VOA标准英语2010年-Network TV Show Serves as Fodder for C

"Coming up tomorrow, we'll show you what to do with those shampoo bottles with just an inch of shampoo left.""Ah!"Welcome to Daybreak, a nationwide morning television show with an eclectic mix of news and lifestyle features ...and an inferiority complex.
"So you're a fan of our morning program?""Oh, yes! I think it has so many ...""Yeah, yeah, we know it's terrible: perpetually in fourth place behind the "Today" show, "Good Morning America" and that thing on CBS, whatever it's called."Macall PolayRachel McAdams plays Becky Fuller in Paramount¹ Pictures' MORNING GLORY. Into the fray² charges Becky Fuller: young, energetic, idealistic ...you might say she's got spunk³ ...and, freshly laid off from her job at Good Morning New Jersey⁴, she lands the thankless post of Daybreak executive producer. Determined⁵ to make the show a success, Becky lures⁶ once-great newsman Mike Pomeroy out of semi-retirement to co-host the program.
At first it does not go well, but eventually Becky turns the show around and, not coincidentally, also brightens the lives of everyone involved.
Morning Glory takes potshots at the real-life battle between news and entertainment waged every dawn on American television. Harrison Ford⁷ co-stars as the grizzled news veteran and says the real network morning broadcasts, on which he has done his share of appearances, are not the main targets:
Macall PolayLeft to right: Harrison Ford plays Mike Pomeroy and Rachel McAdams plays Becky Fuller in Paramount Pictures' MORNING GLORY. "We weren't mocking the good ones. We were mocking the bad ones and the people that do this well are much to be admired and they are a pleasure to work with," explained Ford. "They make what they do look very easy, so I'm not mocking the profession in general. We're just talking about, specifically, the lowest-rated morning talk show in the history of television."Diane Keaton plays program co-host Colleen Peck, a former beauty queen who gamely presents a range of feature topics from fashion and cooking tips to cozying up with frogs or whatever other interesting creatures show up on the set.
Macall PolayDiane Keaton (center) plays Colleen Peck in Paramount Pictures' MORNING GLORY. "I'm the person who is representing entertainment as the way to go. I'm the one who says 'give me a chance.' I'll do anything, just make this show work," Keaton explained.
Rachel McAdams plays the fresh-faced young producer Becky and says she researched the role by spending time with the character's real-life counterparts.
"We were fortunate enough to be invited into the control room of Good Morning America and the Today show and The Early Show and I just shadowed some producers there. [There are] not a lot of female executive producers," noted⁸ McAdams. " It's very uncommon⁹ at those bigger shows. I realized it is actually easier to be an actress than an executive producer on a morning television show."Macall PolayDirector Roger Michell (right) confers with Rachel McAdams (playing Becky Fuller, left) and Jeff Goldblum (playing Jerry Barnes, center) on the set of Paramount Pictures' MORNING GLORY. Director Roger Michell says the film tries to reflect that sense of admiration¹⁰ for the broadcasts as it also sends up the kind of people all of them have behind the scenes.
"I think morning television is a very broad target and we went to some lengths and pains not to attack it too broadly," Michell said. "No scenery falls down in the film, there's no kind of wobbly set or that kind of thing; and we did go to great lengths and with some degree of pleasure to research the wonderful world of morning television. In fact, from my point of view the more I researched it, the more admiration I had for the poor souls who labor¹¹ in that particular mine. The film is an affectionate account of morning television, but I don't think it is attempting to be satirical. I think it is attempting to be an accurate workplace comedy."The Morning Glory cast also features Jeff Goldblum as the smooth-talking executive in charge of the network. Patrick Wilson plays a fellow producer who understands Becky's dilemma¹² more than she realizes (at first). The screenplay is by Aline Brosh McKenna, who also wrote the fashion magazine workplace comedy hit, The Devil Wears Prada.

1 paramount   

a.最重要的，最高权力的

参考例句：

• My paramount object is to save the Union and destroy slavery.我的最高目标是拯救美国，摧毁奴隶制度。
• Nitrogen is of paramount importance to life on earth.氮对地球上的生命至关重要。

2 fray   

v.争吵；打斗；磨损，磨破；n.吵架；打斗

参考例句：

• Why should you get involved in their fray?你为什么要介入他们的争吵呢？
• Tempers began to fray in the hot weather.大热天脾气烦燥。

3 spunk   

n.勇气，胆量

参考例句：

• After his death,the soldier was cited for spunk.那位士兵死后因作战勇敢而受到表彰。
• I admired her independence and her spunk.我敬佩她的独立精神和勇气。

4 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

5 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

6 lures   

吸引力，魅力（lure的复数形式）

参考例句：

• He left home because of the lures of life in the city. 他离家是由于都市生活的诱惑。
• Perhaps it is the desire for solitude or the chance of making an unexpected discovery that lures men down to the depths of the earth. 可能正是寻觅幽静的去处，或者找个猎奇的机会的欲望引诱着人们进入地球的深处。

7 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。

8 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

9 uncommon   

adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的

参考例句：

• Such attitudes were not at all uncommon thirty years ago.这些看法在30年前很常见。
• Phil has uncommon intelligence.菲尔智力超群。

10 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。

11 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

12 dilemma   

n.困境，进退两难的局面

参考例句：

• I am on the horns of a dilemma about the matter.这件事使我进退两难。
• He was thrown into a dilemma.他陷入困境。