VOA标准英语2011--American Youth Prep for Summer Camp

American Youth Prep for Summer Camp

Summertime is almost upon us in America, and even though millions of children will be home from school, they won't necessarily be under their parents' feet the whole time. A lot of them will be off to summer camp for a week or two or more.
At rustic¹ locales with catchy² names like "Camp Hiawatha," summer camp has traditionally meant fresh air and mountain streams, nature walks and horseback rides, arts and crafts; roasted marshmallows, ghost stories and songs around a campfire.
Little ditties such as "There was a farmer had a dog, and Bingo was his name-oh.[clap-clap]-N-G-O. [clap-clap]-N-G-O. . . ."
Sometimes there'd be a Camp Gitchi-gumi for boys on one side of a river and a Camp Sunshine for girls on the other - and it was the counselors³' daily challenge to keep it that way.
Then camps began to specialize, offering intense training in chess or Hebrew or hockey. You could find survivalist camps, fat kids' camps, violinists' camps, camps for kids with diabetes⁴ - even camps for boy scouts⁵ who speak Ukrainian.
Nowadays, summer camp is even MORE specialized⁶. You don't just go to soccer camp. You go to camp for goalkeepers. Not just to computer camp but to camp for Internet web designers. Not just to culinary camp but to camp for mushroom-lovers. There are American Indian camps and Asian Indian camps, test preparation camps, camps in caves, camps where you hunt bugs⁷, and camps based on the fictional⁸ boy wizard Harry⁹ Potter.
There's even something called "cyber camp," though we're not sure you actually GO there.
You name it: there's probably a summer camp for it. But it may take a while to find a simple "camp camp" where you can sing "[clap-clap-clap]-G-O and Bingo was his name-oh."

1 rustic   

adj.乡村的，有乡村特色的；n.乡下人，乡巴佬

参考例句：

• It was nearly seven months of leisurely rustic living before Michael felt real boredom.这种悠闲的乡村生活过了差不多七个月之后,迈克尔开始感到烦闷。
• We hoped the fresh air and rustic atmosphere would help him adjust.我们希望新鲜的空气和乡村的氛围能帮他调整自己。

2 catchy   

adj.易记住的，诡诈的，易使人上当的

参考例句：

• We need a new slogan.The old one's not catchy enough.我们需要新的口号，旧的不够吸引人。
• The chorus is very catchy to say the least.副歌部分很容易上口。

3 counselors   

n.顾问( counselor的名词复数 )；律师；（使馆等的）参赞；（协助学生解决问题的）指导老师

参考例句：

• Counselors began an inquiry into industrial needs. 顾问们开始调查工业方面的需要。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We have experienced counselors available day and night. ) 这里有经验的法律顾问全天候值班。） 来自超越目标英语 第4册

4 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

5 scouts   

侦察员[机，舰]( scout的名词复数 )； 童子军； 搜索； 童子军成员

参考例句：

• to join the Scouts 参加童子军
• The scouts paired off and began to patrol the area. 巡逻人员两个一组，然后开始巡逻这个地区。

6 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。

7 bugs   

adj.疯狂的，发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 )；病菌；虫子；[计算机]（制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的）错误

参考例句：

• All programs have bugs and need endless refinement. 所有的程序都有漏洞，都需要不断改进。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 fictional   

adj.小说的，虚构的

参考例句：

• The names of the shops are entirely fictional.那些商店的名字完全是虚构的。
• The two authors represent the opposite poles of fictional genius.这两位作者代表了天才小说家两个极端。

9 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。