2006年VOA标准英语-International Thriller 'Babel' Tops Golden Glob

By Mike O'Sullivan
Los Angeles
14 December 2006

'Babel', a film that tells the story of international families linked by a tragic¹ shooting, has received seven nominations³ for Hollywood's Golden Globe awards. VOA's Mike O'Sullivan has details from Los Angeles.

 
Cate Blanchett and Brad Pitt's frantic⁴ struggle to survive in Babel
'Babel', starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, examines a chain of events that starts with a tragic shooting in the Moroccan desert.

Pitt: "I need to call my embassy."

Woman: "Where are you?"

Pitt: "Where are we? I don't know. I don't know."

The film has an international cast and explores cultural gaps between people. Pitt earned an acting⁵ nomination², and 'Babel ' is up for the Golden Globe for best film drama.

The crime thriller⁶ 'The Departed' earned six nominations, including one for best drama and another for director Martin Scorsese.

Other competitors in the best drama category include 'Bobby', which looks at events surrounding the assassination⁷ of Senator Robert Kennedy, the suburban⁸ tale 'Little Children', and a story about the British royal family, 'The Queen'.

Helen Mirren was nominated for best dramatic actress for her starring role as Queen Elizabeth the Second. The film explores family tensions surrounding the death of Princess Diana.

Mirren: "No member of the royal family will speak publicly about this."

Mirren also received two nominations for her television work, including one for her starring role in the historical miniseries Elizabeth the First.

 
Leonardo DiCaprio and Djimon Hounsou run from trouble in "Blood Diamond"
Other multiple nominees⁹ include Leonardo DiCaprio, who earned acting nods for his roles in 'The Departed' and 'Blood Diamond'. That film concerns the diamond trade in Sierra Leone during the civil war of the 1990s. DiCaprio plays a South African mercenary opposite Jennifer Connelly.

Connelly: "Which one are you, smuggler¹⁰?"

DiCaprio: "Am I?"

Connelly: "Somehow you don't strike me as the UNICEF type."

DiCaprio: "How about soldier of fortune, or is that too much of a cliché?"

Director Clint Eastwood was also nominated twice, for his companion World War Two films: 'Flags of Our Fathers' , and 'Letters from Iwo Jima'.

Nominees for best film comedy include the fashion industry satire¹¹ 'The Devil Wears Prada'  and the faux documentary 'Borat', which shows British comic Sacha Baron¹² Cohen traveling the United States pretending to be a journalist from Kazakhstan.

"I like you peoples. Can you teach me how to dress. How can I be like you?"

The Golden Globes are awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a group of about 90 entertainment journalists. Winners will be announced January 15.

The Golden Globes are considered a prelude¹³ to the more prestigious¹⁴ Oscars, which will follow in February.

1 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

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 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

4 frantic   

adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的

参考例句：

• I've had a frantic rush to get my work done.我急急忙忙地赶完工作。
• He made frantic dash for the departing train.他发疯似地冲向正开出的火车。

5 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。

6 thriller   

n.惊险片，恐怖片

参考例句：

• He began by writing a thriller.That book sold a million copies.他是写惊险小说起家的。那本书卖了一百万册。
• I always take a thriller to read on the train.我乘火车时，总带一本惊险小说看。

7 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

8 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

9 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

10 smuggler   

n.走私者

参考例句：

• The smuggler is in prison tonight, awaiting extradition to Britain. 这名走私犯今晚在监狱，等待引渡到英国。
• The smuggler was finally obliged to inform against his boss. 那个走私犯最后不得不告发他的首领。

11 satire   

n.讽刺，讽刺文学，讽刺作品

参考例句：

• The movie is a clever satire on the advertising industry.那部影片是关于广告业的一部巧妙的讽刺作品。
• Satire is often a form of protest against injustice.讽刺往往是一种对不公正的抗议形式。

12 baron   

n.男爵；(商业界等)巨头，大王

参考例句：

• Henry Ford was an automobile baron.亨利·福特是一位汽车业巨头。
• The baron lived in a strong castle.男爵住在一座坚固的城堡中。

13 prelude   

n.序言，前兆，序曲

参考例句：

• The prelude to the musical composition is very long.这首乐曲的序曲很长。
• The German invasion of Poland was a prelude to World War II.德国入侵波兰是第二次世界大战的序幕。

14 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。