★英語聽力頻道為大家整理的bbc英語聽力mp3下載：Oops糟糕，供大家參考。更多閱讀請查看本站英語聽力頻道。
Oops 糟糕
There are times when saying sorry is not enough to spare you from embarrassment1. A few weeks ago I baked a cake and sent it to my friend's mother. My friend told me it was a nice gesture but… I might have added salt to the recipe rather than sugar...
When I find myself regretting little mistakes in daily life, I spare a thought for those who face the music for very public blunders. Last May, a company which operates trains in France realised that 2,000 new trains it bought for $20.5bn wouldn't fit on many regional platforms. It's because they were too wide! They had to change the platforms to accommodate the trains. Red faces all around!
But this is not the worst fiasco I've heard about. I have great respect and even reverence2 for those engineers who build probes and send them into space. These guys are really brainy. So imagine how horrified3 I was when I read on the news that the Mars Orbiter was lost in 1999 because Nasa and its contractor4 used different systems: the US space agency team used metric while the contractor used imperial units. The probe, which cost no less than $125m, came closer to Mars than it was supposed to and… well, scientists believe it was destroyed when manoeuvring.
Some miscalculations end up costing a lot of money but others can cost lives. British explorer Robert Falcon5 Scott made a very unfortunate mistake when he calculated how much food to take on his expedition to the South Pole in the early 1900s. He ended up working out daily rations6 for himself and his team which were insufficient7. Our bodies spend lots of energy just keeping warm in the polar environment. It's believed Scott died of starvation.
But every day people pay for errors of judgement and maybe we shouldn't be so hard on ourselves. There're those who are quick to pass the buck8, though. I wonder what happened to the managers behind the train blunder. And what about the guy who should've checked if all those involved with the Mars Orbiter were on the same page?
For me, it was just a cake. But I shouldn’t leave my somewhat weak baking abilities to chance. Next time I'll treat my friend's mother – a very nice lady, by the way – to a high-class bakery. Sugar? Salt? I'm sure they’ll get it right!
Quiz 測驗
1. What did the article's author do wrong?
The article's author added salt instead of sugar by mistake when baking a cake.
2. Who used imperial measurements on the Mars Orbiter project?
A contractor working for the US space agency Nasa.
3. What was the fate of British explorer Robert Falcon Scott?
It's believed he died of starvation.
4. Which expression means to blame someone?
To pass the buck.
5. Which word means 'moving carefully and in a skilful9 way'?
Manoeuvring.
Glossary 詞匯表
embarrassment 尷尬，難為情
to regret 對某事感到后悔
to spare a thought for 替某人著想
a blunder 大錯，疏忽
red face （紅臉）尷尬的面孔
a fiasco 徹底的失敗，慘敗
brainy 聰明的
manoeuvring (名詞)控制，操縱
miscalculation 計算錯誤，錯算
to work out 計算
starvation 饑餓
an error of judgement 判斷失誤
to pass the buck 推卸責(zé)任
on the same page 在同一頁上，想法一致
點擊收聽單詞發(fā)音收聽單詞發(fā)音
1 embarrassment fj9z8
n.尷尬；使人為難的人(事物)；障礙；窘迫
參考例句：
She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音樂會上咳嗽真會使人難堪。
2 reverence BByzT
n.敬畏，尊敬，尊嚴(yán)；Reverence:對某些基督教神職人員的尊稱；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬
參考例句：
He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
We reverence tradition but will not be fettered by it.我們尊重傳統(tǒng)，但不被傳統(tǒng)所束縛。
3 horrified 8rUzZU
a.(表現(xiàn)出)恐懼的
參考例句：
The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全國都對這些兇殺案感到大為震驚。
We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方監(jiān)獄的普遍狀況讓我們震驚。
4 contractor GnZyO
n.訂約人，承包人，收縮肌
參考例句：
The Tokyo contractor was asked to kick $ 6000 back as commission.那個東京的承包商被要求退還6000美元作為傭金。
The style of house the contractor builds depends partly on the lay of the land.承包商所建房屋的式樣，有幾分要看地勢而定。
5 falcon rhCzO
n.隼，獵鷹
參考例句：
The falcon was twice his size with pouted feathers.鷹張開羽毛比兩只鷹還大。
The boys went hunting with their falcon.男孩子們帶著獵鷹出去打獵了。
6 rations c925feb39d4cfbdc2c877c3b6085488e
定量( ration的名詞復(fù)數(shù) )； 配給量； 正常量； 合理的量
參考例句：
They are provisioned with seven days' rations. 他們得到了7天的給養(yǎng)。
The soldiers complained that they were getting short rations. 士兵們抱怨他們得到的配給不夠數(shù)。
7 insufficient L5vxu
adj.(for，of)不足的，不夠的
參考例句：
There was insufficient evidence to convict him.沒有足夠證據(jù)給他定罪。
In their day scientific knowledge was insufficient to settle the matter.在他們的時代，科學(xué)知識還不能足以解決這些問題。
8 buck ESky8
n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.馬離地跳躍
參考例句：
The boy bent curiously to the skeleton of the buck.這個男孩好奇地彎下身去看鹿的骸骨。
The female deer attracts the buck with high-pitched sounds.雌鹿以尖聲吸引雄鹿。
9 skilful 8i2zDY
(=skillful)adj.靈巧的，熟練的
參考例句：
The more you practise,the more skilful you'll become.練習(xí)的次數(shù)越多，熟練的程度越高。
He's not very skilful with his chopsticks.他用筷子不大熟練。
Oops 糟糕
There are times when saying sorry is not enough to spare you from embarrassment1. A few weeks ago I baked a cake and sent it to my friend's mother. My friend told me it was a nice gesture but… I might have added salt to the recipe rather than sugar...
