【英语趣味课堂】星球大战-Star Wars

Todd: So, Travis, what is your favorite movie?

 

Travis: My favorite movie of all time is the original Star Wars.

 

Todd: Yeah, that was a pretty great movie.

 

Travis: The original Star Wars was a fantastic fantasy set in space, with great characters, and while simple I thought meaningful story, but you know, it meant something to me, especially whenI was a kid.

 

Todd: Yeah! Who was your favorite character?

 

Travis: My favorite character was Darth Vader.

 

Todd: What? You got to be kidding me!

 

Travis: When I used to play Star Wars as a kid with my friends we used to always fight over who had to be Luke Skywalker, and who got to be Darth Vader. Who ever got to be Darth Vader always got to kill Luke Skywalker.

 

Todd: Wow. Why do you think that Star Wars is such a popular movie?

 

Travis: Well, I think of the time that the original Star Wars came out it was unique in a way that no other movie had really been, and so that was part of it. It used special affects in a way that no other movie ever had, andI think America was looking for a feel good fantasy movie that basically¹, while simple really made peoplefeel like there are good things out there and good sides out there and you could be on a good side. You know,you have the evil² empire, which apparently³ were the British Empire, and, since all the actors had a British accent. And then you had the rebels⁴, who were apparently, according to the director. What's his name again?

 

Todd: George Lucas

 

Travis: George Lucas. I was about to say Luke Skywalker, but I was pretty sure he didn't direct it. According to George Lucas were the Americans, so it seemed like it was a replay of the revolutionary war, in some senses, though he also borrowed from some Japanese movies too. Notably⁵ he borrowed from KitaKurasawa's "The Hidden Forstress" I'm not really sure what the Japanese title is of "The Hidden Fortress⁶" but in English it's translated as 'The Hidden Fortress" and in that movie, it's a movie where, what's his name, "Nufume?", the actor, he is actually protecting a princess who has to go in hiding because an enemy samurai clan⁷ has destroyed her family, and then the whole movie is told, that movie, "The Hidden Fortress", is told from the point of view of two bumbling idiots⁸ who sort of go around, provide slap⁹ stick comedy almost for the whole movie and are a basically the role models for CP30 and R2D2 in the movie Star Wars cause in Star Wars the whole movie is sort of in a way shown from the point of view, beginning with these two characters, CP30 and R2D2, and they progress most of the movie, until the end when Luke Skywalker sort of becomes more important and Obi One Kanobi enters the scene, but at every point it's always CP30 and R2D2 sort of gluing the scenes together in a lot of ways

 

学习内容：

 

Learn Vocabulary from the lesson

meant something

 

The movie meant something to me, especially when I was a kid.

 

When something has emotional¹⁰ significance for you then it 'means something.' Notice the following:

 

Each one of these things means something special to me.

Spending Saturdays with my grandparents meant something to me.

special effects

 

Star Wars used special effects in a way no other movie had.

 

'Special effects' are visual or sound effects that are included in movies or programs to make the show more incredible¹¹, dramatic¹² or interesting. Many times these are things that don't usually occur in real life. Notice the following:

 

Special effects have changed a lot now that scenes can be created on computers.

The plot of the movie was terrible, but it had good special effects.

revolutionary war

 

It seemed like a replay of the revolutionary war.

 

Used as a proper noun¹³, the 'Revolutionary War' refers to the war when the United States declared its independence from England.  In general, A revolution is a great change for an area or country and a revolutionary person helps make a change. Notice the following:

 

The conflict almost started a revolutionary war.

The revolutionary war was a long and bloody¹⁴ battle.

point of view

 

The whole movie was shown from the point of view of C-3Po and R2-D2.

 

A 'point of view' is a certain person sees something.  When we see something through a particular point of view it's like seeing it through a different person's eyes. Notice the following:

 

Sometimes it's difficult to see things from his point of view.

The story is told from the point of view of a dog.

glue the scenes

 

It's always C-3P0 and R2-D2 sort of gluing the scenes together.

 

In this case 'gluing the scenes' refers to connecting two scenes together.  Notice the following:

 

They could have done a better job of gluing the scenes together.

There are three different stories going on in the book, but the author glues the scenes together well.

 

 

1 basically   

adv.基本上，从根本上说

参考例句：

• His heart is basically sound.他的心脏基本上健康。
• Basically I agree with your plan.我基本上同意你的计划。

2 evil   

n.邪恶，不幸，罪恶；adj.邪恶的，不幸的，有害的，诽谤的

参考例句：

• We pray to God to deliver us from evil.我们祈求上帝把我们从罪恶中拯救出来。
• Love of money is the root of all evil.爱钱是邪恶的根源。

3 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

4 rebels   

n.反政府的人( rebel的名词复数 )；反叛者；造反者；叛逆者v.反抗政府( rebel的第三人称单数 )；反抗权威

参考例句：

• Most of the rebels were captured and disarmed. 大部分叛乱分子被俘获并解除了武装。
• The rebels went on an orgy of killing. 叛乱者肆意杀人。

5 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

6 fortress   

n.堡垒，防御工事

参考例句：

• They made an attempt on a fortress.他们试图夺取这一要塞。
• The soldier scaled the wall of the fortress by turret.士兵通过塔车攀登上了要塞的城墙。

7 clan   

n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派

参考例句：

• She ranks as my junior in the clan.她的辈分比我小。
• The Chinese Christians,therefore,practically excommunicate themselves from their own clan.所以，中国的基督徒简直是被逐出了自己的家族了。

8 idiots   

傻子，笨蛋( idiot的名词复数 )； 白痴

参考例句：

• "How I hate them-those idiots in charge of the town! “我恨极了，那班混账东西！ 来自子夜部分
• 'May the Devil carry away these idiots! “但愿魔鬼把这些白痴都抓了去！ 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

9 slap   

n.掴，侮辱，拍击声；vt.拍击，侮辱，惩罚，申斥；adv.正面地，直接地，突然地

参考例句：

• He sent the horse forward with a slap on its rump.他拍了一下马尾，马便向前跑去。
• He gave her a slap on the cheek.他打了她一耳光。

10 emotional   

adj.令人动情的；易动感情的；感情(上)的

参考例句：

• Emotional people don't stop to calculate.感情容易冲动的人做事往往不加考虑。
• This is an emotional scene in the play.这是剧中动人的一幕。

11 incredible   

adj.难以置信的，不可信的，极好的，大量的

参考例句：

• Some planets run at incredible speed.某些星球以难以置信的速度运行着。
• Her answer showed the most incredible stupidity.她的回答显示出不可思议的愚蠢。

12 dramatic   

adj.引人注目的；戏剧的；演戏的

参考例句：

• She plays a very dramatic woman with flashing eyes.她饰演一位双眼闪光的引人注目的妇人。
• His speech was dramatic.他的演说激动人心。

13 noun   

n.名词

参考例句：

• What kind of noun is this?这是哪类名词？
• This word is a collective noun.这个词是个集体名词。

14 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。