Sean Connery

Sean Connery

 

By Sheryl Altman /

This article was published originally in Biography Magazine. © 1999.

A&E Television Networks. All rights reserved.

 

At age 74, Sean Connery is every bit as dashing and debonair¹ as the first time he appeared on screen in 1962 as Agent 007.

 

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After five decades in the spotlight², Connery remains³ a street-smart, self-made man who never apologizes, insisting he doesn’t care what people think of him.

 

He was born Thomas Sean Connery in Fountainbridge, Scotland, on August 25, 1930, the son of Joe, a truck driver, and Euphamia, a housewife. “We were very poor,” Connery has commented, “but I never knew how poor because that’s how everyone was there.”

 

“Tommy” grew up on the streets along with the rest of the Fountainbridge youth. The local gangs dubbed⁴ him “Big Tam” because of his size and his ability to pummel most of his playmates.

 

Back home after a three-year stint⁵ in the Royal Navy, he took assorted⁶ jobs and saved up to become a member of the Dunedin Weightlifting Club. Once in, his fellow gym mates nominated him for the Mr. Universe contest. So in 1953, Connery traveled to London, where the heats were held. There he was discovered by a local casting director who asked him to join the chorus of a London production of the musical South Pacific. “I didn’t have a voice, couldn’t dance,” Connery admitted. “But I could look good standing⁷ there.”

 

One rehearsal⁸ was all it took: “I decided⁹ then and there to make acting¹⁰ my career,” he says.

 

 

Vocabulary Focus

dashing (adj) [5dAFiN] attractive in a confident, exciting and stylish¹¹ way

debonair (adj) [7debE5nZE] charming, confident and carefully dressed, usually relating to men

stint (n) [stint] a fixed¹² or limited period of time spent doing a particular job or activity

discover (v) [dis5kQvE] to notice that someone has a special talent or quality and to help that person become successful

 

Specialized¹³ Terms

heat (n) 前赛，预赛 a less important race or competition in which it is decided who will compete in the final event

 

肖恩·康纳利

 

现年74岁的肖恩·康纳利，叠起来仍然和他在1962年初次于银幕上饰演007情报员时一样的耀眼迷人

 

许美鸾译

 

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在镁光灯下生活了50年后，康纳利仍是一个深谙生之道、凡事靠自己、从不道歉、坚持自己一贯不在乎人们看法的人。

汤姆斯·肖恩·康纳利于1930年8月25日在苏格兰的喷泉桥出生。他的父亲乔是位卡车司机，母亲优法米雅则是家庭主妇。“我们很穷，”康纳莱曾说过，“但我从不知有多穷，因为那儿每个人都如此。”

“汤米”和喷泉桥其他的青少年一起在街上长大。当地的帮派给他取了个“汤大个儿”的绰号，因为他的身材和他能痛扁许多玩伴之故。

在皇家海军3年期满返家后，他做过各种工作，并存了一点足够的钱加入但尼丁举重俱乐部成为会员。一加入，俱乐部的同伴们就提名他参加世界先生比赛。所以1953年时，康纳利前往伦敦，因为预赛在那儿举行。在那里，一位当地的选角导演发掘了他，要他加入一部伦敦制作的歌舞剧《南太平洋》里的合唱团。

“我既不能唱，又不会跳舞，”康纳利承认。“但我可以站在那儿装好看。”

才只排演了一场，“我当下就决定让演戏成为我的毕生职业，”他说。

 

1 debonair   

adj.殷勤的，快乐的

参考例句：

• He strolled about,look very debonair in his elegant new suit.他穿了一身讲究的新衣服逛来逛去，显得颇为惬意。
• He was a handsome,debonair,death-defying racing-driver.他是一位英俊潇洒、风流倜傥、敢于挑战死神的赛车手。

2 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 stint   

v.节省，限制，停止；n.舍不得化，节约，限制；连续不断的一段时间从事某件事

参考例句：

• He lavished money on his children without stint.他在孩子们身上花钱毫不吝惜。
• We hope that you will not stint your criticism.我们希望您不吝指教。

6 assorted   

adj.各种各样的，各色俱备的

参考例句：

• There's a bag of assorted sweets on the table.桌子上有一袋什锦糖果。
• He has always assorted with men of his age.他总是与和他年令相仿的人交往。

7 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

8 rehearsal   

n.排练，排演；练习

参考例句：

• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。
• You can sharpen your skills with rehearsal.排练可以让技巧更加纯熟。

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

11 stylish   

adj.流行的，时髦的；漂亮的，气派的

参考例句：

• He's a stylish dresser.他是个穿着很有格调的人。
• What stylish women are wearing in Paris will be worn by women all over the world.巴黎女性时装往往会引导世界时装潮流。

12 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

13 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。