字神帝國英語天地

 今日主題：Snail Racing  蝸牛賽跑

 凱妃老師&派老師共同推薦：雅思聽力最好的課外教材：BBC
 康康精選雅思會考的主題，堅持每天精聽一定會進步的哦!!

 建議方法：
1. 先聽兩三遍 (不看文稿)
2. 再一句一句聽寫 (每句都要聽寫數遍，直到寫出85%以上的字)
3. 最後check文稿，看哪聽不出來，單字沒背過，還是發音不熟。
4. 堅持天天聽，就能每天進步哦。

 MP3音檔 (按右鍵可下載聽)：喜歡的同學，幫忙推或按讚哦~~
http://static.iyuba.com/sounds/minutes/41.mp3

 只有音檔怎夠，聽不懂地方，不用怕，康康幫你準備好中英文稿了：

 中英文稿：
Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English, I’m Rosie and with me today is Rob.
大家好，歡迎來到今天的BBC六分鐘英語學習，我是Rosie，和我一起的是Rob。
Hello there.
大家好。
In this programme, we take a look at an interesting story from this week’s news…
在今天的節目中，我們從本周的新聞中截取一段有趣的小故事奉獻給大家...
…and we teach you some useful vocabulary while we’re doing it!
在瞭解故事的同時，教授大家一些有用的詞彙。
This week’s story is about racing animals. Everyone will be familiar with horse racing, but can you think of any other animals that you can race?
本周的故事是關於動物比賽的。大家肯定對賽馬非常瞭解和熟知，但你能想像其他可以用來競賽的動物嗎？
Well I know that some people race greyhounds – that’s a particular breed of dog – or my granddad used to race pigeons!
好吧，我知道一些人用灰狗（獵犬）來比賽，這是一種特殊品種的狗，還有就是我爸爸曾用鴿子來比賽！
Did he? Well the animal we’re talking about today is a lot slower than dogs or pigeons.Today we’re going to be talking about snails.
真的嗎？今天我們談論的是一種比狗或鴿子速度慢的多的動物。我們今天將討論——蝸牛。
Snails? As in the slimy creatures with a shell that live in the garden?
蝸牛？帶著黏液的殼，住在花園裡的蝸牛？
Yes exactly. But before we delve into this weird sport, it is customary in 6 Minute English for me to ask you a quiz question!
是的，的確。但是在我們瞭解（鑽研）這項奇怪的運動之前，六分鐘英語的慣例是讓我來問你一個問題！
Yes it is… So, is this one going to be about snails, then?
好噠...那麼這個問題將是關於蝸牛的嗎？
Of course it is! The Giant African snail is the biggest snail in the world. But how big can it grow? Is it: a) 18cm long b) 36cm long c) 48cm long
當然是啦！大型非洲蝸牛是世界上最大的蝸牛。但是它能長到多大？18釐米長；36釐米長；48釐米長。
I wouldn’t like to come across any of those in my back garden! But I’ll say b) 36cm long.
儘管我不願意在我的後花園遇到任何長度的一隻！但我仍然會選36釐米長
Well, as ever, we will find out if you are right at the end of the programme. Now, let’s get back to the story about racing snails!
好的，像往常一樣，在節目最後我們來看看你的答案是否正確。現在，讓我們一起回到蝸牛賽跑的故事吧！
The Olympic Games may be over for another four years, but snail racing enthusiasts, or fans, hope that their sport might feature as an Olympic event one day!
對於下一個四年來說，本屆奧林匹克運動會已經結束，但是蝸牛競賽的愛好者或粉絲，卻希望他們喜愛的這項運動能夠在某天達到奧林匹克賽事的高度！
The 49th World Snail Racing Championships took place this week in the town of Lagardare in south west France.
第49屆世界蝸牛賽跑冠軍賽於本周在法國西南部的拉加戴爾鎮舉行。
The lively village has hosted, or held, the competition for the last thirty years and attracts many tourists to the village.
這個充滿生機的村莊已經主持或舉辦了三十年蝸牛賽跑冠軍賽，吸引了很多遊客到此一遊。
Listen to this first part of a report from BBC correspondent Chris Bockman. What word does he use to mean ‘tired and moving slowly?’
認真聽來自BBC通訊員Chris Bockman的第一段報告。看他用哪個詞來表示“疲憊而緩慢的前進”？
Master of ceremonies dressed in drag launches the start of the races - around 80 competitors place their snails on slippery tables with a red circle in the middle that acts as the starting point.The rules are pretty simple: the first snail that reaches the end of the table, around 70 centimetres from the centre, goes into the play offs with a final at the end. Under a searing heat of around 30 degrees centigrade, the snails, like humans, are a little sluggish.
典禮的主持人身著女人的禮服宣佈比賽開始，大約80名參賽者將他們的蝸牛放置在中央畫有紅線的光滑的桌子上，紅線作為比賽的起點。比賽規則相當簡單：第一 隻到達桌子終點的蝸牛，可以進入最後階段的加賽，比賽起點是桌子的中心，中心距離桌子邊緣即終點大約有70釐米。在外面大概30攝氏度的酷熱環境下，蝸牛 們就想人類一樣，都有點無精打采的。
So, did you hear the word?
你聽到了那個詞了嗎？
Yes, it was ’sluggish.’ It’s a really good way to describe feeling tired and slow.
