VOA慢速英语2011--A TV Quiz Show for Teens Turns 50

Education Report - A TV Quiz Show for Teens Turns 50

教育报道 - 美国青少年智力竞猜节目开播五十周年
This is the VOA Special English Education Report.
这里是美国之音慢速英语教育报道。
Question: Which program is in Guinness World Records as the world's longest running TV quiz show? Answer:
问题：吉尼斯世界记录中播出历史最久的电视智力竞猜节目是什么？答案就是：
MAC McGARRY: "It's Academic!"
It's Academic节目。
"It’s Academic" is a Saturday morning program for high school students. The show has aired in the Washington area for fifty years. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton competed on the show when she was a teenager.
It's Academic是一个面向高中学生的周六早间节目。该节目已经在华盛顿地区播出了50年之久。美国国务卿希拉里·克林顿年少时就参加过这个节目。
Teams from local schools face subjects like history, literature, math, science, religion, politics and sports.
来自当地学校的各个小组将回答历史、文学、数学、科学、宗教、政治和体育等科目的问题。
MAC McGARRY: "You should take a looooong look at these questions because all the clues contain the word long. Identify the following, number one: the 'Long Gray Line' refers to cadets at this US military academy¹. [Bell] Macgruder."
麦克·麦克格雷：“你必须花很长时间思考这些问题，因为所有线索中都包含long这个单词。判断以下问题，第一个问题，‘Long Gray Line’这部影片提到了这所军事学院的学员。（抢答铃）Macgruder高中队。”
注：Long Gray Line，美国影片名，国内译为“西点军魂”
MAGRUDER HIGH SCHOOL TEAM: "West Point."
Macgruder高中队：“西点军校。”
MAC McGARRY: "Right. He didn't live to see the staging of his drama 'Long Day's Journey Into Night.' [Bell] Magruder."
麦克格雷：“正确！他没能活到看到他的戏剧作品‘Long Day's Journey Into Night’的上演。（抢答铃））Macgruder高中队”
注：Long Day's Journey Into Night，国内译为《长夜漫漫路迢迢》，尤金·奥尼尔Eugene O'Neill(1888-1953)作品，在他去世后的1956年才在瑞典首演，并获得普利策奖。
MAGRUDER HIGH SCHOOL TEAM: "T.S. Eliot."
Macgruder高中队：“托马斯·斯特尔那斯·艾略特。”
注：T.S. Eliot，全名Thomas Stearns Eliot，戏剧家。
MAC McGARRY: "Eugene O'Neill. Sorry ... "
麦克格雷：“对不起，正确答案是尤金·奥尼尔。”
Susan Altman is the producer.
苏珊·奥尔特曼（Susan Altman）是该节目制作人。
SUSAN ALTMAN: “It's a great age group to work with. They’re fun, they’re enthusiastic, they say funny things without even meaning to half the time."
奥尔特曼：“与这个年龄段人群合作非常好。他们非常有趣，热情。经常会不自觉地说出一些很有趣的东西。”
Ms. Altman's mother, Sophie, was a TV producer in the nineteen fifties. She started "It's Academic" after local school officials asked her to create a program that showed outstanding students.
奥尔特曼女士的母亲索菲（Sophie）是上世纪50年代的电视制片人。当地学校官员邀请她创作一个展示优秀学生的节目，于是她创办了It's Academic节目。
SUSAN ALTMAN: “At that time -- nineteen sixty-one -- the United States was going through a lot of upheaval² with school integration³, and they wanted things to help out to make the schools look good and to show that integration could work and work well. So this is what she came up with.”
奥尔特曼：“当时是1961年，美国正经历众多学校整合剧变。他们希望能有什么来帮助学校看上去很好，并表明学校整合行之有效。于是她想到了这个节目。”
The show's host, Mac McGarry, says the teams became more diverse⁴ over the years.
节目主持人麦克格雷表示，多年来，参赛队伍变得更为多样化。
MAC McGARRY: "When we first started, the young people from various countries were not evident⁵ so much. Now, each program presents young people from all over the world, at least descendents from people all over the world."
麦克格雷：“当节目刚开始时，来自不同国家的年轻人并不那么明显。但现在，每期节目都有来自世界各地的学生参加，至少也是来自世界各地人们的后裔。”
Mac McGarry is eighty-four and has hosted "It’s Academic" since the beginning.
麦克格雷现在84岁，自节目开播以来就一直担任主持。
MAC MCGARRY: “Every time I look up, I see people who are just seventeen years old, and somehow I think, well, I must not be growing older at all. Their enthusiasm⁶ is contagious⁷, no question about it. You really have to rev⁸ yourself up to keep up with them.”
麦克格雷：“每次我抬头看到的都是仅17岁的年轻人。不知何故我就会想，我绝对不能变老。他们的热情极富感染力，这是毫无疑问的。你必须加快速度才能保持与他们步伐一致。”
More than twenty thousand students have appeared on the show. Mac McGarry has asked more than two hundred thousand questions and gotten more than a few funny answers.
超过2万名学生参加过这个节目。麦克格雷提出了超过20万个问题，也得到了很多有趣的答案。
MAC McGARRY: “We had a question one time: 'Who defeated Napoleon at Waterloo?' and the young fellow answered Duke Ellington. Another time, we had a question of 'Who along with Frederick Engel wrote the Communist Manifesto⁹?' Groucho Marx!"
麦克格雷：“有一次我们的问题是，‘谁在滑铁卢打败了拿破仑？’一个年轻人回答说是埃灵顿公爵（Duke Ellington）。还有一次，我们的问题是，‘谁和弗里德里希·恩格斯（Frederick Engels）一起创作《共产主义宣言》？’有人回答格劳乔·马克斯(Groucho Marx)!”
注：Duke Ellington，音乐人，爵士乐创新人物。Groucho Marx，电影演员。
The correct answers, of course, are the Duke of Wellington and Karl Marx. Kelly Reeder knows that. She led the team from Rockville High School in Maryland last year. Her school has won the championship on "It's Academic" several times.
正确答案当然是威灵顿公爵（Duke of Wellington）和卡尔·马克思（Karl Marx）。凯莉·理德知道这个答案。她去年率领马里兰州罗克维尔高中队参加了节目。她的学校曾多次获得It's Academic节目冠军。
KELLY REEDER: “Me and all the other people on the team, we’ve put in a lot of effort over the years and a lot of time to be where we are. It’s a really huge honor¹⁰ to end up on the A Team.”
理德：“我和团队中的其他人多年来付出了许多努力和时间才能站到这里，最终能够成为冠军队伍真的非常荣幸。”
And what do other students think?
其他学生怎么认为的呢？
KELLY REEDER: “My friends who are on 'It’s Academic' think it’s cool that I’m the captain of the A Team, but my friends who are not on 'It’s Academic' think it’s kind of funny.”
理德：“参加了It's Academic节目的朋友认为我作为冠军队伍的队长很酷，但没参加过节目的朋友只是觉得有趣。”
And that’s the VOA Special English Education Report. You can find a link to a video about "It’s Academic" at voanews.cn. I’m Christopher Cruise¹¹.
__
Contributing: Mike Richman

