时间:2019-01-14 作者:英语课 分类:VOA标准英语2011年(十月)


英语课

Survival Guides Turn Nerds into Action Hero


 


A few years ago, David Borgenicht, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was a book agent. Then one day, he read an article that gave him an idea for his own book.



He and a friend - magazine writer Joshua Piven - produced an instant best-seller that developed almost a cult 1 following. It’s about life-and-death situations - and how to survive them.



The article that David Borgenicht was reading told people how they might safely land a small plane if the pilot passes out. It got him thinking about other hair-raising situations in movies and TV shows. Of course it’s one thing for an action hero to leap from a moving motorcycle into a car or fend 2 off a killer 3 shark.



But how would ordinary, out-of-shape readers do it? How would they wrestle 4 free from an alligator 5, for example, or survive if their parachutes do not open, or escape from a mountain lion?



Borgenicht and Piven produced a pocket-sized book called The Worst-Case Scenario 6 Survival Handbook. In its first eight months, it sold more than one million copies and has been reprinted at least a dozen times.









Great white shark bearing down on you? No worries, consult the "The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook."




Killer bees chasing you? Not a problem. Lost in the desert? Turn to Page 129. Need to build a fire but don’t have any matches? No sweat, write Borgenicht and Piven, who are themselves just ordinary physical specimens 7.



Other advice? If you find yourself on top of a moving train, here’s how to survive: don’t stand up.



And what if a bull is charging you? Not to worry, say the authors: don’t antagonize the bull; do not move; look for an escape route; if one is not available, remove an article of clothing, such as your shirt; throw the clothing away from you and run for your life in another direction.



Common sense, perhaps, but it could come in handy. The authors have since produced a whole series of guides, reality television shows, and calendars about surviving everything from traveling to college to a game of golf.



We should note that, despite the helpful tips, the Worst Case Survival books are sold in the humor section of bookstores.



n.异教,邪教;时尚,狂热的崇拜
  • Her books aren't bestsellers,but they have a certain cult following.她的书算不上畅销书,但有一定的崇拜者。
  • The cult of sun worship is probably the most primitive one.太阳崇拜仪式或许是最为原始的一种。
v.照料(自己),(自己)谋生,挡开,避开
  • I've had to fend for myself since I was 14.我从十四岁时起就不得不照料自己。
  • He raised his arm up to fend branches from his eyes.他举手将树枝从他眼前挡开。
n.杀人者,杀人犯,杀手,屠杀者
  • Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
  • The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。
vi.摔跤,角力;搏斗;全力对付
  • He taught his little brother how to wrestle.他教他小弟弟如何摔跤。
  • We have to wrestle with difficulties.我们必须同困难作斗争。
n.短吻鳄(一种鳄鱼)
  • She wandered off to play with her toy alligator.她开始玩鳄鱼玩具。
  • Alligator skin is five times more costlier than leather.鳄鱼皮比通常的皮革要贵5倍。
n.剧本,脚本;概要
  • But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
  • This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。
n.样品( specimen的名词复数 );范例;(化验的)抽样;某种类型的人
  • Astronauts have brought back specimens of rock from the moon. 宇航员从月球带回了岩石标本。
  • The traveler brought back some specimens of the rocks from the mountains. 那位旅行者从山上带回了一些岩石标本。 来自《简明英汉词典》
学英语单词
AFFMA
airy fairy
amortization of debt discount
augmentor fibers
bagged up
bardd
brickers
bullseye
cabin differential pressure
cable vessel
card chase
centrolobium robustums
Chilahuala
chilvers
Clostridium caloritolerans
common-law lawyer
contact plunger
credit relaxation
cymbidium goeringii serratum
cystic disease of lung pseudocysts of lung
dentine forming layer
derester wife
dibona
Dicusat
diffuse heat radiation
dinner-house
direct drying
dispersion-equalization
earmould
effect of ultrasound
efficient customer response system
escuage
Filipendula glaberrima
flavum
functionalists
galactophore
genogroups
good figure
haemes
high fill embankment
higher specific-speed Francis turbine
hilus pulmonic beat
honey-bee
hydroxyindon
in opere citato
instruction step
interlock protection of shore power connection
isocyanate generator
juices up
Kinney's yeast extract
knotting needle
linguistic features
long-time trend
MABF
macrocracking
maneuverability maneuver
Members of Parliament
memory under test
metallic line
migration inhibition factor
miscellaneous income
Monodon monoceros
moutonnee hummock
multiple hemorrhagic sarcoma
natural stopping test
Nikitinka
noncommutative domain
oil in water type coolant
Ophionyssus
oryctology
osteozecathia
oxidation preventive
Phocoenoides
platinocyanid, platinocyanide
polygon walls
puldron
pull ... back
put sth to one side
pyripropanol
quinch
rate of boiling
Renewable fuels
reroute traffic
S.Afr.
sea hedgehog
semiautomatic systems
short period damping
speaker-dependent recognition
spit game
splitter switch
stationer's
stress-strain loop
Sufist
sulfino-
technical rally
trapezoidal wave
Tursunzade
user language 1
ventricular septum
voltage controlled attenuator
Yuzhnoural'sk
zildes