是的，“sluggish”，這個詞以非常貼切的形式形容了疲勞和緩慢的感覺。
And snails certainly move pretty slowly. In the report, we also heard that the master of ceremonies, or the person who introduces the competition, was dressed ’in drag.’
蝸牛肯定移動的特別緩慢。報告中，我們還聽說了典禮主持人，或者稱之為介紹比賽的人員，身著一種叫做“drag”的服裝。
That’s a way to describe a man who is wearing women’s clothes.
這個詞用來形容穿著女人服裝的男人。
He starts the race off. Instead of the traditional phrase “Ready, steady, go,” the snail racing championships begin with “Ready, steady, slow!”
他宣佈比賽的開始。與傳統的“準備，穩定，出發”不同，蝸牛賽跑冠軍賽的發令口號卻是“準備，穩定，慢慢的！”。
Well, I suppose snails aren’t the fastest creatures in the world, and they are even slower when it’s hot outside. We heard in the report that the heat was described as ’searing’ – that means it’s very, very hot.
好吧，我想蝸牛並不是世界上最快的生物，當外面很炎熱時，他們爬行的更加緩慢。從報告中我們聽到用searing來形容天氣炎熱，意思是非常非常熱。
Even though the snails only have to travel 70 centimetres, the race is definitely not a sprint. A sprint is a short, very fast race.
即使蝸牛們只爬行70釐米，可比賽依然不能算是全速短跑。sprint是一種短而快的比賽。
It may not be fast, but there is a very important incentive - or reason to motivate - the snails.
雖然蝸牛比賽並不能稱之為快，但是對於蝸牛來說，這種比賽已經非常激勵它們了。
In the second part of the report, we’ll hear from Patrick Dubos, the mayor of the town. Listen out for the reason why a snail might want to be crowned the winner of the race…
在報告的第二段，我們聽來自舉辦蝸牛比賽的小鎮鎮長Patrick Dubos的講話。認真聽為什麼蝸牛想要被冠以比賽冠軍稱號...
After the competition, we sit down for a snail feast and eat 170kg of snails.We eat all of them, except for the winner, which I pardon, a bit like in bull fighting.
比賽結束後，所有人坐下來慶祝蝸牛節，吃掉170千克的蝸牛。我們把除了冠軍以外的所有參賽蝸牛吃掉，這個比賽有點類似於鬥牛賽。
So all of the snails are cooked and eaten at the end of the competition!
比賽最後，所有的蝸牛都被烹飪和吃掉。
Well, except the winning snail, which is pardoned.That means it is spared or saved from being eaten! Lucky thing!
除了冠軍蝸牛可以得到赦免。意思是他可以被免除被吃的命運!幸運的蝸牛！
Some people may think that it is cruel, or unkind, to eat the competitors.
一些人認為吃掉參賽蝸牛很殘忍或者不人道。
But snails are a very popular dish in this part of the world, of course.
但是在法國，蝸牛是人們餐盤中一道流行的美食。
Let’s hear the final part of the report from Chris Bockman. What are the snails cooked in?
讓我們聽來自Chris Bockman的最後一段報告。蝸牛放在什麼鍋中煮？
And this is the sound of the cook stirring two massive steaming cauldrons full of snails cooked in ham, tomatoes and garlic. They’ll be eaten and washed down with local red wine.
兩口巨大的蒸汽鍋中，所有的蝸牛和火腿、番茄以及大蒜一起翻炒。然後蝸牛被人們就著當地紅酒一起吃掉。
So all of the snails are cooked in massive cauldrons. That’s a huge cooking pot.
因此所有的蝸牛被放在巨大的蒸汽鍋中烹煮。這是很巨大的烹飪鍋。
Well, all but one. This year’s winner was a seven year old snail named Sebastian, who was given a trophy at the end of the competition.
是的，所有的蝸牛除了冠軍。本年度的冠軍是一隻7年大的蝸牛，名叫塞巴斯蒂安，在比賽結束時候被頒發獎盃。
I wonder if he’ll be back to defend his title next year?
我猜想這只蝸牛明年會不會再度參賽保住它的頭銜？
Well, we’ll just have to wait and see! Now, we’re coming to the end of the programme, so it’s time to find out the answer to the quiz question. I told you about the world’s biggest snail, the Giant African snail. Is it: a) 18cm long b) 36cm long c) 48cm long
我們等等看！節目基本到了尾聲，讓我們來找到問題的答案。我告訴過你世界上最大的蝸牛，巨型非洲蝸牛，18釐米長；36釐米長；48釐米長。
And I said b) 36cm long. So was I right?
我選B，對嗎？
And you were wrong! The world’s biggest snail is 18cm long and has a shell with a 9cm diameter.
世界上最大的蝸牛是18釐米長，它的殼有9釐米的直徑。
That’s still pretty big for a snail!
這真是相當大的蝸牛啊！
Yes it is. That’s all from us, but do join us again for more 6 Minute English from bbclearningenglish.com. Bye for now!
的確！這就是今天的所有內容，期待下一次加入我們的六分鐘英語，拜拜！
Bye!
拜拜！