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Home Improvement

play pause stop mute unmute max volume 00:0004:52repeat repeat off Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser¹ to a recent version or update your Flash plugin. OPHIRA EISENBERG, HOST: 

Now it's time to crown our big winner. Let's bring back our finalists. Andrea, who wants to visit to Australia so she can email people from the future, and Colleen, who carries blocks of cheese in her purse.

(APPLAUSE)

EISENBERG: Puzzle guru Art Chung, take it away.

ART CHUNG: Andrea and Colleen, your final round is called Home Improvement. In this round, every answer will contain an item you would find in a home improvement store. So if I said he's the rapper who was too legit to quit, you'd say MC Hammer, as in a hammer. We're playing this round like a penalty shootout. You'll each get the same number of questions. The contestant² who scores the most points will be our big winner. And your prize is an ASK ME ANOTHER Rubik's Cube signed by Ti West and James Ransone. We flipped³ a coin backstage, and Andrea, you're going first. Andrea, he's a Jamaican sprinter⁴ who's the fastest man on earth.

ANDREA KEBALO: Usain Bolt.

CHUNG: Correct.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL, APPLAUSE)

CHUNG: Colleen, he's a 2016 primary challenger to Hillary Clinton.

COLLEEN CELSOR: Not MC Hammer.

CHUNG: I'm sorry, we were looking for Bernie Sanders.

CELSOR: Oh, OK.

CHUNG: A sander.

CELSOR: A sander.

CHUNG: Back to Andrea. It's the full name of the young protagonist⁵ in "Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory."

KEBALO: Charlie - no - yes - Charlie Bucket.

CHUNG: Correct.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL, APPLAUSE)

CHUNG: Colleen. It's a 1940 Disney film with animated⁶ visuals set to classical music.

CELSOR: "Fantasia?"

CHUNG: That is correct.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

CHUNG: Fan is what we were looking for.

CELSOR: Oh.

(APPLAUSE)

CHUNG: Andrea, it's a baseball pitch that breaks in the opposite direction of a curveball.

KEBALO: A breaker?

CHUNG: No, I'm sorry. We were looking for a screwball. Colleen, a Christmas ballet scored by Tchaikovsky.

CELSOR: "Nutcracker."

CHUNG: That's right.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL, APPLAUSE)

CHUNG: Back to Andrea. An industrial rock band founded by Trent Reznor.

KEBALO: Nine Inch Nails.

CHUNG: Correct.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL, APPLAUSE)

CHUNG: Colleen. He plays Frodo in "Lord Of The Rings."

CELSOR: Elijah Wood.

CHUNG: That's right.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL, APPLAUSE)

CHUNG: We're at the halfway⁷ point, and the game is tied at three points each. Andrea, in a bra it's the thin piece of metal that helps with support.

KEBALO: Underwire.

CHUNG: That is correct.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL, APPLAUSE)

CHUNG: Colleen, it's someone who competes in foil, saber or epee competitions.

CELSOR: Mixed martial⁸ artist (laughter).

CHUNG: No, I'm sorry. We were looking for a fencer.

CELSOR: Oh.

CHUNG: Those are all types of fencing. Andrea, the half-human, half-vampire played by Wesley Snipes.

KEBALO: Shaft⁹.

(LAUGHTER)

CHUNG: No, I'm sorry. We were looking for Blade.

KEBALO: Oh.

(LAUGHTER)

CHUNG: Colleen, it's the startup company featured in the show "Silicon¹⁰ Valley" named for a folk tale about a man who exterminated¹¹ rats.

CELSOR: The Pied Piper.

CHUNG: Correct.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL, APPLAUSE)

CHUNG: Andrea, in the Book of Genesis, it's pathway linking earth to heaven.

KEBALO: Jacob's Ladder.

CHUNG: Correct.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL, APPLAUSE)

CHUNG: Colleen, in the original Pokemon Game Boy game it's one of the three starter Pokemon, along with Squirtle and Charmander.

CELSOR: Bulbasaur.

CHUNG: That's right.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL, APPLAUSE)

CHUNG: The score is tied. You have one question left. Andrea, it's a painful condition that affects some people who have had their wisdom teeth removed.

KEBALO: I'm going to say shingles¹², but that's not it.

CHUNG: No, I'm sorry. The - we were looking for dry socket¹³. Colleen, if you get this one right, you're our winner. It's an infection that may cause a painful rash for adults who once had chicken pox.

CELSOR: Shingles.

CHUNG: That is correct.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL, APPLAUSE)

CHUNG: Congratulations, Colleen. You won.

(APPLAUSE)

EISENBERG: Congratulations, Colleen. And that's our show. ASK ME ANOTHER's puzzle guru is Art Chung.