When I find myself regretting little mistakes in daily life, I spare a thought for those who face the music for very public blunders. Last May, a company which operates trains in France realised that 2,000 new trains it bought for $20.5bn wouldn't fit on many regional platforms. It's because they were too wide! They had to change the platforms to accommodate the trains. Red faces all around!
But this is not the worst fiasco I've heard about. I have great respect and even reverence2 for those engineers who build probes and send them into space. These guys are really brainy. So imagine how horrified3 I was when I read on the news that the Mars Orbiter was lost in 1999 because Nasa and its contractor4 used different systems: the US space agency team used metric while the contractor used imperial units. The probe, which cost no less than $125m, came closer to Mars than it was supposed to and… well, scientists believe it was destroyed when manoeuvring.
Some miscalculations end up costing a lot of money but others can cost lives. British explorer Robert Falcon5 Scott made a very unfortunate mistake when he calculated how much food to take on his expedition to the South Pole in the early 1900s. He ended up working out daily rations6 for himself and his team which were insufficient7. Our bodies spend lots of energy just keeping warm in the polar environment. It's believed Scott died of starvation.
But every day people pay for errors of judgement and maybe we shouldn't be so hard on ourselves. There're those who are quick to pass the buck8, though. I wonder what happened to the managers behind the train blunder. And what about the guy who should've checked if all those involved with the Mars Orbiter were on the same page?
For me, it was just a cake. But I shouldn’t leave my somewhat weak baking abilities to chance. Next time I'll treat my friend's mother – a very nice lady, by the way – to a high-class bakery. Sugar? Salt? I'm sure they’ll get it right!
Quiz 測驗
1. What did the article's author do wrong?
The article's author added salt instead of sugar by mistake when baking a cake.
2. Who used imperial measurements on the Mars Orbiter project?
A contractor working for the US space agency Nasa.
3. What was the fate of British explorer Robert Falcon Scott?
It's believed he died of starvation.
4. Which expression means to blame someone?
To pass the buck.
5. Which word means 'moving carefully and in a skilful9 way'?
Manoeuvring.
Glossary 詞匯表
embarrassment 尷尬，難為情
to regret 對某事感到后悔
to spare a thought for 替某人著想
a blunder 大錯，疏忽
red face （紅臉）尷尬的面孔
a fiasco 徹底的失敗，慘敗
brainy 聰明的
manoeuvring (名詞)控制，操縱
miscalculation 計算錯誤，錯算
to work out 計算
starvation 饑餓
an error of judgement 判斷失誤
to pass the buck 推卸責(zé)任
on the same page 在同一頁上，想法一致
點擊收聽單詞發(fā)音收聽單詞發(fā)音
1 embarrassment fj9z8
n.尷尬；使人為難的人(事物)；障礙；窘迫
參考例句：
She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音樂會上咳嗽真會使人難堪。
2 reverence BByzT
n.敬畏，尊敬，尊嚴(yán)；Reverence:對某些基督教神職人員的尊稱；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬
參考例句：
He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
We reverence tradition but will not be fettered by it.我們尊重傳統(tǒng)，但不被傳統(tǒng)所束縛。
3 horrified 8rUzZU
a.(表現(xiàn)出)恐懼的
參考例句：
The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全國都對這些兇殺案感到大為震驚。
We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方監(jiān)獄的普遍狀況讓我們震驚。
4 contractor GnZyO
n.訂約人，承包人，收縮肌
參考例句：
The Tokyo contractor was asked to kick $ 6000 back as commission.那個東京的承包商被要求退還6000美元作為傭金。
The style of house the contractor builds depends partly on the lay of the land.承包商所建房屋的式樣，有幾分要看地勢而定。
5 falcon rhCzO
n.隼，獵鷹
參考例句：
The falcon was twice his size with pouted feathers.鷹張開羽毛比兩只鷹還大。
The boys went hunting with their falcon.男孩子們帶著獵鷹出去打獵了。
6 rations c925feb39d4cfbdc2c877c3b6085488e
定量( ration的名詞復(fù)數(shù) )； 配給量； 正常量； 合理的量
參考例句：
They are provisioned with seven days' rations. 他們得到了7天的給養(yǎng)。
The soldiers complained that they were getting short rations. 士兵們抱怨他們得到的配給不夠數(shù)。
7 insufficient L5vxu
adj.(for，of)不足的，不夠的
參考例句：
There was insufficient evidence to convict him.沒有足夠證據(jù)給他定罪。
In their day scientific knowledge was insufficient to settle the matter.在他們的時代，科學(xué)知識還不能足以解決這些問題。
8 buck ESky8
n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.馬離地跳躍
參考例句：
The boy bent curiously to the skeleton of the buck.這個男孩好奇地彎下身去看鹿的骸骨。
The female deer attracts the buck with high-pitched sounds.雌鹿以尖聲吸引雄鹿。
9 skilful 8i2zDY
(=skillful)adj.靈巧的，熟練的
參考例句：
The more you practise,the more skilful you'll become.練習(xí)的次數(shù)越多，熟練的程度越高。
He's not very skilful with his chopsticks.他用筷子不大熟練。