365个英语简短小故事-89. In Harm’s Way

A new invention, called “Arm Yourself,” is in arcades¹ in Japan. It is a mechanical arm-wrestling machine. In the old days, fairs and carnivals² usually had a “Test Your Strength” contest that required a player to swing a small sledge³ hammer as hard as he could to ring a bell and get a prize. The Japanese invention also challenges a player’s strength. Players can set it to four different levels: Baby, Girl, Man, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The mechanical arm operates at half-strength for the first 10 seconds: “Baby,” for example, would be “Half-Baby,” or 50-percent full-strength, for 10 seconds initially⁴.

“This gives the human time to evaluate his mechanical opponent, and usually allows him to win,” says the inventor. But after 10 seconds elapse, the mechanical arm instantly achieves full strength, so that weak Baby suddenly becomes strong Baby. “That comes as a surprise to the human,” said the inventor. “If you watch the human compete, you will see a look of surprise come over his face at the machine’s sudden burst of strength. It’s funny to see!”

Unfortunately for some players, the look of surprise is followed by the look of pain, as the steel and plastic arm breaks their flesh and blood arm! Two players recently went to the hospital. The inventor said that he wouldn’t put a warning sign on the machine.

“It’s not the machine’s fault,” he said. “Humans often think that they’re smarter, faster, and stronger than they actually are. I think it’s a good lesson that they are learning. Many refuse to combat the machine at the Baby or Girl level because they think that they’re equal to the Man or Arnold level. They don’t know their limitations. They’re proud and foolish, and some of them have to pay the price for their pride.”

 

1 arcades   

n.商场( arcade的名词复数 )；拱形走道（两旁有商店或娱乐设施）；连拱廊；拱形建筑物

参考例句：

• Clothes are on sale in several shopping arcades these days. 近日一些服装店的服装正在大减价。 来自轻松英语会话---联想4000词(下)
• The Plaza Mayor, with its galleries and arcades, is particularly impressive. 市长大厦以其别具风格的走廊和拱廊给人留下十分深刻的印象。 来自互联网

2 carnivals   

狂欢节( carnival的名词复数 )； 嘉年华会； 激动人心的事物的组合； 五彩缤纷的颜色组合

参考例句：

• The Venice Carnival is one of the oldest and most famous international carnivals in the world. 威尼斯嘉年华是世界上最古老、最富盛名的国际嘉年华会之一。 来自常春藤生活英语杂志-2006年2月号
• A few exceptions would be made, he said, such as for carnivals. 他说一些免责条款将被制定出来，例如嘉年华会。

3 sledge   

n.雪橇，大锤；v.用雪橇搬运，坐雪橇往

参考例句：

• The sledge gained momentum as it ran down the hill.雪橇从山上下冲时的动力越来越大。
• The sledge slid across the snow as lightly as a boat on the water.雪橇在雪原上轻巧地滑行，就象船在水上行驶一样。

4 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。