词汇大师(Wordmaster)--'The Ballad of Palindrome'

Broadcast: January 8, 2003

AA: I'm Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble, and this week on Wordmaster -- a passel of palindromes in our traditional salute¹ to January!

RS: When you can spell something forward or backward and have it read the same, that's a palindrome. January isn't a palindrome, obviously. But it is named after Janus, the Roman god usually depicted² with two faces: one looking forward, the other looking backward.

AA: Either way, we think Janus would have looked highly on this skit³ you're about to hear. We play it each January to welcome the New Year.

RS: It's about a cowboy with an unusual speaking habit. It spoofs⁴ a popular television show from the 1950s called "Paladin." The skit is called "The Ballad⁵ of Palindrome." And it's by the cowboy musical group, Riders in the Sky.鈥?

AUDIO: "The Ballad of Palindrome/Palindrome: The Scene with Johnny Western"

RS: ... That's Riders in the Sky, with "The Ballad of Palindrome" from their album "A Great Big Western HOWDY!" (Rounder Records, 1998.)

AA: And that's Wordmaster for this week. Our e-mail address is [email protected]. And if you've got a palindrome of your own that you'd like us all to hear, send it along!

RS: And we invite you to our Web site. It's voanews.com/wordmaster. Wishing you a happy 2004, with Avi Arditti, I'm Rosanne Skirble.

1 salute   

vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮

参考例句：

• Merchant ships salute each other by dipping the flag.商船互相点旗致敬。
• The Japanese women salute the people with formal bows in welcome.这些日本妇女以正式的鞠躬向人们施礼以示欢迎。

2 depicted   

描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述

参考例句：

• Other animals were depicted on the periphery of the group. 其他动物在群像的外围加以修饰。
• They depicted the thrilling situation to us in great detail. 他们向我们详细地描述了那激动人心的场面。

3 skit   

n.滑稽短剧；一群

参考例句：

• The comic skIt sent up the foolishness of young men in love.那幅画把沉溺于热恋中的青年男子的痴态勾勒得滑稽可笑。
• They performed a skit to amuse the crowd.他们表演了一个幽默小品来娱乐观众。

4 spoofs   

n.（进行）滑稽的模仿( spoof的名词复数 )；哄骗；戏弄；讽刺

参考例句：

• Nobody likes those clumsy spoofs of yours. 谁都不喜欢你那拙笨的玩笑。 来自辞典例句
• The show successfully spoofs the TV programs and commercials. 这场表演通过模仿成功地讽刺了那些电视节目和商业广告。 来自互联网

5 ballad   

n.歌谣，民谣，流行爱情歌曲

参考例句：

• This poem has the distinctive flavour of a ballad.这首诗有民歌风味。
• This is a romantic ballad that is pure corn.这是一首极为伤感的浪漫小曲。