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The Maestros of Myths 破除流言的大师

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繁體中文譯本

This television show tests the myth that education can’t be fun  谁说教育不可能寓教于乐？电视节目《流言终结者》就要测试一下这个迷思

MythBusters shouldn’t be the cable phenomenon it has become.

照理说《流言终结者》（译注：myth原指迷思、没有事实根据的论点，但该节目正式中文名称把它译为流言）应该不可能成为在有线电视界爆红的特殊现象才对啊！

The hosts of the Discovery Channel series constantly bicker. Educational material often gets abruptly inserted in the middle of moments of entertainment. The cable show is produced by 25 people in a strip mall workshop and not on a fancy set. And almost every episode ends with a big explosion.

这个「探索频道」系列电视节目的主持人老是在斗嘴，此外，教育性质的节目往往被突兀地穿插在娱乐节目中间，而且这个有线电视节目是由廿五名工作人员，利用购物商城充当工作室制作而成，录制场景一点也不花俏；再加上几乎每集节目都以轰然巨响的爆炸划下句点。

There is just no way this show should be such a monster hit. But it is. Hosts Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage are such big cable stars that tickets for a lecture stop in California last year sold out faster than a recent Hannah Montana concert. Fans of all ages and genders turn to the myth-busting duo for a weekly fix of science, silliness and sensational stunts.

这个节目照理讲根本不可能爆红才对，但事实上它却正是如此。主持人杰米．海纳和亚当．萨维奇（译注：之后将按节目中称呼以杰米和亚当称之）成了有线电视节目巨星，他们去年在加州举行的一场演讲会的门票，居然比最近孟汉纳（译注：「迪斯尼」频道同名电视影集女主角）的音乐会更快销售一空。不分年龄层、不分性别的所有粉丝，每周都锁定看这对戳破迷思的双人档主持人，欣赏这个集结科学、蠢花招和耸动的惊险动作的节目。

Savage couldn’t hide the enthusiasm on his face as he worked on his latest contraption: a device to simulate how an injured fish acts in the water. It was for an episode that aired on the cable channel’s “Shark Week” last summer. The Mythbusters “Shark Week” episodes were filmed in the Bahamas. A few weeks earlier, the team was in Alaska to examine myths associated with the far north.

亚当在着手做他最新的奇特发明物时，脸上难掩兴奋神情。模仿鱼受伤时的水中反应的这个装置，是为了「探索」有线电视频道去年夏季「鲨鱼周」特别节目所准备的。《流言终结者》的「鲨鱼周」系列节目都是在巴哈马所拍摄。几周之前，节目制作团队远赴阿拉斯加，以检验和这个遥远的北方地带相关的迷思。

Since MythBuster launched in 2003, Hyneman and Savage have traded theories and verbal jabs for 100 episodes. They are two guys who end up disagreeing more than seeing eye-to-eye. Where they’re in harmony is how to bust myths.

自《流言终结者》在二００三年首度播出以来，杰米和亚当已经用各种理论和你来我往的言语交锋换到了一百集节目的主持经验。其实这两位仁兄意见相左的机率，远超过于英雄所见略同的次数，而他们只有对戳破迷思该采何种方法，意见一致。

“Every time we build something, we learn it is always best to simplify, simplify, simplify,” says Savage.

「每回当我们想打造某个东西时，我们学到的是，应该简化、简化、再简化，简化永远是最佳之道，」亚当说道。

That simplicity, the pair agree, is a reason the show is popular. It’s easy for an average viewer to see exactly what they have concocted. Savage calls it the “transparent” effect. “Basically, we are learning the science at the same time as the viewer.”

两人一致同意，简单明了就是节目之所以广受欢迎的原因之一。一般观众很容易就可以完全看懂他们两人混合制出的成果。亚当称之为「透明」效应，「基本上，我们其实是和观众同时一起学习。」

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maestro [ˋmaɪstro] n. 大师，名家

strip mall【美】购物商城; 单排商业区；沿公路商业区 a shopping complex, divided into separate stores and businesses with parking spaces in front of each one

workshop [ˋwɝk͵ʃɑp] n. 工作室，工场; 小工厂

fancy [ˋfænsɪ] adj. 别致的；花俏的；花式的

no way【口】决不; 无论如何也不 not possibly

lecture [ˋlɛktʃɚ] n. 授课；演讲

sell out（门票等）全部预售完的

fix [fɪks] n. 解决方案(或措施) informal something that repairs or restores; a solution

stunt [stʌnt] n. 惊人的表演，绝技；惊险动作

contraption [kənˋtræpʃən] n.【口】新发明物，新玩意儿；奇妙的机械 a device or machine that looks awkward or old-fashioned, especially one that you do not know how to use

simulate [ˋsɪmjə͵let] v. 模仿，模拟

Bahamas [bəˋhɑməz] n. 巴哈马（位于西印度群岛）

trade [tred] v. 用…进行交换; 互相交换[（+for）]to pass back and forth

verbal jabs 言语交锋 a quickly spoken insult or annoying comment, sometimes said in humor

jab [dʒæb] n. 抨击；攻击

concoct [kənˋkɑkt] v. 图谋；策划; 调制；调合 to make something by adding several different parts together, often in a way that is original or not planned

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课文讲解

The pair may not be scientists, but they have had an impact on the science world. Hyneman explains that the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, one of America’s top science technology schools, has changed its teaching methods because of the cable series. He says school officials have told him that, in the past, the school focused on the theoretical part of science. Now classes include more attention to the practical part of science.

