Take Away English-British Oscars Hopefuls 有希望荣获奥斯卡奖的英国人

Hollywood's greatest prize

The British romantic drama Atonement is leading the pack of British hopefuls for this year’s Oscars.

The film is up for seven gongs including best picture. However, the stars of the movie Keira Knightley from Pirates of the Caribbean and James McEvoy from The Last King of Scotland, haven’t been nominated for their acting¹.

The thirteen-year old Irish actress Saoirse Ronan has eclipsed her Atonement co-stars by picking up a nomination² for the best supporting actress.

A British-born Irish actor, Daniel Day-Lewis, has been shortlisted as best actor for his role in the film There Will Blood.

In the best actress category the British star Julie Christie is a nominee³ for playing an Alzheimer’s sufferer in Away From Her.

Overall, the American movie No Country For Old Men has topped the list of Oscar nominations⁴ with a total of eight.

The Australian actress Cate Blanchett could pick up both the best actress and best supporting actress awards for her parts as Queen Elizabeth the First of England and in the bio-pic of the rock legend Bob Dylan called I’m Not There. Cate, who’s a woman, has drawn⁵ praise for her portrayal⁶ of Dylan, who is, of course, a man.

It’s still not certain whether the Oscars ceremony will go ahead this year because of an ongoing⁷ strike by screenwriters, though organisers insist it will take place.

But the announcement of this year’s Oscar nominations has been tainted⁸ with sadness at the news that the actor Heath Ledger⁹ has died.

The body of the 28-year-old co-star of the 2005 Ang Lee film Brokeback Mountain was discovered in his home in New York.

Police are investigating if the actor had taken an overdose of prescription¹⁰ pills.

GLOSSARY 词汇表

romantic drama 浪漫剧 leading the pack 领先于其他的候选影片 gongs 锣 eclipsed 使…失色 shortlisted 筛选后的候选人名单 category 种类 Alzheimer's 老年痴呆症 bio-pic 传记片 portrayal 扮演 tainted with sadness 带有悲伤色彩

Atonement 赎罪，赔罪 hopefuls 有希望获得成功的人 nominated 被提名 best supporting actress 最佳女配角 role 角色 nominee 被提名的人 topped the list 名列榜首 drawn praise 受到称赞 screenwriters 编剧，电影剧本作家 overdose 过量 （服用药物）

1 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。

2 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

3 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

4 nominations   

n.提名，任命( nomination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nominations are invited for the post of party chairman. 为党主席职位征集候选人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Much coverage surrounded his abortive bids for the 1960,1964, and 1968 Republican Presidential nominations. 许多消息报道都围绕着1960年、1964年和1968年他为争取提名为共和党总统候选人所做努力的失败。 来自辞典例句

5 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

6 portrayal   

n.饰演；描画

参考例句：

• His novel is a vivid portrayal of life in a mining community.他的小说生动地描绘了矿区的生活。
• The portrayal of the characters in the novel is lifelike.该书中的人物写得有血有肉。

7 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

8 tainted   

adj.腐坏的；污染的；沾污的；感染的v.使变质( taint的过去式和过去分词 )；使污染；败坏；被污染，腐坏，败坏

参考例句：

• The administration was tainted with scandal. 丑闻使得政府声名狼藉。
• He was considered tainted by association with the corrupt regime. 他因与腐败政府有牵连而名誉受损。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 ledger   

n.总帐，分类帐；帐簿

参考例句：

• The young man bowed his head and bent over his ledger again.那个年轻人点头应诺，然后又埋头写起分类帐。
• She is a real accountant who even keeps a detailed household ledger.她不愧是搞财务的，家庭分类账记得清楚详细。

10 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。