VOA标准英语2011--Classic Romance 'Jane Eyre' Gets New Mak

One of the world's most popular romantic novels, first published in 1847, has been made into more than 25 feature films and television adaptations. The latest to take on the Charlotte Bronte classicJane Eyre is American director Cary Joji Fukunaga with Australia-born Mia Wasikowska in the title role.
"Your gaze is very direct, Miss Eyre. Do you think me handsome?"
"No sir."
"You're afraid of me."
"I'm not afraid."
A fictional¹ memoir² of a survivor³ in an often-cruel world, Jane Eyre follows the orphaned⁴ heroine from an abusive childhood to her teenage and young adult years as governess at Thornfield Hall. There, amid the windswept moors⁵, Jane meets the love of her life, the moody⁶ and mysterious Mr. Rochester.
"Jane, of whom do you think I speak?"
"Of Miss Ingram."
"I'm asking what Jane Eyre would do to secure my happiness."
"I would do anything for you, sir: anything that was right."
Alas⁷, the course of love does not run smooth for the heroine of the novel by Charlotte Bronte. Great obstacles stand in the way of happiness for Jane and Rochester.
Mia Wasikowska was on screen last year as a contemporary California teenager in the Oscar-nominated "The Kids Are All Right." The young Australian considers Jane Eyre - both the story and the character - just as relevant and relatable.
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Mia Wasikowska as Jane Eyre in "Jane Eyre"
"She is a real independent thinker and has such a strong sense of who she is and what is right and wrong, despite what society tells her. At the same time, she is very reserved," Wasikowska says. "The book, start to finish, is her internal monologue⁸. Everything we know is what we are told directly from her, so the challenge when you adapt that to screen is how do you keep all that intensity⁹ of and feeling and everything she is thinking."
"Am I a machine without feelings? Do you think that because I am poor, obscure, plain and little that I am soulless and heartless? I have as much soul as you and full as much heart ...and if God had blessed me with beauty and wealth I could make it as hard for you to leave me as it is for I to leave you."
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Director Cary Joji Fukanaga on the set of "Jane Eyre"
"What makes Jane Eyre different in terms of a romance story [is] she is the one dictating¹⁰ the terms of the relationship and not him. That is rare," explains director Cary Joji Fukunaga. He says he knows this latest version will be compared with all of the previous films. But Fukunaga says what matters to him is how it compares with the original novel.
"What I really wanted to do was achieve the tone that Charlotte Bronte had naturally written into the story," he says. "Quite often in other adaptations, the more suspenseful¹¹, gloomy, horror elements of the story are not necessarily included in the film. Those adaptations treat the story more like a period romance, a straight love story. But there are supernatural scenes in the book that are iconic. Scenes like the "red room" as a child or the woman locked in the attic¹² and wandering around the house [making] bumps in the night. "
English actor Jamie Bell plays St. John Rivers, a minister whose family takes in Jane when circumstances force her to flee Thornfield Hall and disguise her identity. Bell admits he was skeptical¹³ about yet another adaptation.
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Mia Wasikowska (left) and Jamie Bell (right) in "Jane Eyre"
"To be honest, I am not a fan of period dramas," admits Bell, "I think, being English, they are so shoved down your throat. When you're a kid you read it in school, you watch it on TV and it is on TV when you come home from school. We understand aesthetically¹⁴ what these period dramas look like. You know, it looks pretty and everyone is kind of nice and they talk funny. Their values are kind of strict and a conversation about matchbooks is incredibly intellectual all of a sudden. But, the truth is, I never really experienced what it feels like to be in that time and in our 'Jane Eyre,' going into all of these places - and the film is very much shot from her perspective - we get a sense of what that must feel like."
Star Mia Wasikowska believes the enduring appeal is that Jane Eyre continues to be a role model, even more than 160 years since her story first appeared in print.
"She's such an important role for women and particularly young women," notes Wasikowska. "What I loved about her is she has this inherent sense of self-respect. There is nowhere that should have come from. It's not like she had a loving upbringing or anything. Everything that she's achieved or has become is because of what she has made herself. Also there is something inside of her that makes her believe she is worthy¹⁵ of being treated right and being loved and respected, and she puts herself first."
The cast of Jane Eyre also features Irish actor Michael Fassbender as Rochester. Dame¹⁶ Judi Dench plays Mrs. Fairfax, the warm-hearted housekeeper¹⁷ at cold Thornfield Hall. The screenplay is by playwright¹⁸ Moira Buffini and the soundtrack music is by Oscar-winner Dario Marianelli.

