英语杂谈：39 Take me out to the ball--Part 2

Many songs have been written about America's baseball teams. These include the Brooklyn Dodgers¹, the Philadelphia Phillies, and the Chicago Cubs². Other songs have been written about famous baseball players: Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson and Joe DiMaggio.
Some people think Joe DiMaggio was the greatest player in the history of baseball. He hit safely in a record fifty-six games in a row for the New York Yankees in nineteen forty-one. This record never has been broken.
That same year, Les Brown and his band recorded the song "Joltin' Joe DiMaggio." Betty Bonney sings about the way DiMaggio hit the ball very, very hard -- how he jolted³ it.

In nineteen fifty-five, a popular musical play about baseball opened on Broadway in New York. It was called "Damn Yankees. " It was about a middle-aged⁴ man who gets a chance to play baseball for his team, the Washington Senators.
He plays against the best team in baseball, the New York Yankees. The Senators are not a very good team. Their manager wants them to play better. He urges them to play with all the feeling that is in their hearts. Here the cast of "Damn Yankees" sings "You Gotta Have Heart. "

In addition to the many songs written about baseball, there is a famous poem about the game, too. It is called "Casey at the Bat. "
A young man named Ernest Thayer wrote the poem in eighteen eighty-eight. It was published in the San Francisco Examiner newspaper. The poem still is popular today.
"Casey at the Bat" is about a baseball team from a town called Mudville. The team is losing an important game. The game is almost over. Mudville is depending on its best player, Casey, to win the game.

The outlook wasn't brilliant for the Mudville nine that day;
The score stood four to two with but one inning more to play.
And then when Cooney died at first, and Barrows did the same,
A sickly silence fell upon the patrons of the game.
A straggling few got up to go in deep despair. The rest
Clung to that hope which springs eternal in the human breast;
They thought if only Casey could get but a whack⁵ at that --
We'd put up even money now with Casey at the bat.

To the surprise of the crowd, two players hit the ball well. They reach second and third base. They are ready to score. Then it is Casey's turn at bat. He can win the game if he hits the ball hard enough so that he and the other players can cross home plate. That will give their team more points than their opponent.
There was ease in Casey's manner as he stepped into his place;
There was pride in Casey's bearing and a smile on Casey's face.
And when, responding to the cheers, he lightly doffed⁶ his hat,
No stranger in the crowd could doubt 'twas Casey at the bat.
Ten thousand eyes were on him as he rubbed his hands with dirt;
Five thousand tongues applauded when he wiped them on his shirt. Then while the writhing⁷ pitcher⁸ ground the ball into his hip⁹,
Defiance¹⁰ gleamed in Casey's eye, a sneer¹¹ curled Casey's lip.

The opposing pitcher throws the ball. But Casey does not try to hit it. The pitcher throws the ball again. Again, Casey does not try to hit it. There are now two strikes against him. One more strike and he will be out. The game will be over. Will Casey finally hit the ball? Will he win the game? The crowd is sure he will.

The sneer is gone from Casey's lip, his teeth are clenched¹² in hate;
He pounds with cruel violence his bat upon the plate.
And now the pitcher holds the ball, and now he lets it go,
And now the air is shattered by the force of Casey's blow.
Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright;
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,
And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout;
But there is no joy in Mudville -- mighty¹³ Casey has struck out.
 

1 dodgers   

n.躲闪者，欺瞒者( dodger的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a crackdown on fare dodgers on trains 对火车逃票者的严厉打击
• But Twain, Howells, and James were jeeringly described by Mencken as "draft-dodgers". 不过吐温、豪威尔斯和詹姆斯都是被门肯讥诮地叫做“逃避兵役的人。” 来自辞典例句

2 cubs   

n.幼小的兽，不懂规矩的年轻人( cub的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lioness guarding her cubs 守护幼崽的母狮
• Lion cubs depend on their mother to feed them. 狮子的幼仔依靠母狮喂养。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 jolted   

（使）摇动， （使）震惊( jolt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。
• She was jolted out of her reverie as the door opened. 门一开就把她从幻想中惊醒。

4 middle-aged   

adj.中年的

参考例句：

• I noticed two middle-aged passengers.我注意到两个中年乘客。
• The new skin balm was welcome by middle-aged women.这种新护肤香膏受到了中年妇女的欢迎。

5 whack   

v.敲击，重打，瓜分；n.重击，重打，尝试，一份

参考例句：

• After years of dieting,Carol's metabolism was completely out of whack.经过数年的节食，卡罗尔的新陈代谢完全紊乱了。
• He gave me a whack on the back to wake me up.他为把我弄醒，在我背上猛拍一下。

6 doffed   

v.脱去，（尤指）脱帽( doff的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He doffed his hat. 他脱掉帽子。 来自互联网
• The teacher is forced to help her pull next pulling again mouth, unlock button, doffed jacket. 老师只好再帮她拉下拉口，解开扣子，将外套脱了下来。 来自互联网

7 writhing   

（因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• She was writhing around on the floor in agony. 她痛得在地板上直打滚。
• He was writhing on the ground in agony. 他痛苦地在地上打滚。

8 pitcher   

n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手

参考例句：

• He poured the milk out of the pitcher.他从大罐中倒出牛奶。
• Any pitcher is liable to crack during a tight game.任何投手在紧张的比赛中都可能会失常。

9 hip   

n.臀部，髋；屋脊

参考例句：

• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

10 defiance   

n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗

参考例句：

• He climbed the ladder in defiance of the warning.他无视警告爬上了那架梯子。
• He slammed the door in a spirit of defiance.他以挑衅性的态度把门砰地一下关上。

11 sneer   

v.轻蔑；嘲笑；n.嘲笑，讥讽的言语

参考例句：

• He said with a sneer.他的话中带有嘲笑之意。
• You may sneer,but a lot of people like this kind of music.你可以嗤之以鼻，但很多人喜欢这种音乐。

12 clenched   

v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He clenched his fists in anger. 他愤怒地攥紧了拳头。
• She clenched her hands in her lap to hide their trembling. 她攥紧双手放在腿上，以掩饰其颤抖。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。