这两人或许不是科学家，但却对科学界造成了冲击。杰米解释说，全美顶尖科技学府之一的「麻省理工学院」改变了学校的教学方式，正是受到这个有线电视系列节目的影响。他表示，校方告诉他，该校过去把重点锁定在科学的理论层面，但如今课程则更加注重于科学的实用层面。

Ideas for myths come from many sources, including suggestions from fans through the Internet. The basic rule for a myth to be tackled: It has to have a grain of truth.

节目的迷思点子来源五花八门，其中也包括迷哥迷姐透过网络传来的建议。他们着手破除的迷思必须符合一个基本规则：那就是它必须含有一丝真理。

“A good urban legend is something that actually did happen, but it got twisted in the telling over time,” Hyneman says. “We try to find that initial core.”

「一个好的都会奇谭，是实际发生过的真实事件，但是在口口相传的过程中，故事内容后来遭到了扭曲，」杰米说道，「我们企图挖掘出那最初的核心真相。」

Where It All Happens  节目制作地点搜密

The room with the most bits and pieces of past myths is at the top of the stairs from the main work area. The blueprint room, where the pair discuss each myth before and after their hands-on efforts, is filled with props from past shows.

位在主工作区楼梯最顶端的房间，收藏了最多节目破除迷思所使用的道具。蓝图室布满了过去节目用过的道具，亚当和杰米在亲手操作各种装置的前后，都会在这里进行讨论。

A few blocks away, at another industrial strip mall, is the second workshop where the show’s Build Team of Tory Belleci, Kari Byron and Grant Imahara are busy with their own myth busting. The three are working on an episode that examines Ninja myths.

隔几条的另一处工业购物商城里，还有第二处工作室，托瑞．贝雷西、凯利．拜伦和葛伦特．伊玛哈拉等节目「制作小组」则忙着进行他们自己的迷思终结方案。三人目前正着手于检验忍者迷思的一集节目。

Each of the team members brings a different skill or strength to the team. Imahara is an electronics whiz. Byron provided an artistic touch. And Belleci is either the model builder or the muscle.

每位成员都把不同的技能和长处带进这个团队里。伊玛哈拉是电子奇才，拜伦则有艺术长才，贝雷西擅长打造模型，同时还是个肌肉男。

Work on future MythBusters projects continues at both shops. In a few hours, the team will head to the airport for its next big road trip. That will be another opportunity for the group to experience just how popular the show has become.

两处工作室同时进行《流言终结者》未来集数的筹备。不出几小时后，团队将赶赴机场，准备踏上下一趟长途车程，而这也是这个团队可以体验到节目多有人气的另一次契机。

−by Rick Bentley

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grain [gren] n.（常用于否定句）一点儿[C][（+of）]

urban legend 都会奇谭; 都会传说 a widely circulated story – often with elements of humor or horror – that is popularly believed to be true, but is usually false

twist [twɪst] v. 歪曲; 曲解

bits and pieces 零碎东西; 零碎杂物 small things of different types

prop [prɑp] n.【口】道具（= property）

Ninja [ˋnɪndʒə] n.【日】忍者（受专门训练充当间谍、刺客的日本武士）a Japanese fighter, especially in the past, who moves and acts without being seen

touch [tʌtʃ] n. 格调，风格；特点; 特长，才能 a specific ability

muscle [ˋmʌs!] n.【俚】打手；保镖 a bully employed as a thug or bodyguard

road trip 搭车长途旅行 a long trip via automobile

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Vocabulary Focus

phenomenon [fəˋnɑmə͵nɑn] n. 奇迹，稀有现象 something special, especially because it is entirely different

bicker [ˋbɪkɚ] n. 吵嘴，争吵 to argue about unimportant matters

abruptly [əˋbrʌptlɪ] adv. 突然地；意外地 in a sudden and unexpected manner, sometimes with unpleasant results

see eye-to-eye (与某人)看法完全一致 to agree with someone about an issue

theoretical [͵θiəˋrɛtɪk!] adj. 理论的；非应用的 based on the ideas that relate to a subject, not the practical uses of that subject

a grain of truth 一丝真理; 一点儿可信的东西 a small percentage of factual basis

whiz [hwɪz] n. 熟手；能手；奇才 a person with a very high level of skill or knowledge in a particular subject

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