VOA慢速英语2014 好莱坞电影教给我们的科学知识

 

AS IT IS 2014-08-05 Hollywood Movies Used to Teach Science 好莱坞电影教给我们的科学知识

Sometimes Steve Wolf gets blown up or is set on fire. But he claims his job is not really dangerous at all. He works as a stuntman² and a special-effects expert for movies and television. He says his breathtaking activities result from science. And he likes to share that science with school children.

Mr. Wolf recently visited an elementary school in Manassas, Virginia.  He told the students that stunts³ and special-effects -- the tricks we see in movies -- look terrifying, but are under control.

“Movie fire takes direction. So it'll do exactly what we need on the movie set.”

He told the schoolchildren that the stunts and special effects result from physics and chemistry -- not magic.

“Three, two, one.”                                                   

Steve Wolf showed the students how an explosion is created in a movie. He says he loves their reactions.

“…when kids watch something and that makes a connection and they go, ‘Oh, wow -- that was really cool!’”

In addition to performing stunts, Steve Wolf has planned special-effects for television shows. He has had jobs like that for 25 years. But he says only rarely has he been in danger.

“(When you see something that looks like a dangerous stunt¹ on a movie) that takes place, you know, in 10 or 15 seconds -- that's, what you're, what you're seeing is three or four weeks of filming. And we film it in little bits and then we edit⁴ it together. So, in many cases the stunt that you're seeing never actually happened.”

The stuntman and his team use fuel, oxygen, heat and chemical reactions. He asks the children what that makes, and gets the answer: “Fire!”

Steve Wolf says he became involved in science education 20 years ago. At that time, he learned that the United States was not rated among the top 20 nations in science education. That did not seem right to him. He remembered that when he was very young, he watched an American astronaut walk on the moon.

So Mr. Wolf decided⁵ to establish a program for students. It is called “Science in the Movies.” Over 20 years, he has performed more than 4,000 demonstrations⁶ at schools and science events around the world.

“(And in the process of a one-hour show), we are able to show kids over a hundred science concepts that they need to know.”

Kids like Ava Redondo and Mason Simms get involved.

“I want to become a scientist. It was really good. I love that he does the explosion.

I was actually...had my mind set on becoming a basketball player. But I think this special-effects thing can be fun.”

Steve Wolf says when children get deeply involved in learning, they teach themselves.

1 stunt   

n.惊人表演，绝技，特技；vt.阻碍...发育，妨碍...生长

参考例句：

• Lack of the right food may stunt growth.缺乏适当的食物会阻碍发育。
• Right up there is where the big stunt is taking place.那边将会有惊人的表演。

2 stuntman   

n.特技演员

参考例句：

• The stuntman will double for the main actor during the action scenes.一些动作场景中，特技演员代替主演。
• The stuntman flew the aircraft upside-down within a hair's breadth of the rooftops.那位做电影演员替身的杂技演员驾驶着飞机翻过来又倒过去，差一点撞着平顶房的屋顶。

3 stunts   

n.惊人的表演( stunt的名词复数 )；（广告中）引人注目的花招；愚蠢行为；危险举动v.阻碍…发育[生长]，抑制，妨碍( stunt的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He did all his own stunts. 所有特技都是他自己演的。
• The plane did a few stunts before landing. 飞机着陆前做了一些特技。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 edit   

vt.编辑，校订，主编，编辑，剪辑（影片等）

参考例句：

• You'll have to edit that tape,it's too long.那盘录音带太长，你得把它剪辑一下。
• It is not yet decided who will edit it.由谁校订未决。

5 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。

6 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。