Brain Games  答對這題,你就是百萬富翁

Game shows have been entertaining people for years and years.
一直以來,益智節目讓大家從中獲得歡樂。

  Slumdog Millionaire, this year's winner for Best Picture at the Oscars, begins with a contestant being tortured because the police don't think that a poor tea server from the slums of Mumbai could know all the answers to the questions on India's version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? After the protagonist explains each question with a detailed story from his life, the police release him, and he is allowed to return to the game show to try to win 20 million rupees.
  The unlikely success of this film has brought an even bigger spotlight on game shows around the world. In America, game shows have been around since the first day of the commercial era of TV. Over the years, many game shows have made contestants jump for joy as well as bow their head in shame. The longest running game show in America is The Price Is Right, which was hosted most of its 37 seasons by Bob Barker. On the show, contestants are randomly selected to guess the correct prices of everyday objects. Other notable US game shows are Jeopardy, where the contestant gets the answer and they have to figure out the question, and Wheel of Fortune, a variation of the game hangman (猜字遊戲).
  In Taiwan, two popular game shows are Challenge 101 and Are You Smarter than a Primary School Student? Watching a game show is an entertaining way to spend an evening with your family because everyone can yell out answers and dream of becoming a millionaire.

1. What is the purpose of this article?
(A) To briefly summarize game shows.
(B) To introduce a new game show.
(C) To introduce TV game show host Bob Barker.
(D) To tell people how to win on a game show.

2. How are game shows and Slumdog Millionaire related?
(A) The movie is a story that details a game show creator's life.
(B) Slumdog Millionaire is a movie based on a game show.
(C) A game show is prominently featured in the movie.
(D) The police have arrested people for copying the game show featured in Slumdog Millionaire.

3. According to the article, which statement is true?
(A) The protagonist in Slumdog Millionaire was put in jail for cheating on a game show.
(B) Bob Barker was the only host of The Price Is Right.
(C) Challenge 101 is more popular than Are You Smarter than a Primary School Student?
(D) The success of Slumdog Millionaire has put more focus on game shows.

精解字詞片語
1. torture vt. & n. 拷問,拷打;折磨
例: Some US soldiers were accused of torturing the prisoners.
(一些美國大兵被指控拷問犯人。)

2. detailed a. 詳細的,詳盡的
detail vt. 詳述 & n. 細節
in detail  詳細地
= at length
例: Give me a detailed report about what's going on here.
(給我一份詳細的報告說明這裡發生了什麼事。)
例: Andy detailed the night's events on his blog.
(安迪在自己的部落格上詳細紀錄那晚發生的事。)
例: Tell me the story in detail.
(把事情的詳細經過告訴我。)

3. spotlight n. 注目的焦點;聚光燈
be in the spotlight  眾所矚目,受人注目
例: The singer was in the spotlight because of his new girlfriend.
(這名歌手因為新女友而成為眾所矚目的焦點。)

4. A as well as B  A 以及 B
例: Colin as well as Rick wanted to date Shelly.
(科林與瑞克都想和雪莉約會。)

5. bow one's head in shame  羞愧地低下頭
bow vt. 低頭;鞠躬
例: The salesman bowed his head in shame when he said he didn't get the contract.
(該業務說到自己沒拿到合約時,羞愧地低下頭。)

6. host vt. 主持 & n. 主持人
例: The famous comedian hosted the Academy Awards two years in a row.
(那名喜劇演員連續兩年主持奧斯卡頒獎典禮。)

7. randomly adv. 隨意地;隨機地
= at random
例: After playing the video game for three hours, Gary started hitting the buttons randomly.
(打了 3 小時電動後,蓋瑞開始隨意地按按鈕。)

8. notable a. 著名的;顯著的
例: Bill's most notable characteristic is his honesty.
(比爾最顯著的特點就是誠實。)

9. figure out.../figure...out  想出∕查清楚∕弄明白……
例: Toby couldn't figure out the answer, but at least he tried.
(陶比想不出答案來,但至少他試過了。)

10. yell out...  大聲地叫出……
例: Don't yell out my name whenever I walk by.
(不要在我每次經過時就大叫我的名字。)

11. briefly adv. 簡短地;簡潔地
例: Ted briefly stopped at the gas station to buy some cold drinks.
(泰德在加油站暫停了一下,買了些冷飲。)

12. related a. 有關的
be related to...  與……有關
=be associated with...
例: The police suspected that the crime was related to drugs.
(警方懷疑這起犯罪案件和毒品有關。)

13. arrest vt. & n. 逮捕;拘留
be under arrest  被逮捕
例: Jim was under arrest for breaking into his neighbor's house.
(吉姆因為闖入鄰居家而被逮捕。)