CHUNG: Hey, my name anagrams to narc thug.

EISENBERG: Our house musician is Jonathan Coulton.

CHUNG: Thou jolt¹⁴ a cannon¹⁵.

EISENBERG: Our puzzles are written by Sean Kennedy, David Letzler and senior writers Kyle Beakley and Greg Lightman. ASK ME ANOTHER's produced by Mike Katzif, Travis Larchuk, Julian Melfi, Denny Shin, Rommel Wood and our intern¹⁶ Camila Salazar, along with Steve Nelson and Anya Grundmann. We are recorded by Damon Whittemore, Noriko Okabe and Nate Kinsella (ph). ASK ME ANOTHER was created by Eric Nuzum and Jesse Baker¹⁷. We'd like to thank our home in Brooklyn, N.Y., The Bell House...

CHUNG: Hot heel blues¹⁸.

EISENBERG: ...And our production partner, WNYC. I'm her ripe begonias...

CHUNG: Ophira Eisenberg.

EISENBERG: ...And this was ASK ME ANOTHER from NPR.

(APPLAUSE)

1 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

2 contestant   

n.竞争者，参加竞赛者

参考例句：

• The company will furnish each contestant with a free ticket.公司将为每个参赛者免费提供一张票。
• The personal appearance and interview of the contestant is another count.参加比赛者的个人仪表和谈话也是一项。

3 flipped   

轻弹( flip的过去式和过去分词 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥

参考例句：

• The plane flipped and crashed. 飞机猛地翻转，撞毁了。
• The carter flipped at the horse with his whip. 赶大车的人扬鞭朝着马轻轻地抽打。

4 sprinter   

n.短跑运动员，短距离全速奔跑者

参考例句：

• He is more a sprinter than a swimmer. 他是短跑健将，而不是游泳选手。 来自辞典例句
• The sprinter himself thinks he can run the race at 9.4 seconds. 这位短跑运动员自认为可以用9.4秒跑完比赛。 来自互联网

5 protagonist   

n.(思想观念的)倡导者；主角，主人公

参考例句：

• The protagonist reforms in the end and avoids his proper punishment.戏剧主角最后改过自新并避免了他应受的惩罚。
• He is the model for the protagonist in the play.剧本中的主人公就是以他为模特儿创作的！

6 animated   

adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的

参考例句：

• His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
• We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。

7 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

8 martial   

adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的

参考例句：

• The sound of martial music is always inspiring.军乐声总是鼓舞人心的。
• The officer was convicted of desertion at a court martial.这名军官在军事法庭上被判犯了擅离职守罪。

9 shaft   

n.(工具的)柄，杆状物

参考例句：

• He was wounded by a shaft.他被箭击中受伤。
• This is the shaft of a steam engine.这是一个蒸汽机主轴。

10 silicon   

n.硅(旧名矽)

参考例句：

• This company pioneered the use of silicon chip.这家公司开创了使用硅片的方法。
• A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.芯片就是一枚邮票大小的硅片。

11 exterminated   

v.消灭，根绝( exterminate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• It was exterminated root and branch. 它被彻底剪除了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The insects can be exterminated by spraying DDT. 可以用喷撒滴滴涕的方法大量杀死这种昆虫。 来自《用法词典》

12 shingles   

n.带状疱疹；（布满海边的）小圆石( shingle的名词复数 )；屋顶板；木瓦（板）；墙面板

参考例句：

• Shingles are often dipped in creosote. 屋顶板常浸涂木焦油。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The roofs had shingles missing. 一些屋顶板不见了。 来自辞典例句

13 socket   

n.窝，穴，孔，插座，插口

参考例句：

• He put the electric plug into the socket.他把电插头插入插座。
• The battery charger plugs into any mains socket.这个电池充电器可以插入任何类型的电源插座。

14 jolt   

v.（使）摇动，（使）震动，（使）颠簸

参考例句：

• We were worried that one tiny jolt could worsen her injuries.我们担心稍微颠簸一下就可能会使她的伤势恶化。
• They were working frantically in the fear that an aftershock would jolt the house again.他们拼命地干着，担心余震可能会使房子再次受到震动。

15 cannon   

n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮

参考例句：

• The soldiers fired the cannon.士兵们开炮。
• The cannon thundered in the hills.大炮在山间轰鸣。

16 intern   

v.拘禁，软禁；n.实习生

参考例句：

• I worked as an intern in that firm last summer.去年夏天我在那家商行实习。
• The intern bandaged the cut as the nurse looked on.这位实习生在护士的照看下给病人包扎伤口。

17 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

18 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。