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The MythBusters: Acting Silly in the Name of Science 流言终结者

課文朗讀

課文中英文講解

繁體中文譯本

If you pee on an electric fence, will you get electrocuted and die? A lot of people think you will, but are they right? A new and very entertaining TV show called MythBusters might just have the answer.

假如你尿在通了电的铁丝网上，你会遭电击致死吗?很多人觉得会，但他们是对的吗?一个娱乐性十足的新电视节目叫做《流言终结者》，也许可以给你答案。

Mythbusters does exactly what its name suggests: it challenges the truth of modern myths. Now “myth” here doesn’t refer to ancient stories about gods or dragons. Instead, it refers to common, but often wrong, beliefs about what is or isn’t possible. For example, many people believe that they can cause a fire at a gas station by using a cell phone. But the MythBusters prove that this is not true. Really! They show that you can not only talk on your cell phone but even open its case, pull out some wires, and still not cause a fire.

《流言终结者》名符其实地挑战那些现代迷思的真实性。「流言」(另外有神话的意思)在这里指的不是那些关于众神或飞龙的古老故事，而是指对于可能或不可能的是有些常见却谬误看法。举例来说，许多人认为在加油站使用手机会引发火灾，但流言终结者证明了那是错的。真的!他们证明了你不只可以在加油站讲手机，还可以打开手机的外壳、把里面的线路扯掉，且仍不会造成火灾。

One of the most entertaining aspects of MythBusters is watching the hosts build elaborate sets and props to test the different myths. When they want to know whether or not you can make a bullet out of ice and fire it. For instance, they really try it (but the bullet melts). And when they want to see if you can lift yourself off the ground using a vacuum cleaner engine (surprisingly, yes), they build the most ingenious contraptions you’ve ever seen.

《流言终结者》这个节目最有趣的地方之一是，看着主持人建造精密的道具来测试各种流言传说。比如说，当他们想知道能不能用冰块做一颗子弹然后发射时，他们就真的试着去做(但子弹却融化了)。而当他们想看到底能不能用吸尘器的引擎把自己抬离地面时(不可思议地，可以耶!)，他们就造一个你所见过最具巧思的玩意。

“Separating fact from fiction” is the MythBusters’ motto. And if it sounds too serious, just remember that this show is also a lot of fun to watch.

「区分事实与虚构」是流言终结者的座右铭。如这听起来太严肃，只要记得，这个节目也有许多好玩的东西可以看。

Vocabulary

entertaining [͵ɛntɚˋtenɪŋ] adj. 使人愉快的；有趣的

aspect [ˋæspɛkt] n. 方面

host [host] n. 节目主持人

elaborate [ɪˋlæbə͵ret] adj. 精巧的；详尽的

ingenious [ɪnˋdʒinjəs] adj. 制作精巧的；巧妙的

More Information

pee [pi] v. 【粗】撒尿

electrocute [ɪˋlɛktrə͵kjut] v. 使触电致死

refer to: 提到; 谈论 to mention or talk about someone or something

pull out 拔出

prop [prɑp] n.【口】道具

vacuum [ˋvækjʊəm]cleaner（真空）吸尘器

contraption [kənˋtræpʃən] n.【口】新发明物，新玩意儿；奇妙的机械

motto [ˋmɑto] n. 座右铭；格言

課文中英文講解

Every week on the popular TV show MythBusters, hosts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman test the truth or falsity of three common urban legends. One of the funniest episodes concerns the question “Is tomato juice really the best way to get rid of the smell if you have been sprayed by a skunk?”

在《流言终结者》这个颇受欢迎的节目中，每个星期主持人亚当赛维奇和杰米海里曼会测试三项常见都会传说的真实性。其中最有趣的一集是有关「假如你被臭鼬的臭液喷到，蕃茄汁真的是去除臭味的最好方法吗?」

“Ho hum,” you might think, “what’s so funny about that?” Well, for starters, the hosts begin the experiment by stripping down to their underwear and getting into a cage with a live skunk. They then have trouble getting the skunk to cooperate and spray them. Jamie and Adam try startling the skunk, singing to it, turning on power tools nearby, and even begging it. But the skunk, as Jamie says, has the good nature of a buddha.

嗯哼，你可能会想那有什么好玩的?这个嘛，首先两位主持人把衣服脱到只剩下内衣裤，然后钻进一个里面有只活臭鼬的笼子里开始实验，但他们无法使臭鼬合作，对他们喷臭液。杰米和亚当便试着吓牠、对牠唱歌、打开附近的电动工具，甚至球牠。但正如杰米所说的，那只臭鼬却有着菩萨般的好心肠。

Eventually Adam and Jamie get sprayed and are able to test the various remedies for getting rid of the smell. The best results come from amixture of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and dish soap – but not tomato juice. Another myth busted!

后来亚当和杰米终于被臭鼬喷了，能测试去除臭味的各种方法了。实验结果最有效的是双氧水、小苏打和洗碗精的混合物，而不是蕃茄汁。又一个传说被证实为不实啰!

The hosts of MythBusters encourage viewers to send in their myth-busting suggestions. Why not write to them and suggest they come to Taiwan? Perhaps they can figure out if it’s really true that throwing a lower tooth up onto the roof will help the new one grow in more beautifully.

《流言终结者》的主持人鼓励观众把他们想建议测试的传说寄到节目中。何不写信给他们，建议他们来台湾?也许他们可以找出，到底把一颗下排牙齿掉到屋顶上可以让新牙齿长的比较好看这种说法是不是真的。

－By Robert Kelly

Vocabulary

spray [spre] v. 喷洒

cooperate [koˋɑpə͵ret] v. 合作

startle [ˋstɑrt!] v. 使惊吓

remedy [ˋrɛmədɪ] n. 治疗；治疗法

mixture [ˋmɪkstʃɚ] n. 混合物；混合

More Information

falsity [ˋfɔlsətɪ] n.【正式】虚假﹐不（真）实

episode [ˋɛpə͵sod] n.（电视等的）连续剧的一出（或一集）

for starters: 首先; 作为开头 as a beginning

strip down to: 脱去; 拆开 to remove the covering of someone or something down to the lowest level

buddha [ˋbʊdə] n. 佛陀

bust [bʌst] v. 打破; 破除

send in 呈送,递交

grow in  长出来(指牙齿; 指甲)

Reading Questions

1. What is the main idea of this article?

A. MythBusters finds out if myths are true or not.

B. MythBusters is a really entertaining TV show.

C. MythBusters is a TV show to educate the TV viewers.

D. MythBusters builds elaborate sets.

2. What does “myth” mean in this story?

A. An old story about how the god of love makes people fall in love.

B. A mistaken idea that many people believe.

C. A story about why the dragon is regarded highly in Chinese culture.

D. A test to see whether something is true or not.

3. How do the hosts of the show decide whether myths are true or not?

A. They call experts for their opinions.

B. They find out what most people believe.

C. They put the myths to the test.

D. They ask the viewers to send in their answers.

4. What does Jamie mean when he says that the skunk has “the good nature of a buddha”?

A. That the skunk is very wise.

B. That the skunk likes to think carefully about something.

C. That the skunk wouldn’t spray him.

D. That the skunk comes from China.

Answer