Grammar Tips
the answer to...  ……的答案
注意:
此處的 to 為介詞,表『針對』之意;凡表示『針對』某一問題或事件的關鍵、秘訣、解決方法、答案或障礙等時,通常與介詞 to 並用;此類名詞常見的除 answer 之外,尚有下列:
the solution to...  ……的解決方法
the key to...  ……的關鍵∕秘訣
the secret to...  ……的秘訣
the obstacle to...  ……的障礙∕阻礙
the window to...  通往……的窗口
例: Wayne knew all the answers to the questions.
(韋恩知道所有問題的答案。)
例: My obstacle to learning French is the verb tenses.
(我學習法文的障礙是動詞時態。)


  奪得本屆奧斯卡金像獎最佳影片的《貧民百萬富翁》,是以一位參賽者被警方拷問揭開序幕,因為他們認為一個來自孟買貧民窟的窮酸茶水小弟,是不可能知道印度版《百萬大富翁》裡所有題目的答案。經過主角娓娓道來,解釋每道題目背後的自我人生故事,警方終於將他釋放,於是他又可以回到這個益智節目中一試身手,看看能不能贏得兩千萬盧比的獎金。
  這部片出乎意料之外地賣座,連帶使世界各地的益智節目備受矚目。在美國,自電視進入商業廣告年代的第一天起,就有了益智節目。過去這些年,許多益智節目讓參賽者高興地跳起來,或是羞愧地低下頭去。《叫對價》是美國最長壽的益智節目,該節目一共播出 37 季,大部分都是由鮑勃‧巴克所主持。該節目會隨機挑選參賽者,要他們猜出日用品的實際價格。美國其他著名的益智節目有《危險境地》和《幸運轉輪》,前者的參賽者會先拿到答案,而他們必須想出它的題目,而後者說穿了則是另一種形式的猜字遊戲。
  台灣有兩個很受歡迎的益智節目,分別是《挑戰 101》和《百萬小學堂》。收看益智節目是晚上和家人一起消磨時間的娛樂方式,因為每個人都可以大聲喊出答案,同時夢想自己成為百萬富翁。


單字小舖
1. contestant n. 參賽者
2. slum n. 貧民窟(常用複數)
3. version n. 版本
4. protagonist n. 主角
5. release vt. 釋放
6. game show n.(電視)益智節目
7. rupee n. 盧比(印度、斯里蘭卡、尼泊爾等的貨幣單位)
8. unlikely a. 不太可能發生的
9. commercial a. 商業廣告的
10. era n. 時代
11. jeopardy n. 危險,風險
12. variation n. 變化
13. summarize vt. 總結,概述
14. prominently adv. 顯著地;重要地

片語小舖
1. be allowed to V  受到許可∕允許(做)……
2. have been around  已經存在一陣子
3. be put in jail  入獄
= be put in prison

1. 本篇文章的目的為何?
(A) 簡短概述益智節目。
(B) 介紹一個新的益智節目。
(C) 介紹益智節目主持人鮑勃‧巴克。
(D) 告訴人們如何成為益智節目的冠軍。
題解: 綜觀整篇文章,旨在介紹益智節目,故選 (A)。

2. 益智節目和《貧民百萬富翁》之間有什麼關聯?
(A) 該片詳細描述一名益智節目創始者的人生故事。
(B) 《貧民百萬富翁》是由一個益智節目改編而成的。
(C) 益智節目是該片很重要的一項特色。
(D) 警方逮捕抄襲《貧民百萬富翁》中益智節目的人。
題解: 根據文章第一段,《貧民百萬富翁》在敘述一個來自孟買貧民窟的主角,他被警方拷問,因為他們認為他不可能知道電影中,益智節目裡所有題目的答案。經過主角娓娓道來,解釋每道題目背後的自我人生故事,警方終於將他釋放,讓他回到這個益智節目繼續比賽,故選 (C)。

3. 根據本文,哪項敘述是正確的?
(A) 《貧民百萬富翁》的主角因為在益智節目中作弊而入獄。
(B) 鮑勃‧巴克是《叫對價》的唯一主持人。
(C) 《挑戰 101》比《百萬小學堂》受歡迎。
(D) 《貧民百萬富翁》的賣座使得益智節目受到更多的關注。
題解: 根據文章第二段,由於《貧民百萬富翁》的賣座,連帶使世界各地的益智節目備受矚目,故選 (D)。根據第一段,主角並沒有被關,故 (A) 不可選。根據第二段,《叫對價》共播出 37 季,大部分都是由鮑勃‧巴克所主持,由此可知他並非唯一主持人,故 (B) 不可選。第三段中並未提到《挑戰 101》和《百萬小學堂》哪個節目較受歡迎,故 (C) 亦不可選。

標準答案: 1. (A) 2. (C) 3. (D)


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