英语听力精选进阶版 6162

You’re fired 你被炒鱿鱼了

One of Britain’s most popular reality TV programmes has returned to our screens for a fifth series. The Apprentice¹ sees 16 ambitious individuals competing for a job with electronics tycoon² Sir Alan Sugar.

With endless talk of credit-crunches, redundancies and cut-backs, it may come as no surprise that thousands of plucky³ hopefuls applied⁴ for the show. The chosen 16 will compete in a series of business tasks and do their best to escape elimination⁵. Not one of them wants to hear the fateful words: you’re fired.

It should also be noted⁶ that this year’s budding apprentices⁷ are not going to be allowed to forget the grim economic climate quite so easily. At the launch of this year’s TV show, Sir Alan announced that some episodes have been "specifically made towards recognition of what difficult times we are in".

The tasks will as usual be gruelling tests of business acumen⁸, team-working and leadership skill. They will also make for some hilarious⁹ viewing. British viewers will be shaking their heads in disbelief at the crazy decisions of the wannabe apprentices.

But perhaps the most entertaining feature of the show will be watching the hopefuls squirm and squabble in the boardroom. It is here they will have to explain just why they have failed each task so badly.

What drives people to take part in the show is difficult to say. Some are clearly motivated by the promise of a six-figure salary and some claim they want the experience of working with a successful businessman such as Sir Alan. One thing is for sure, the contestants¹⁰ will all gain some level of celebrity¹¹. The show is a regular ratings winner.

To date, there has been one big winner and that is the show’s creator, Mark Burnett. Originating in the US, The Apprentice’s winning format¹² has been copied all over the world and with the hype surrounding this latest series, it looks as though the show will have success for many years to come.

GLOSSARY 词汇表

reality TV 电视真人秀

ambitious 有抱负的

electronics tycoon 电子届大亨

plucky 勇敢的

elimination 淘汰

fateful 决定性的，宿命的

budding 萌发中的

gruelling 使人精疲力尽的

business acumen 商业头脑

grim 严峻的，不景气的 

hilarious 有趣的

disbelief 不相信

wannabe 想成为…人

squirm 难为情，羞愧

squabble 争论

boardroom 会议室

motivated 有积极性的，受鼓舞的

six-figure salary 十万英镑以上的年薪

ratings 评定等级

hype 大肆宣传，炒作

1 apprentice   

n.学徒，徒弟

参考例句：

• My son is an apprentice in a furniture maker's workshop.我的儿子在一家家具厂做学徒。
• The apprentice is not yet out of his time.这徒工还没有出徒。

2 tycoon   

n.有钱有势的企业家，大亨

参考例句：

• The tycoon is on the verge of bankruptcy.那名大亨濒临破产的边缘。
• The tycoon has many servants to minister to his needs.那位大亨有很多人服侍他。

3 plucky   

adj.勇敢的

参考例句：

• The plucky schoolgirl amazed doctors by hanging on to life for nearly two months.这名勇敢的女生坚持不放弃生命近两个月的精神令医生感到震惊。
• This story featured a plucky heroine.这个故事描述了一个勇敢的女英雄。

4 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

5 elimination   

n.排除，消除，消灭

参考例句：

• Their elimination from the competition was a great surprise.他们在比赛中遭到淘汰是个很大的意外。
• I was eliminated from the 400 metres in the semi-finals.我在400米半决赛中被淘汰。

6 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

7 apprentices   

学徒，徒弟( apprentice的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They were mere apprentices to piracy. 他们干海盗仅仅是嫩角儿。
• He has two good apprentices working with him. 他身边有两个好徒弟。

8 acumen   

n.敏锐，聪明

参考例句：

• She has considerable business acumen.她的经营能力绝非一般。
• His business acumen has made his very successful.他的商业头脑使他很成功。

9 hilarious   

adj.充满笑声的，欢闹的；[反]depressed

参考例句：

• The party got quite hilarious after they brought more wine.在他们又拿来更多的酒之后，派对变得更加热闹起来。
• We stop laughing because the show was so hilarious.我们笑个不停，因为那个节目太搞笑了。

10 contestants   

n.竞争者，参赛者( contestant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The competition attracted over 500 contestants representing 8 different countries. 这次比赛吸引了代表8个不同国家的500多名参赛者。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency. 两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

12 format   

n.设计，版式；[计算机]格式，DOS命令:格式化(磁盘)，用于空盘或使用过的磁盘建立新空盘来存储数据；v.使格式化，设计，安排

参考例句：

• Please format this floppy disc.请将这张软盘格式化。
• The format of the figure is very tasteful.该图表的格式很雅致。