美国国家公共电台 NPR John Oliver On Facts, Donald Trump And The Supreme Court For Dogs
时间：2019-01-16 作者：英语课 分类：2017年NPR美国国家公共电台2月
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
John Oliver returns to HBO this weekend, starting a new season of his satirical news show "Last Week Tonight." Just to avoid any confusion, the program returns on Sunday, which technically 1 means that "Last Week Tonight" returns next week, not actually tonight. Oliver is struggling with how to cover President Trump 2. And he spoke 3 this week about "Last Week Tonight" with NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik. And we have the talk this morning.
DAVID FOLKENFLIK, BYLINE 4: When we sat down at NPR studios in New York, Oliver was expansive, sharing his thoughts on his mentor 5 Jon Stewart.
JOHN OLIVER: I kind of learnt at his feet. He is the L. Ron Hubbard to my Tom Cruise. Let me immediately retract 6 that comparison.
FOLKENFLIK: And Oliver offered some enduring truths.
OLIVER: Teenagers falling off skateboards - funny. Nut shots - funny. Breaking wind - funny. The world cannot change those. Those three things are columns upon which humor is built.
FOLKENFLIK: You think flatulence - always funny?
OLIVER: Yes.
FOLKENFLIK: I'm kind of ambivalent 7 on flatulence.
OLIVER: Always funny.
FOLKENFLIK: Really?
OLIVER: Always funny. When I heard that Hitler had problems with flatulence, it's funny. What - does that make him a funny man? No. It means he had funny moments when his rear end was speaking louder than his mouth.
FOLKENFLIK: Yet "Last Week Tonight" traffics in subjects that aren't immediately funny and aren't much funnier on second or third review.
OLIVER: One of the things that we looked at last year was the fiduciary 8 rule and retirement 9 savings 10 - right? - which, again, sounds like not a half an hour of television that you would be anxious to fall over yourself to watch.
FOLKENFLIK: Oliver blends a distinctly liberal sensibility and a seriousness of purpose in his humor, as he did in this episode on civil asset forfeiture 11.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "LAST WEEK TONIGHT")
OLIVER: Now, I know it sounds like a Gwyneth Paltrow euphemism 12 for divorce, but incredibly it's actually even worse than that.
EZEKIEL EDWARDS: Civil asset forfeiture is really a mechanism 13 by which the state and federal government can seize people's property without having to convict them of a crime.
FOLKENFLIK: Other topics include school desegregation, opioid abuse, pharmaceutical 14 pricing and Brexit.
OLIVER: When we feel we're doing what we do best, it's highlighting stories that perhaps are under-covered or have been underreported and where we can show people things they haven't seen before.
FOLKENFLIK: The show hasn't been seen in three months. When last spotted 15 in his indigenous 16 habitat, Oliver was sharing his perception of 2016 and what was to come - a dystopian hellscape. Now remember, it's on HBO, and there's a lot I just can't play from that show. Oliver was really angry. He had kept his distance from Trump for a while, but after mocking him last year the candidate responded by tweeting that Oliver had invited him repeatedly to appear on the show, but that he wouldn't because "Last Week Tonight" was so boring. Oliver rises to his own defense 17.
OLIVER: By any rational metric, I am boring. I probably agree more than I disagree with him there.
FOLKENFLIK: Then Oliver turned to the meat of that allegation, a spurned 18 invitation.
OLIVER: But the first half is just demonstrably a lie. And it's - I think even in one of our stories last year we tried to articulate just how confusing it is to be on the receiving end of a lie that confident because he seemed absolutely sure. I know it was as sure that I had never invited him.
FOLKENFLIK: Oliver says he asked every staffer is it possible that someone had invited him, someone had sent an invitation even by text. Oliver claims nothing.
OLIVER: Absolutely nothing. So it was just a totally empty lie, which doesn't matter at all except for the fact that person with the tendency, the tenacity 19 and the confidence to make that lie is now leader of the free world.
