VOA常速英语2008年-Hollywood Honors Films on Sunday

By Mike O'Sullivan
Los Angeles
21 February 2008

The stars will be out in Hollywood Sunday for the highlight of the year in the movie industry, presentation of the Academy Awards, known as Oscars.   Mike O'Sullivan looks ahead to the celebration.

Sunday's event at the Kodak Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard was nearly derailed by a Hollywood writers' strike, but the strike ended this month, and the Oscars should have all their usual glitz and glamour¹.  Leading films this year include No Country for Old Men, about a drug deal gone bad near the Texas-Mexico border, and There Will Be Blood, a tale of the California oil boom.  Both films have eight Oscar nominations³.

Atonement, a drama about love in wartime Britain, and the legal thriller⁴ Michael Clayton each have seven.

Michael Clayton star George Clooney is a nominee⁵ for best actor, but faces tough competition from Viggo Mortensen, Tommy Lee Jones, Johnny Depp, and Daniel Day-Lewis, who plays a ruthless oilman in There Will Be Blood.

Laura Linney is a nominee for best actress for her role in The Savages⁶, a story of a dysfunctional American family.   At a luncheon⁷ for nominees⁸ earlier this month, she was asked about this nomination², her third.  She said it was a happy surprise.

"And I think the joy of the nominations deepen a little bit as you are fortunate enough to have them come your way," she said.

Linney will compete against Cate Blanchett, nominated for her starring role in the period film Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Julie Christie in Away from Her, Marion Cotillard in La Vie en Rose, and Canadian newcomer Ellen Page, 21, who plays a pregnant teenager in the comedy Juno.

Page says the nomination feels unreal.

"It is very bizarre," she said.  "It does not always feel right when you are being associated with four women and a group of people who you have so much respect for and so much admiration⁹ for.  It feels like, are you sure?  Do you want to double-check?"

Veteran actor Hal Holbrook, 83, was thrilled to receive his first Oscar nomination for his supporting role in the Sean Penn film Into the Wild.  It chronicles a young man's journey to the wilderness¹⁰ of Alaska.

"It is a tremendous thrill, it is a great thrill, especially at this age of your life, you know," he said.  "It is something you maybe dream about a few times when you are an actor going on through year after year of a career, but you do not really expect it to happen to you.  And it is just a lucky break that Sean Penn put me in this role."

When striking writers announced an end to a three-month work stoppage this month, Hollywood breathed a sigh of relief and Oscar writers began to work double-time.  Hollywood production is being ramped¹¹ up, and the show will go on at the Oscars.

1 glamour   

n.魔力，魅力；vt.迷住

参考例句：

• Foreign travel has lost its glamour for her.到国外旅行对她已失去吸引力了。
• The moonlight cast a glamour over the scene.月光给景色增添了魅力。

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 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。

5 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。

6 savages   

未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There're some savages living in the forest. 森林里居住着一些野人。
• That's an island inhabited by savages. 那是一个野蛮人居住的岛屿。

7 luncheon   

n.午宴，午餐，便宴

参考例句：

• We have luncheon at twelve o'clock.我们十二点钟用午餐。
• I have a luncheon engagement.我午饭有约。

8 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

9 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。

10 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

11 ramped   

土堤斜坡( ramp的过去式和过去分词 )； 斜道； 斜路； （装车或上下飞机的）活动梯

参考例句：

• With the arrival of George Lucas, the pace has ramped up. 随着乔治·卢卡斯的到来，速度大大加快。
• They also sold corporate bonds as the global financial crisis ramped up. 在全球金融危机加剧之际，他们还抛售了公司债券。