2006年NPR美国国家公共电台十二月-Everyday Americans Deserve an Oscar, Too

（单词翻译）

For most of America, this is a busy time, shopping, wrapping presents, waiting in line at the post office. But in Hollywood there is another form of frantic¹ activity going on, it's all directed toward the upcoming award season, the Golden Globes, the Oscars and so many many more. In today's Unger Report, Bright Unger says prepare yourself.

It's a time when simple folk in the entertainment industry extend a hand to other simple folk in the entertainment industry. And give them a trophy² like a crystal object, a golden statuette, a plaque³, just some modest token of recognition for the most recognizable people in the world for portraying⁴ the most unrecognizable people in the world. Award season, it's way more glamorous⁵ than flu season, or the season known as winter in the Midwest where some guy who makes mufflers won't be nominated this year for the best performance by a welder⁷. He'll have to be satisfied knowing that the muffler he welded will muffle⁶ the slick limousine⁸ that will carry someone glamorous to an award ceremony.

But Midwesterners are no strangers to glamour⁹ or to orgies of self congratulation. As a teenager in Ohio, I can tell you first-hand that the Licking County fairs preseason was brutal¹⁰. The number of cows alone that were being groomed¹¹ for your consideration. For the top prizes in Helfordum was dizzying.

And Licking County starlets lobbying for the title of pork queen. It was a blood bath. For that one week a year on the Hartford fair grounds, or we knew glamour. And then for the other 51 weeks in the year, we return to our humble¹² quiet lives of eating, what is now called trans fats. That's what made an award’s week in Licking County so special, it passed so quickly, like a sugar waffle, chased with a Pabst blue ribbon beer. It came and it went.

But the time to hand out awards in the industry of entertainment is not a week, it's a season. It's the fifth season the entertainer Levandi never got around to writing about. It has its own section and the New York Times called awards season. And the envelope in the Los Angeles Times, if carpet layers advertised in these papers more, would they too get their own award season?

I read words like blitz, push and battle. Hollywood is devolving into Civil War over who should get the most credit for entertaining America. The actor Ed Norton said of the movie industry's award season: the last thing the world needs is the same group of people congratulating themselves over and over again for the same totally disposable pieces of work.

Well, maybe Mr. Norton, I say folks in the Midwest need a star giving trophies¹³ to each other for their disposable pieces of work. Maybe Columbus Ohio needs to get hell bent¹⁴ on awarding, congratulating and honoring. Best performance by a grocery store assistant manager, best supporting pharmacist. Life-time achievement award for a claims adjustor, it should all be recognized. Like a dozen times.

Why should we allow the entertainment industry to have a stranglehold on self-congratulating, self-perpetuating, narcissistic¹⁵ orgies celebrating each other. Put on your tux, get into your evening gown America and give yourself a trophy for doing absolutely nothing but your job.

And that is today's Unger report. I'm the awardless Brian Unger.
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blood bath
大屠杀
trans fats
An unhealthy substance, also known as trans fatty acid, made through the chemical process of hydrogenation of oils. Hydrogenation solidifies¹⁶ liquid oils and increases the shelf life and the flavor stability of oils and foods that contain them. Trans fat is found in vegetable shortenings and in some margarines, crackers¹⁷, cookies, snack foods and other foods.
Trans fats are also found in abundance in "french fries." To make vegetable oils suitable for deep frying, the oils are subjected to hydrogenation, which creates trans fats. Among the hazards of fast food, "fries" are prime in purveying¹⁸ trans fats.
blitz
An intense campaign:
激烈的竞选运动：
a media blitz focused on young voters.
集中于年轻投票人的一种中庸的激烈竞争
hell-bent
Impetuously or recklessly determined¹⁹ to do or achieve something:
破釜沉舟的，决意的：急于或不顾后果地决意做或得到某事物：
was hell-bent on winning.
孤注一掷，势在必得
claims
索赔
stranglehold
勒颈, 压制自由, 束缚, 抑制
narcissistic
自恋的,自我陶醉的