1 academy   

n.(高等)专科院校；学术社团，协会，研究院

参考例句：

• This is an academy of music.这是一所音乐专科学院。
• I visited Chinese Academy of Sciences yesterday.我昨天去访问了中国科学院。

2 upheaval   

n.胀起，(地壳)的隆起；剧变，动乱

参考例句：

• It was faced with the greatest social upheaval since World War Ⅱ.它面临第二次世界大战以来最大的社会动乱。
• The country has been thrown into an upheaval.这个国家已经陷入动乱之中。

3 integration   

n.一体化，联合，结合

参考例句：

• We are working to bring about closer political integration in the EU.我们正在努力实现欧盟內部更加紧密的政治一体化。
• This was the greatest event in the annals of European integration.这是欧洲统一史上最重大的事件。

4 diverse   

adj.不同的；相异的；多种多样的；形形色色的

参考例句：

• Spain is a composite of diverse traditions and people.西班牙是一个汇集了多种传统和民族的国家。
• Society is now much more diverse than ever before.当今社会较之以往任何时候都要丰富多彩得多。

5 evident   

adj.明显的，显然的，明白的

参考例句：

• It's evident to me that they have no experience in this work.在我看来，他们干这项工作没有经验是显而易见的。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

6 enthusiasm   

n.热情，激情；巨大兴趣；热衷的事物

参考例句：

• We set about our task at once with great enthusiasm.我们立刻兴致勃勃地干起来。
• A team which is full of enthusiasm is more likely to win.情绪高涨的球队更可能获胜。

7 contagious   

adj.传染性的，有感染力的

参考例句：

• It's a highly contagious infection.这种病极易传染。
• He's got a contagious laugh.他的笑富有感染力。

8 rev   

v.发动机旋转，加快速度

参考例句：

• It's his job to rev up the audience before the show starts.他要负责在表演开始前鼓动观众的热情。
• Don't rev the engine so hard.别让发动机转得太快。

9 manifesto   

n.宣言，声明

参考例句：

• I was involved in the preparation of Labour's manifesto.我参与了工党宣言的起草工作。
• His manifesto promised measures to protect them.他在宣言里保证要为他们采取保护措施。

10 honor   

n.光荣；敬意；荣幸；vt.给…以荣誉；尊敬

参考例句：

• I take your visit as a great honor.您的来访是我莫大的光荣。
• It is a great honor to receive that prize.能拿到那个奖是无上的光荣。

11 cruise   

v.巡航，航游，缓慢巡行；n.海上航游

参考例句：

• They went on a cruise to Tenerife.他们乘船去特纳利夫岛。
• She wants to cruise the canals of France in a barge.她想乘驳船游览法国的运河。