美国国家公共电台 NPR--Crab Derby led up to the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore

Crab¹ Derby led up to the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore

Transcript²

After a pandemic break, Maryland blue crabs³ are racing⁴ again in Baltimore. The speediest crab by far belonged to former Major League Baseball player B.J. Surhoff of the Baltimore Orioles.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

This weekend, Baltimore brought back a local contest ahead of the Preakness Stakes horse race. You can call it a clash of the crustaceans⁵, a sprint⁶ for the shellfish. It's the Maryland blue crab derby. And we asked WYPR's Emily Hofstaedter to go and send us back a report.

(SOUNDBITE OF WATER SPLASHING)

EMILY HOFSTAEDTER, BYLINE⁷: That's the sound of the water going on the six-lane racetrack, making it slick for our 10-legged athletes. The track is basically a waist-high wooden slide with a nice, gentle slope, giving the crabs the gift of gravity, because, as Bill Devine points out, crabs aren't particularly good runners.

BILL DEVINE: The things, they don't walk backwards⁸ and forwards. They walk sideways like a politician.

HOFSTAEDTER: Ninety-one-year-old Bill and his wife, Nancy, are local seafood⁹ royalty¹⁰. Their family has been running the event for nearly 40 years. It's part of several days' worth of festivities leading up to the Preakness Stakes, Baltimore's local race in the Triple Crown. For the folks gathered in Baltimore's historic Lexington Market, crab derby is a perfect opportunity to turn up and turn out. Jessica Blackwell points to her head.

JESSICA BLACKWELL: Oh, this is a fascinator. So it's a - you know, it's a cute, little accessory. (Laughter) It's not as big as my Preakness hat or as the hat that I'm going to wear to Black-Eyed Susan Day. But it's, you know, it's derby appropriate.

HOFSTAEDTER: So the hats are going to get bigger throughout the week?

BLACKWELL: The hats are going to get bigger throughout the week. They have to.

HOFSTAEDTER: Jockeys gather to pick their racers. Mother-and-son duo Will and Damye Hahn bring out a steel barrel with crabs crawling around inside.

DAMYE HAHN: Pick a crab for the race, only 9.99.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Big or small, any ideas?

HAHN: I like the little ones with the orange claws 'cause I think the girls are faster.

HOFSTAEDTER: The crabs do get a little bit of help from their human jockeys. Damye pulls out a stick with about two feet of fishing line attached to an orange bobber at the end, like a marionette¹¹ stick without the puppet.

HAHN: That's how you're going to get them to go. You got a squirt bottle behind you and a bobber, OK? So you can use the...

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: So you want them to get to chase this.

HAHN: Yes. You want to get them down the lane.

HOFSTAEDTER: And finally, we're off to the races.

(CHEERING)

HOFSTAEDTER: This year there was no competition. The speediest crab by far belonged to former baseball player B.J. Surhoff of the Baltimore Orioles. Surhoff's crab is lucky.

B J SURHOFF: I will not eat him. I'm allergic¹² to shellfish. He's a champ. He gets to live.

HOFSTAEDTER: Those without shellfish allergies¹³ get no time to rest because after the race is done, it's straight to the crab-picking contest.

For NPR News, I'm Emily Hofstaedter in Baltimore.

(SOUNDBITE OF NOISESTORM'S "CRAB RAVE")

1 crab   

n.螃蟹，偏航，脾气乖戾的人，酸苹果；vi.捕蟹，偏航，发牢骚；vt.使偏航，发脾气

参考例句：

• I can't remember when I last had crab.我不记得上次吃蟹是什么时候了。
• The skin on my face felt as hard as a crab's back.我脸上的皮仿佛僵硬了，就象螃蟹的壳似的。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 crabs   

n.蟹( crab的名词复数 )；阴虱寄生病；蟹肉v.捕蟹( crab的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• As we walked along the seashore we saw lots of tiny crabs. 我们在海岸上散步时看到很多小蟹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The fish and crabs scavenge for decaying tissue. 鱼和蟹搜寻腐烂的组织为食。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

5 crustaceans   

n.甲壳纲动物（如蟹、龙虾）( crustacean的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These crustaceans provide a valuable food source for some fish. 这些甲壳纲动物是某些鱼类重要的食物来源。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• When the tide ebbs it's a rock pool inhabited by crustaceans. 退潮时，它便成为甲壳动物居住的岩石区潮水潭。 来自辞典例句

6 sprint   

n.短距离赛跑；vi. 奋力而跑，冲刺；vt.全速跑过

参考例句：

• He put on a sprint to catch the bus.他全速奔跑以赶上公共汽车。
• The runner seemed to be rallied for a final sprint.这名赛跑者似乎在振作精神作最后的冲刺。

7 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• 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。

8 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

9 seafood   

n.海产食品，海味，海鲜

参考例句：

• There's an excellent seafood restaurant near here.离这儿不远有家非常不错的海鲜馆。
• Shrimps are a popular type of seafood.小虾是比较普遍的一种海味。

10 royalty   

n.皇家，皇族

参考例句：

• She claims to be descended from royalty.她声称她是皇室后裔。
• I waited on tables，and even catered to royalty at the Royal Albert Hall.我做过服务生， 甚至在皇家阿伯特大厅侍奉过皇室的人。

11 marionette   

n.木偶

参考例句：

• With this marionette I wish to travel through the world.我希望带着这个木偶周游世界。
• The development of marionette had a great influence on the future development of opera.木偶戏的发展对以后的戏曲有十分重要的影响。

12 allergic   

adj.过敏的，变态的

参考例句：

• Alice is allergic to the fur of cats.艾丽斯对猫的皮毛过敏。
• Many people are allergic to airborne pollutants such as pollen.许多人对空气传播的污染物过敏，比如花粉。

13 allergies   

n.[医]过敏症；[口]厌恶，反感；（对食物、花粉、虫咬等的）过敏症( allergy的名词复数 )；变态反应，变应性

参考例句：

• Food allergies can result in an enormous variety of different symptoms. 食物过敏会引发很多不同的症状。 来自辞典例句
• Let us, however, examine one of the most common allergies; hayfever. 现在让我们来看看最常见的变态反应的一种--枯草热。 来自辞典例句