. Frank Zamboni was ready to impress.

COONY: He brought this machine out on the ice. She lovingly later referred to it as the monstrosity. And she said, I'll take two.

SIMON: Sonja Henie loved how quickly it made the ice glassy and clean, like a Nordic pond - not that I've ever seen one. She got her own Zambonis and took them on tour. Other ice rink owners didn't want to miss out on the ice-shaving revolution. And before long, Frank Zamboni was building the company and supplying Zambonis all over the world.

(SOUNDBITE OF ZAMBONI WHIRRING)

SIMON: Today, the company estimates there are nearly 12,000 Zambonis in use. There are other brands of ice resurfacers - Olympia, the Okay Elektra. And FYI, it is not polite to call them all Zambonis. It's like calling every cola a Coke.

But what's it like to actually drive a Zamboni? Ask the Iceman.

JIMMY MACNEIL: Everybody looks at you and thinks that this is such an easy job.

SIMON: Jimmy - Iceman - MacNeil of Brantford, Ontario. He was the Zamboni Driver of the Year in 1999. Can you name any of them? The Iceman says...

MACNEIL: Driving the Zamboni is a little bit of science. It's an art. You have levers. You have buttons.

SIMON: And a lot to worry about if you want to hold onto that trophy⁷. There's an ice-cutting blade and two water tanks, a spinning brush to clear the snow from the sides of the rink as the Zamboni drives by at the breakneck speed of 5 miles an hour. And even though he's been driving Zambonis for four decades, Jimmy - Iceman - MacNeil still watches his back.

MACNEIL: I can almost guarantee there isn't one driver that hasn't come off the ice and had some hockey fan or figure skating fan say, you missed a spot.

SIMON: Yeah, pal⁸ - your mouth.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ZAMBONI")

GEAR DADDIES: (Singing) Hey, I want to drive the Zamboni. Hey, I want to drive the Zamboni.

1 arenas   

表演场地( arena的名词复数 )； 竞技场； 活动或斗争的场所或场面； 圆形运动场

参考例句：

• Demolition derbies are large-scale automobile rodeos that take place in big arenas. 撞车比赛指的是在很大的竞技场上举行的大型汽车驾驶技术表演。
• Are there areas of privacy in the most public of arenas? 在绝大部分公开的场合中存在需要保护隐私的领域吗？

2 seminal   

adj.影响深远的；种子的

参考例句：

• The reforms have been a seminal event in the history of the NHS.这些改革已成为英国国民保健制度史上影响深远的一件大事。
• The emperor's importance as a seminal figure of history won't be diminished.做为一个开创性历史人物的重要性是不会减弱的。

3 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

4 chassis   

n.汽车等之底盘；（飞机的）起落架；炮底架

参考例句：

• The new parts may include the sheet metal,the transmission,or the chassis.新部件可能包括钢壳，变速器或底盘。
• Can chassis and whole-vehicle manufacturers co-exist peacefully?底盘企业和整车企业能相安无事吗？

5 concocted   

v.将（尤指通常不相配合的）成分混合成某物( concoct的过去式和过去分词 )；调制；编造；捏造

参考例句：

• The soup was concocted from up to a dozen different kinds of fish. 这种汤是用多达十几种不同的鱼熬制而成的。
• Between them they concocted a letter. 他们共同策划写了一封信。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 paramount   

a.最重要的，最高权力的

参考例句：

• My paramount object is to save the Union and destroy slavery.我的最高目标是拯救美国，摧毁奴隶制度。
• Nitrogen is of paramount importance to life on earth.氮对地球上的生命至关重要。

7 trophy   

n.优胜旗，奖品，奖杯，战胜品，纪念品

参考例句：

• The cup is a cherished trophy of the company.那只奖杯是该公司很珍惜的奖品。
• He hung the lion's head as a trophy.他把那狮子头挂起来作为狩猎纪念品。

8 pal   

n.朋友，伙伴，同志；vi.结为友

参考例句：

• He is a pal of mine.他是我的一个朋友。
• Listen,pal,I don't want you talking to my sister any more.听着，小子，我不让你再和我妹妹说话了。