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
amount of labor expended with a certain labour productivity
babylonia valentiana
Basstrup's disease
beetleskins
bicrons
budner
caduciferous
Calamariaceae
canadolic acid
capable person
carotid bifurcation
central control line
challan
cladoxylopsid
codiscoverer
compass compensating instrument
composite micromechanics
conservative character
constantness
crsp
current balancing autotransformer
dally with sb
drag bookkeeping
ecr (explicit cell rate)
elth
extreme drought
extreme right-winger
far-seeing plan
Fractal Distribution
FTO
gating line-scan
gieske
gluten free
grammaring
hafnium metal powder
Haib
hapludult
hawaiian guitars
haybird
hypothesising
index of estimate
insert as plain text
jet propulsion thermodynamics
Kyunhla
laminae interstitialis
law of possibility
level winding device
Liopropomatina
liter atmosphere
low-energy electron phosphor
lullingly
magneto-galvanic effect
manufacture of dangerous drug
mendosicute
mesalazines
methionyls
micro-chips
micropublishing system
Morbihan
morongius
nardosin
narrow-band amplifier
nasoseptascop
neck ruff
Newton-le-Willows
non-engagements
nonarmoured
nusantara
orthetrum japonicum internum
overraking
own house
palladiumgold
pantagraphs
personal reference
Peru balsam
phenmiazine
phytostabilization
pillarist
pitiability
polyadenomatosis
public switched telephone network
sea surface reverberation
shah rakht
single prime ideal
ssea
stand-by one
static print-out
Styrax tonkinensis Pierre
tamquam
tar stripper naphtha vapours
therapeutic schedule
time stamp token
trienynol
Urana, L.
urtica macroorhiza hand.-mazz.
veil cloud
water-bearing
Wattiwarriganna R.
weather and climate monitoring
windsor ties
wood decking
Xanthium L.