2006年VOA标准英语-'Great Race' Re-creates 1908 Competition

By Mike O'Sullivan
Los Angeles
17 August 2006

In 1908, a handful of auto¹ enthusiasts² drove across three continents in a race from New York to Paris.  A re-creation of the race in 2008 will highlight the best of 21st century automotive technology.

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From left: Tony Curtis Natalie Wood and Jack³ Lemmon in The Great Race    
  
The 1908 Great Race captured the world's imagination, and later inspired a film, called The Great Race, starring Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis and Natalie Wood.

"It is the fabulous⁴ around-the-world race from New York to Paris - a rambunctious⁵, rib-busting riot of a race…."

As a child, Jeff Mahl often heard stories about the race from his great grandfather, George Schuster Senior.  A mechanic for the Thomas Motor Company of Buffalo⁶, New York, Schuster drove a 1907 Thomas Flyer for the only American team entered in the 35,000 kilometer race.  Mahl notes the competition began in New York City on February 12, in the depths of the winter. 

"There were no snow plows⁷, of course, in those days, so even crossing the United States, they ran into a storm outside of Toledo," Mahl says. "And they would have to hook teams of horses onto the car and literally⁸ drag it.  Sometimes they would have six to eight horses on the car at any one time dragging the Thomas Flyer through the snow drifts."

Steve Sanborn  
  
Six teams of racers - one German, three French, one Italian and one American - intended to drive across the Bering Strait, but that was impractical⁹, so they ended up sailing from San Francisco to Japan.  They crossed Japan by car, then sailed to Vladivostok and drove across Asia and Europe, ending at the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

Steve Sanborn, one of the organizers for the 2008 Great Race, says the route this time will be slightly different.

"It will head across the United States and then will ship to Shanghai, and will go through China, through Mongolia into Eastern Siberia, and then across into Moscow, and down into Eastern Europe though Belarus, Poland, Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, and then will end in Paris, France," Sanborn says.

In 1908 the American team finished first, reaching Paris in 169 days.  This time, organizers expect the winner to finish in 80 days, after treasure hunts and rally competitions along the way. 

Speed is just one factor in determining the winner.  The other measures are endurance and success in the series of competitions.

Sanborn says the 1908 race highlighted the technology of the time, and this race will do the same.  Entries must use alternative fuels, such as ethanol or an ethanol-gasoline mixture, electric or hydrogen fuel cells, or other state-of-the-art technology. 

He says the race will send a message.

"We'd like to see consumers worldwide start to really take a look at their use of oil and how much they really do use, and view the automobile¹⁰ as a way to help reduce that consumption and help improve the environment," Sanborn says.

Sanborn says a second race division will feature classic auto technology in vehicles manufactured before 1970.

He says the 2008 race should be truly international.

"We are looking for teams from all over the world.  We would love to have an Indian team," Sanborn says.  "We would love to have Japanese teams.  We would love to have teams from every nation."

Jeff Mahl says his great grandfather and his winning 1908 team had to be creative in the years before highways were built.  He says the drivers straddled railway tracks where they could find them, driving over the rail ties.

"And of course with balloon tires, blew out dozens of tires every stretch of the way that they took the railroad," Mahl ssays. "So it was a daily ordeal¹¹ for 169 days."

He says his great grandfather's team won through endurance, skill, and luck. 

"In the expanses of Siberia and Manchuria and some other parts of the world, there were no repair shops, so it took a lot of Yankee ingenuity¹² along the way, and a good bit of luck," Mahl ssays.

In 1908, only three of the six teams finished, the winning U.S. entry, the runner-up from Germany, and the third-place team from Italy.   Steve Sanborn says perseverance¹³ and talent will be needed to the win the new race.

The winner this time will receive $1 million.  Organizers will announce those teams selected to join the race early next year, and the race is scheduled to start in New York February 12, 2008, exactly 100 years after the original Great Race began.

1 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

2 enthusiasts   

n.热心人，热衷者( enthusiast的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A group of enthusiasts have undertaken the reconstruction of a steam locomotive. 一群火车迷已担负起重造蒸汽机车的任务。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Now a group of enthusiasts are going to have the plane restored. 一群热心人计划修复这架飞机。 来自新概念英语第二册

3 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

4 fabulous   

adj.极好的；极为巨大的；寓言中的，传说中的

参考例句：

• We had a fabulous time at the party.我们在晚会上玩得很痛快。
• This is a fabulous sum of money.这是一笔巨款。

5 rambunctious   

adj.喧闹的；粗鲁的

参考例句：

• Their rambunctious son always got into trouble.他们那个不受管束的儿子老是惹麻烦。
• It's not the chirping,rambunctious play that they did when they first arrived.他们现在已经不像刚开始见面那会儿，总是冲着对方乱叫，或者在玩耍时动作粗暴。

6 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

7 plows   

n.犁( plow的名词复数 )；犁型铲雪机v.耕( plow的第三人称单数 )；犁耕；费力穿过

参考例句：

• Alex and Tony were turning awkward hands to plows and hoe handles. 亚历克斯和托尼在犁耙等农活方面都几乎变成新手了。
• Plows are still pulled by oxen in some countries. 在一些国家犁头仍由牛拖拉。

8 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

9 impractical   

adj.不现实的，不实用的，不切实际的

参考例句：

• He was hopelessly impractical when it came to planning new projects.一到规划新项目，他就完全没有了实际操作的能力。
• An entirely rigid system is impractical.一套完全死板的体制是不实际的。

10 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。

11 ordeal   

n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验

参考例句：

• She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。
• Being lost in the wilderness for a week was an ordeal for me.在荒野里迷路一星期对我来说真是一场磨难。

12 ingenuity   

n.别出心裁；善于发明创造

参考例句：

• The boy showed ingenuity in making toys.那个小男孩做玩具很有创造力。
• I admire your ingenuity and perseverance.我钦佩你的别出心裁和毅力。

13 perseverance   

n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠

参考例句：

• It may take some perseverance to find the right people.要找到合适的人也许需要有点锲而不舍的精神。
• Perseverance leads to success.有恒心就能胜利。