ACT 3-2 “你領先了，那總比落后好。”
【故事梗概】
選舉當天，Stewart一家人圍在電視前看投票的直播。Ellen的票數暫時領先。Ellen很緊張。
Richard: And guess what? I called channel five. Their TV news is going to cover it. "Housewife campaignsin appliancestores." And I’ll bet some magazine will pick up the story, too.
Robbie: Mom, you’re going to win! I know it!
Philip: Hold it, Robbie! Just cool down. I know we’re getting some attention now, but in the end the voters will have to decide.
Grandpa: You’re going to win. Trust me!
[Election Night. The family is watching the news on television. ]
Reporter: In the hotly contested race for the one seat on the Riverdale School Board, Mrs. Ellen Stewart has taken an early lead.
Robbie: She’s winning! Mom, you’re winning!
Peporter: Now returning to other local news …Riverdale High School beat its rivalHorace Mann in baseball today …
Ellen: It’s too soon to know for certain.
Philip: You’re ahead. That’s better than being behind.
Reporter: More sports after this.
Ellen: It’s not over yet. Let’s just all calm down, and wait for the final results.
Grandpa: Ellen, why don’t you go out to the backyardand get some fresh air?
Ellen: Thank you, Grandpa. I need some.
【語言點精講】
1. Their TV news is going to cover it.
他們的電視新聞將報導這件事。
cover: 這里是對某一事件進行采訪報導的意思。cover近來常用作“涵蓋，包括，包覆，掩護，負擔費用，保證”等意思，都是從最基本的“覆蓋上”化出的。
2. And I’ll bet some magazine will pick up the story, too.
我敢打賭有些雜志也會報導這條新聞。
I’ll bet: 我相信。
pick up the story: 報道這條新聞。pick up除了接人、取物等意外，還有“(偶然)撿拾”的意思，因此化出了“偶然結識，(警方)在路上拘捕，染上傳染性疾病，養成習慣，學到本領，(開車)半路上搭載生人，獲得(獎賞，聲譽，錢財，可貴的東西等)，嗅到或聽到、接收到”等等。
3. Hold it, Robbie! Just cool down. I know we’re getting some attention now, but in the end the voters will have to decide.
Robbie，沉住氣，冷靜點。我知道我們現在吸引了一些注意力，但是歸根結底還是得由選民們來決定。
hold it: 沉住氣。hold在這里是“停止，等一下”的意思，it指當時正在做的事。
cool down: 冷靜點。用于 叫人冷靜下來，不要過分激動或過分樂觀。
get attention: 吸引注意力。
4. In the hotly contested race for the one seat on the Riverdale School Board, Mrs. Ellen Stewart has taken an early lead.
在爭奪聯合校董會唯一空缺席位激烈的選舉戰中，Ellen Stewart已初步領先。
hotly contested race: 激烈的競賽或選舉戰。
take an early lead: 初步領先。
5. Riverdale High School beat its rival Horace Mann in baseball today.
里弗代爾中學今天在棒球比賽中擊敗了對手霍勒斯·曼中學隊
beat one’s rival: 擊敗了競爭對手。
6. You’re ahead. That’s better than being behind.
你領先了，那總比落后好。
ahead: 領先。
7. More sports after this.
稍候是體育新聞。
More …after this: 這是在廣播或電視節目中，一個較長的節目沒有完，中間穿插一小段廣告、簡明新聞或音樂時，廣播員慣用的話。this指下面插入的節目。對于前面的節目稱為that，如在新聞節目完了以后常說：“That was John Smith with the world news.”等。
