VOA常速英语2007-Dinosaurs Return to Life

By George Dwyer
Washington
26 October 2007
 

A new high-tech¹ stage show is attempting to portray² in 95 minutes what it took evolution millions of years to accomplish. "Walking with Dinosaurs³ - The Live Experience" uses life-size models of Tyrannosaurus, Stegosaurus and 13 other extinct dinosaurs to realistically re-create an era when these giants roamed the Earth. As VOA's George Dwyer reports, the presentation combines the latest in Hollywood special effects with a powerful lesson in natural science.

This is how things might have looked like if you had wandered the Earth 65 million years ago, just as the age of the dinosaurs was coming to an end.

This semblance⁴ of that time, called "Walking with Dinosaurs - the Live Experience," is now appearing at sports arenas⁵ around the world. Fifteen life-sized 'virtual' dinosaurs dwarf⁶ human spectators as they rumble⁷ and roar in a multi-media extravaganza notable for its realism.

"These dinosaurs had to be able to be in 360 degrees look realistic and walk around on their own with sort of no strings⁸ attached," says Cameron Wenn, who is Director of "Walking with Dinosaurs - The Live Experience."

Wenn says it is essentially⁹ a puppet show - albeit¹⁰ on a monumental scale. "Nobody has ever done anything like this before and whilst it is educational it is still a live theatrical¹¹ show so we have kind of come up with a hybrid¹² term of 'edutainment' because it is a bit of both.

We start at the beginning and we take the key dinosaurs and the key points in their evolution and we explain the story that way. So that we sort of leapfrog through periods to get to the very end where they all died out."

Puppeteers¹³ control the huge beasts from backstage, sending directional instructions by remote control. Dramatic lighting¹⁴, audio effects, and other theatrical production techniques have helped make the show a hit with both adults and children.

One spectator said, "I've got four boys, the older two (have) always loved dinosaurs and the little ones are just now getting into dinosaurs. So it was actually perfect timing¹⁵."

Wenn agrees, the show is special. "It is amazing. You will see a a little three year old sitting next to its mom and go, 'Hey look Mommy, that is an ankylosaurus.' And you will see the mother go, 'How do you know that?" he says.

Wenn explains "Walking With Dinosaurs" cost $20 million to produce and employs the combined talents of some 150 artists and technicians. And it shows. When a stage production scores big on Broadway and is destined¹⁶ for an extended run, theater critics say it 'has legs.'

"Walking with Dinosaurs" has legs. Big legs.

1 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。

2 portray   

v.描写，描述；画(人物、景象等)

参考例句：

• It is difficult to portray feelings in words.感情很难用言语来描写。
• Can you portray the best and worst aspects of this job?您能描述一下这份工作最好与最坏的方面吗？

3 dinosaurs   

n.恐龙( dinosaur的名词复数 )；守旧落伍的人，过时落后的东西

参考例句：

• The brontosaurus was one of the largest of all dinosaurs. 雷龙是所有恐龙中最大的一种。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Dinosaurs have been extinct for millions of years. 恐龙绝种已有几百万年了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 semblance   

n.外貌，外表

参考例句：

• Her semblance of anger frightened the children.她生气的样子使孩子们感到害怕。
• Those clouds have the semblance of a large head.那些云的形状像一个巨大的人头。

5 arenas   

表演场地( arena的名词复数 )； 竞技场； 活动或斗争的场所或场面； 圆形运动场

参考例句：

• Demolition derbies are large-scale automobile rodeos that take place in big arenas. 撞车比赛指的是在很大的竞技场上举行的大型汽车驾驶技术表演。
• Are there areas of privacy in the most public of arenas? 在绝大部分公开的场合中存在需要保护隐私的领域吗？

6 dwarf   

n.矮子，侏儒，矮小的动植物；vt.使…矮小

参考例句：

• The dwarf's long arms were not proportional to his height.那侏儒的长臂与他的身高不成比例。
• The dwarf shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. 矮子耸耸肩膀，摇摇头。

7 rumble   

n.隆隆声；吵嚷；v.隆隆响；低沉地说

参考例句：

• I hear the rumble of thunder in the distance.我听到远处雷声隆隆。
• We could tell from the rumble of the thunder that rain was coming.我们根据雷的轰隆声可断定，天要下雨了。

8 strings   

n.弦

参考例句：

• He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。

9 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

10 albeit   

conj.即使；纵使；虽然

参考例句：

• Albeit fictional,she seemed to have resolved the problem.虽然是虚构的，但是在她看来好象是解决了问题。
• Albeit he has failed twice,he is not discouraged.虽然失败了两次，但他并没有气馁。

11 theatrical   

adj.剧场的，演戏的；做戏似的，做作的

参考例句：

• The final scene was dismayingly lacking in theatrical effect.最后一场缺乏戏剧效果，叫人失望。
• She always makes some theatrical gesture.她老在做些夸张的手势。

12 hybrid   

n.(动，植）杂种，混合物

参考例句：

• That is a hybrid perpetual rose.那是一株杂交的四季开花的蔷薇。
• The hybrid was tall,handsome,and intelligent.那混血儿高大、英俊、又聪明。

13 puppeteers   

n.操纵木偶的人，操纵傀儡( puppeteer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

14 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

15 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

16 destined   

adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的

参考例句：

• It was destined that they would marry.他们结婚是缘分。
• The shipment is destined for America.这批货物将运往美国。