赢 SUV 大奖!芝加哥这场橡皮鸭漂流,藏着怎样的公益故事?

标题：Rubber ducks by the thousands splash into Chicago River for annual Special Olympics fundraiser

作者：CYBELE MAYES-OSTERMAN

by the thousands 成千上万（the thousands表示数字1000-9999）

splash v 哗啦溅落

A deluge of 90,000 rubber ducks poured out of a truck and into the Chicago River on Thursday, then bobbed along a stretch of the skyscraper-lined river in the annual Chicago Ducky Derby that raises thousands of dollars for charity. The truck dumped the ducks from one side of a half-raised bridge. After forming a yellow pool in the river, the ducks floated for around 15 minutes before a winner and runner-up were plucked from the water.

参考译文：周四，九万只橡皮鸭如潮水般从卡车倾泻而出，落入芝加哥河。在一年一度的芝加哥小黄鸭慈善大赛上，大批小黄鸭顺着高楼林立的河段随波漂浮，为慈善事业筹得数千美元善款。卡车从半开启的大桥一侧将鸭子倾倒进河里。河面浮起一大片黄色鸭群，这些橡皮鸭漂游约十五分钟后，工作人员从水中捞出获胜鸭子与亚军鸭子。

• deluge n.原义为洪水；转义为（一大批）涌现/蜂拥而至的事物

更多例子：a deluge of calls/complaints

      接连不断的电话；没完没了的投诉

• bob v（在水中）上下漂浮/摆动

例句：Tiny boats bobbed up and down in the harbour.  小船在港湾中颠簸

• stretch n一段水域/土地 v伸展（身体；拉长/撑大某物

• skyscraper lined river 两岸高楼林立的河道（skyscraper摩天大楼）

• Ducky Derby 小黄鸭大赛

• dump v倾倒（垃圾，废物）；丢下/抛弃某人

  例句：My girlfriend dumped me.

  我女朋友把我甩了

• winner and runner-up 冠军与亚军

• pluck v拔毛；弹拨（琴弦）；解救/搭救

  例句：Police plucked a drowning girl from the river yesterday.

  昨天警方从河里救起了一名溺水少女。

The annual event, a fundraiser for Special Olympics Illinois, draws thousands of participants. At an accompanying festival, participants snapped pictures with inflatable ducks and doodled on a chalkboard under the prompt, “I adopt a duck because …” Some sported rubber duck-printed shirts. Becky Cavanagh, the Ducky Derby ambassador and a 13-year Special Olympics athlete, held up the winning duck to the cheers of crowds packed on both sides of the river. Cavanagh said her favorite part about the Special Olympics was “making new friends.” Asked before the race how she felt about picking the winning duck, she cheered. “Woo!”

参考译文：这场为伊利诺伊州特奥会筹款的年度活动吸引了数千名参与者。同步举办的庆祝现场，人们和充气橡皮鸭合影留念，在黑板上按照提示写下 “我认领一只鸭子，因为……”，还有人身着印着橡皮鸭图案的 T 恤。活动大使贝基・卡瓦纳是一名有着十三年参赛经历的特奥会运动员，她高举获胜的小黄鸭，河两岸挤满围观群众，现场欢呼声此起彼伏。卡瓦纳说，特奥会最让她喜爱的一点是 “结交新朋友”。赛前被问及即将揭晓获胜鸭子有何感受时，她兴奋地高呼：“哇哦！”

• fundraiser n筹款活动

• Special Olympics Illinois 伊利诺伊州是世界特奥会运动的发源地，1968 年首届世界特奥会就在伊利诺伊芝加哥举办

• snap pictures  拍照

• inflatable adj可充气的

  词根：flat  = blow 吹，吹气

  拓展：inflate v. 充气；膨胀；deflate v. 放气；紧缩

• doodle v.涂鸦，乱画

• prompt n 提示文字

• some sported rubber duck printed shirts 有些人穿着印橡皮鸭图案的T恤(这里的“sport”为动词，表示骄傲地穿戴/彰显某物)

• pack v挤满

  例句：We all packed together into one car.

  我们大家挤进一辆汽车里

Special Olympics Illinois organizes competitions across the state for people with disabilities and special needs. It costs $10 to sponsor a “lone duck,” which will feed an athlete lunch at a competition, and $30 for a “quack pack” of six ducks, which supplies gold medals for a team. The competition has raised more than $480,000.

参考译文：伊利诺伊州特奥会为全州残障及特殊需求群体筹办各类赛事。认领单只鸭子需要 10 美元，这笔钱可以为一名参赛运动员提供比赛午餐；花 30 美元可以购买 “嘎嘎礼包”，内含六只认领鸭子，这笔资金可为一支队伍购置金牌。本次赛事已经筹得超过 48 万美元。

• people with disabilities and special needs 残障及有特殊需求的人群

  在英语中，一些人认为残疾人the disabled带有歧视性色彩，根据 “Put the person first”原则，一般称残疾人为people/individual with disabilities/special needs等委婉语

• a “lone duck,”一只鸭子，单只鸭子

• quack 拟声词，鸭子嘎嘎叫声

The sponsor of the fastest duck wins an SUV, and the runner-up will win $2,500 in cash, said Pete Beale-DelVecchio, president of Special Olympics Illinois. “It really is a fantastic day for our athletes,” he said ahead of the race at an area next to the river, where derby attendees posed with inflatable rubber ducks and bopped along to a live DJ.

参考译文：伊利诺伊州特奥会主席皮特・比尔德尔维奇奥介绍，“跑得最快” 的鸭子的认领人将赢得一辆运动型多用途汽车（SUV），亚军认领者可获得 2500 美元现金。赛前，在河畔活动现场，参赛民众与充气橡皮鸭合影，跟着现场 DJ 的音乐节拍摇摆起舞，比尔德尔维奇奥表示：“对我们的运动员而言，这实在是无比美好的一天。”

• attendees n.出席者，在场者[v.attend出席；take attendance点名，考勤）

• pose 为（拍照/画像）摆好姿势；造成威胁等（pose a threat/risk)；提问（pose a question）