FOLKENFLIK: My own inquiries 20 to two Trump aides went unreturned. The whole thing drives Oliver nuts. Oliver's segments are produced by a team of comedy writers and a team of researchers, many of whom are pulled from such journalistic outfits 21 as The New Yorker magazine and the investigative site ProPublica
OLIVER: I care about facts the way I care about oxygen and imbibing 22 enough water a day to live. Everybody should care about facts. That is something all of us should agree on.
FOLKENFLIK: Well, interesting you should say that.
OLIVER: Yeah?
FOLKENFLIK: We live in an age - don't know if you're aware of this - where we have a president and a presidency 23 that doesn't embrace that worldview.
OLIVER: Right.
FOLKENFLIK: How do you as a satirist 24 who cares about facts address a new administration that seems to be hostile to them?
OLIVER: Well, that is what we're wrestling with at the moment, right? It's a - like, it feels interminable to kind of talk about that in theory other than to say we're trying. We'll give it a go, and we'll see.
FOLKENFLIK: Oliver says Trump is a funny target, and he takes him dead seriously. David Folkenflik, NPR News, New York.
- Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
- The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。
- He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
- The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。
- They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
- The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
- His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
- We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。
- He fed on the great ideas of his mentor.他以他导师的伟大思想为支撑。
- He had mentored scores of younger doctors.他指导过许多更年轻的医生。
- The criminals should stop on the precipice, retract from the wrong path and not go any further.犯罪分子应当迷途知返，悬崖勒马，不要在错误的道路上继续走下去。
- I don't want to speak rashly now and later have to retract my statements.我不想现在说些轻率的话，然后又要收回自己说过的话。
- She remained ambivalent about her marriage.她对于自己的婚事仍然拿不定主意。
- Although she professed fear of the Russians,she seemed to have ambivalent feelings toward Philby himself.虽然她承认害怕俄国人，然而她似乎对菲尔比本人有一种矛盾的感情。
- A company director owes a fiduciary duty to the company.公司董事应对公司负责受托人责任。
- He was acting in a fiduciary capacity.他以受托人身份行为。
- She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
- I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。
- I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
- By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。
- Both face maximum forfeitures of about $1.2 million.双方都面临最高120万美元左右的罚金。
- If he should break his day,what should I gain by the exaction of the forfeiture?如果他到期不还我从这罚金中又能得到什么好处？
- Language reflects culture and euphemism is a mirror of culture.语言反映文化,而婉语则是各种文化的一面镜子。
- Euphemism is a very common and complicated linguistic phenomenon.委婉语是一种十分常见而又非常复杂的语言现象。
- The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
- The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。
- She has donated money to establish a pharmaceutical laboratory.她捐款成立了一个药剂实验室。
- We are engaged in a legal tussle with a large pharmaceutical company.我们正同一家大制药公司闹法律纠纷。
- The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
- Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。
- Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
- Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。
- The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
- The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。
- Eve spurned Mark's invitation. 伊夫一口回绝了马克的邀请。
- With Mrs. Reed, I remember my best was always spurned with scorn. 对里德太太呢，我记得我的最大努力总是遭到唾弃。 来自辞典例句
- Tenacity is the bridge to success.坚韧是通向成功的桥。
- The athletes displayed great tenacity throughout the contest.运动员在比赛中表现出坚韧的斗志。
- He was released on bail pending further inquiries. 他获得保释，等候进一步调查。
- I have failed to reach them by postal inquiries. 我未能通过邮政查询与他们取得联系。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
- He jobbed out the contract to a number of small outfits. 他把承包工程分包给许多小单位。 来自辞典例句
- Some cyclists carry repair outfits because they may have a puncture. 有些骑自行车的人带修理工具，因为他们车胎可能小孔。 来自辞典例句
- It was not long before the imbibing began to tell. 很快，喝酒喝得有效果了。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
- The soil expands upon imbibing water. 土壤会由于吸水而膨胀。 来自辞典例句
- Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
- Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。