美国国家公共电台 NPR 30 Years Later, 'The Simpsons' Are A Part Of The American Family

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Thirty years ago today, TV watchers met one of America's most enduring families, "The Simpsons."

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE TRACEY ULLMAN SHOW")

JULIE KAVNER: (As Marge Simpson) Hold on, all of you. There's no need to slurp¹ your soup so loudly.

DAN CASTELLANETA: (As Homer Simpson) She's right, you little slobs.

KAVENER: (As Marge Simpson) Let's try a little dignity around here.

NANCY CARTWRIGHT: (As Bart Simpson) Okie dokie, Mom.

(SOUNDBITE OF GULPING)

INSKEEP: Marge, Homer, Bart, Lisa, Maggie - "The Simpsons" began their existence just filling time. They appeared in 48 little filler segments on the sketch² comedy program "The Tracey Ullman Show." And they were different from "The Simpsons" we know today.

MAUREEN FURNISS: At first, they were what we call bumpers³ that went between "The Tracey Ullman Show" and the commercial break.

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

That is Maureen Furniss. She teaches animation⁴ at the California Institute of the Arts. We were talking to her on Skype.

FURNISS: "The Simpsons" were very quick little segments that were united by some particular theme. One that stands out in my mind is the burping contest. The kids are drinking sodas⁵ and belching⁶. And poor Marge is trying to get them to stop.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE TRACEY ULLMAN SHOW")

KAVENER: (As Marge Simpson) Bart, are you burping again?

CARTWRIGHT: (As Bart Simpson) Maybe.

KAVENER: (As Marge Simpson) What is it with this burping?

YEARDLEY SMITH: (As Lisa Simpson) It's fun.

KAVENER: (As Marge Simpson) I absolutely forbid burping in this household.

(SOUNDBITE OF DOOR CLOSING)

CASTELLANETA: (As Homer Simpson) How's it going, everybody?

(SOUNDBITE OF BURP)

CASTELLANETA: (As Homer Simpson) Oops, pardon my French (laughing).

GREENE: No, Steve, stop. We are not having a burping contest in here. Now, the animation back then...

INSKEEP: (Laughter) When the microphone is off...

GREENE: Yeah, the animation way back then, it was cruder than it would become. The characters - I mean, they almost looked scribbled⁷. They were the creation of a newspaper cartoonist Matt Groening. His comic strip "Life in Hell" featured a neurotic⁸ rabbit, his illegitimate son and their gay friends.

FURNISS: Everybody was very eager to see what Matt Groening was going to do with animation. And "The Simpsons" made a new bar for TV animation, especially things that were much more crude humor. When "The Simpsons" came out, people were so worried about the crude behavior. But they didn't, you know, have any idea that things like "South Park" or "Beavis And Butt-Head" were on the horizon and would be much more outrageous⁹ in a lot of ways.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE TRACEY ULLMAN SHOW")

CARTWRIGHT: (As Bart Simpson) Don't shove Maggie. She's just a little baby.

CASTELLANETA: (As Homer Simpson) Don't hit your little sister. She's a girl.

(As Grampa Simpson) Keep your hands off him, Homer.

CARTWRIGHT: (As Bart Simpson) Apology accepted, Homer. I'd forgive you, too, if you used a breath mint.

CASTELLANETA: (As Homer Simpson) Why, you little...

CARTWRIGHT: (As Bart Simpson, choking).

CASTELLANETA: (As Grampa Simpson) Homer.

INSKEEP: Homer and Bart have had a chokehold on television ever since they got their own show in 1989. Sometimes they're kind of profound, literary. And they're now the longest-running situation comedy in television history, real or animated¹⁰.

1 slurp   

n.啜食；vt.饮食出声

参考例句：

• You may not slurp your soup.喝汤不可发出声音。
• Do you always slurp when a milkshake?你总是这样啧啧喝牛奶吗？

2 sketch   

n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述

参考例句：

• My sister often goes into the country to sketch. 我姐姐常到乡间去写生。
• I will send you a slight sketch of the house.我将给你寄去房屋的草图。

3 bumpers   

（汽车上的）保险杠，缓冲器( bumper的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our bumpers just grazed (ie touched each other) as we passed. 我们错车时保险互相蹭了一下。
• Car stickers can be attached to the bumpers or windows. 汽车贴纸可以贴在防撞杆上或车窗上。

4 animation   

n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作

参考例句：

• They are full of animation as they talked about their childhood.当他们谈及童年的往事时都非常兴奋。
• The animation of China made a great progress.中国的卡通片制作取得很大发展。

5 sodas   

n.苏打( soda的名词复数 )；碱；苏打水；汽水

参考例句：

• There are plenty of sodas in the refrigerator. 冰箱里有很多碳酸饮料。 来自辞典例句
• Two whisky and sodas, please. 请来两杯威士忌苏打。 来自辞典例句

6 belching   

n. 喷出，打嗝 动词belch的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The Tartars employed another weapon, the so-called Chinese dragon belching fire. 鞑靼人使用了另一种武器，所谓中国龙喷火器。
• Billows of smoke were belching from the chimney. 巨浪似的烟正从烟囱里喷出来。

7 scribbled   

v.潦草的书写( scribble的过去式和过去分词 )；乱画；草草地写；匆匆记下

参考例句：

• She scribbled his phone number on a scrap of paper. 她把他的电话号码匆匆写在一张小纸片上。
• He scribbled a note to his sister before leaving. 临行前，他给妹妹草草写了一封短信。

8 neurotic   

adj.神经病的，神经过敏的；n.神经过敏者，神经病患者

参考例句：

• Nothing is more distracting than a neurotic boss. 没有什么比神经过敏的老板更恼人的了。
• There are also unpleasant brain effects such as anxiety and neurotic behaviour.也会对大脑产生不良影响，如焦虑和神经质的行为。

9 outrageous   

adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的

参考例句：

• Her outrageous behaviour at the party offended everyone.她在聚会上的无礼行为触怒了每一个人。
• Charges for local telephone calls are particularly outrageous.本地电话资费贵得出奇。

10 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。