2006年VOA标准英语-Handful of Documentaries Hit Theatres for Summe

By Alan Silverman
Hollywood
24 June 2006

Squeezed in among all the multi-million dollar Hollywood blockbusters this season there is also a handful of documentary films drawing audiences to neighborhood theaters. Alan Silverman has a look at three of the current non-fiction films: Heart of the Game about a girls high school basketball team, Who Killed The Electric Car, about the sad history of a non-polluting automobile¹, and Wordplay, about a pastime that is a passion for millions, crossword² puzzles.

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Wordplay takes the audience into the world of puzzlers at the most competitive level: the national tournament held every year in Stamford, Connecticut for the past three decades. The film also introduces a range of people for whom the daily crossword puzzle is a passion: from workaday commuters to show business celebrities⁴ and world leaders.

"I find it very relaxing and I really found it relaxing in the White House because, just for a moment, you take your mind off whatever you're doing," said Former President Bill Clinton.  He is among puzzle enthusiasts⁵ interviewed in the film.

"Sometimes you have to go at a problem the way I go at a complicated crossword puzzle. Sometimes I'd pick up the Saturday New York Times crossword puzzle and I'd go through way over half the clues before I'd know the answer to one," added Mr. Clinton.  "Then you start with what you know the answer to and then you just build on it. Eventually you can unravel⁶ the whole puzzle.

"I like puzzle people. They're smart, interesting, well-read, cultured people," said puzzle-master Will Shortz who is at the center of Wordplay.  He founded and runs the national tournament, but Shortz is best known as editor of the daily New York Times puzzle.

"My all time favorite clue that I wrote was for the answer 'spiral staircase' and my clue was 'it may turn into a different story," he added.  "You see a clue like that. It leads you down the garden path, you're thinking of the narrative⁷, and when the correct answer hits you finally, because you start to get it from the crossing answers, you smack⁸ your forehead and say 'of course!' I enjoy coming up with those and, obviously, solvers like those too."

Wordplay is directed by Patrick Creadon.

Scene from Images from Who Killed the Electric Car?   
  
An environmental effort that failed or, depending on your perspective, was not allowed to succeed is the subject of the documentary Who Killed The Electric Car.

The film chronicles the history of a recent California clean air policy that required a certain percentage of all cars sold in the state be "zero emission⁹ vehicles." Manufacturers responded with electric cars, notably¹⁰ the innovative¹¹ EV1 from General Motors; but director Chris Paine says his interviews with drivers, engineers and officials showed that the automakers, oil companies and even government agencies put up roadblocks.

"Almost no one knows there were electric cars sold in the United States," said Mr. Paine.  "The short story is California made car companies make these cars. They made several thousand - all of them: Ford³, GM, Toyota - and they were probably the most advanced cars ever developed with their all-electronic design, no internal combustion¹² engine - all of the things that the movie talks about. Then I think when the car industry, the oil industry and various people saw what was really at stake for them, they dismantled¹³ this program, dismantled the law and went after it very hard. The irony¹⁴, or tragedy, of it is they would say 'consumers never wanted the electric car; they were disappointing and never made it in the marketplace.' Well, the marketplace never got to really try them out."

As Who Killed The Electric Car shows, almost all of the EV1 electric cars were destroyed by the manufacturer, even while owners were clamoring to buy them back.

A high school girls basketball team from Washington State and its unconventional coach are the stars of the uplifting story in The Heart of the Game.

"I can honestly, from my heart, say that I could care less about winning and losing," said Bill Resler a tax law professor.  "However, winning is more fun."

Mr. decided¹⁵ to coach high school basketball out of love for the game and the hope that he could help the girls at Seattle's Roosevelt High succeed. They did, but coach Resler says he was surprised when filmmaker Ward¹⁶ Serrill asked to document the real-life sports drama:

"When he came and said he wanted to film the way I coached my thought was 'what an odd thing to do,'" added. Mr. Resler.  "I could see no reason for him to do such; and then he was around all the time, filming every little detail, and I would constantly be thinking 'what is he thinking about? what does he think he has here?' When I finally saw the movie, I was stunned¹⁷. I could not believe the way he captured the emotion of what those teenage girls go through."

That is most evident in the story of Darnelia Russell, a standout player who leaves school when she becomes pregnant, but then returns to complete her studies and battles to regain¹⁸ a place on the team. Russell says watching the film made her realize what a powerfully positive force this teacher had been in her life.

"He always would tell me that I was smart and whatever, but I never would believe him because if I'm so smart, how come I can't pay attention or just do right," she said.  "I don't understand, if I'm so smart, how come I just can't do it. Then after a while I figured maybe he is telling the truth and not just saying that because I'm a good basketball player and he wants me on his team. Maybe he really does see that I'm smart and I can do it. After I realized that, it's when I started doing better just thinking positive about everything.

The Heart of the Game is narrated by actor and rap music star Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges as it follows the changes in the Roosevelt High team and its players over the course of four years

1 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。

2 crossword   

n.纵横字谜，纵横填字游戏

参考例句：

• He shows a great interest in crossword puzzles.他对填字游戏表现出很大兴趣。
• Don't chuck yesterday's paper out.I still haven't done the crossword.别扔了昨天的报纸，我还没做字谜游戏呢。

3 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

4 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

5 enthusiasts   

n.热心人，热衷者( enthusiast的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A group of enthusiasts have undertaken the reconstruction of a steam locomotive. 一群火车迷已担负起重造蒸汽机车的任务。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Now a group of enthusiasts are going to have the plane restored. 一群热心人计划修复这架飞机。 来自新概念英语第二册

6 unravel   

v.弄清楚（秘密）；拆开，解开，松开

参考例句：

• He was good with his hands and could unravel a knot or untangle yarn that others wouldn't even attempt.他的手很灵巧，其他人甚至都不敢尝试的一些难解的绳结或缠在一起的纱线，他都能解开。
• This is the attitude that led him to unravel a mystery that long puzzled Chinese historians.正是这种态度使他解决了长期以来使中国历史学家们大惑不解的谜。

7 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

8 smack   

vt.拍，打，掴；咂嘴；vi.含有…意味；n.拍

参考例句：

• She gave him a smack on the face.她打了他一个嘴巴。
• I gave the fly a smack with the magazine.我用杂志拍了一下苍蝇。

9 emission   

n.发出物，散发物；发出，散发

参考例句：

• Rigorous measures will be taken to reduce the total pollutant emission.采取严格有力措施，降低污染物排放总量。
• Finally,the way to effectively control particulate emission is pointed out.最后，指出有效降低颗粒排放的方向。

10 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。

11 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。

12 combustion   

n.燃烧；氧化；骚动

参考例句：

• We might be tempted to think of combustion.我们也许会联想到氧化。
• The smoke formed by their combustion is negligible.由它燃烧所生成的烟是可忽略的。

13 dismantled   

拆开( dismantle的过去式和过去分词 )； 拆卸； 废除； 取消

参考例句：

• The plant was dismantled of all its equipment and furniture. 这家工厂的设备和家具全被拆除了。
• The Japanese empire was quickly dismantled. 日本帝国很快被打垮了。

14 irony   

n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄

参考例句：

• She said to him with slight irony.她略带嘲讽地对他说。
• In her voice we could sense a certain tinge of irony.从她的声音里我们可以感到某种讥讽的意味。

15 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。

16 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

17 stunned   

adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
• The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。

18 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。