1 fictional   

adj.小说的，虚构的

参考例句：

• The names of the shops are entirely fictional.那些商店的名字完全是虚构的。
• The two authors represent the opposite poles of fictional genius.这两位作者代表了天才小说家两个极端。

2 memoir   

n.[pl.]回忆录，自传；记事录

参考例句：

• He has just published a memoir in honour of his captain.他刚刚出了一本传记来纪念他的队长。
• In her memoir,the actress wrote about the bittersweet memories of her first love.在那个女演员的自传中，她写到了自己苦乐掺半的初恋。

3 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

4 orphaned   

[计][修]孤立

参考例句：

• Orphaned children were consigned to institutions. 孤儿都打发到了福利院。
• He was orphaned at an early age. 他幼年时便成了孤儿。

5 moors   

v.停泊，系泊（船只）( moor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• the North York moors 北约克郡的漠泽
• They're shooting grouse up on the moors. 他们在荒野射猎松鸡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 moody   

adj.心情不稳的，易怒的，喜怒无常的

参考例句：

• He relapsed into a moody silence.他又重新陷于忧郁的沉默中。
• I'd never marry that girl.She's so moody.我决不会和那女孩结婚的。她太易怒了。

7 alas   

int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)

参考例句：

• Alas!The window is broken!哎呀！窗子破了！
• Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而，真理很少带有浪漫色彩。

8 monologue   

n.长篇大论，（戏剧等中的）独白

参考例句：

• The comedian gave a long monologue of jokes.喜剧演员讲了一长段由笑话组成的独白。
• He went into a long monologue.他一个人滔滔不绝地讲话。

9 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

10 dictating   

v.大声讲或读( dictate的现在分词 )；口授；支配；摆布

参考例句：

• The manager was dictating a letter to the secretary. 经理在向秘书口授信稿。 来自辞典例句
• Her face is impassive as she listens to Miller dictating the warrant for her arrest. 她毫无表情地在听米勒口述拘留她的证书。 来自辞典例句

11 suspenseful   

adj.悬疑的，令人紧张的

参考例句：

• If his experiences then had been carefully recorded, it would undoubtedly have made a suspenseful and moving book. 若是把他所经历的事实记录下来，那就是一部充满着大智大勇，惊心动魄的小说。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Lily is an atmospheric and suspenseful tale of love, loss and obsession. 这是一个关于爱情、失落与迷恋的故事，充满情调与悬疑色彩。 来自互联网

12 attic   

n.顶楼，屋顶室

参考例句：

• Leakiness in the roof caused a damp attic.屋漏使顶楼潮湿。
• What's to be done with all this stuff in the attic?顶楼上的材料怎么处理？

13 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

14 aesthetically   

adv.美地，艺术地

参考例句：

• Segmental construction contributes toward aesthetically pleasing structures in many different sites. 对于许多不同的现场条件，分段施工都能提供美观，颇有魄力的桥型结构。
• All isolation techniques may be aesthetically unacceptable or even dirty. 所有的隔离方法都有可能在美观方面使人难以接受，或甚至是肮脏的。

15 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

16 dame   

n.女士

参考例句：

• The dame tell of her experience as a wife and mother.这位年长妇女讲了她作妻子和母亲的经验。
• If you stick around,you'll have to marry that dame.如果再逗留多一会，你就要跟那个夫人结婚。

17 housekeeper   

n.管理家务的主妇，女管家

参考例句：

• A spotless stove told us that his mother is a diligent housekeeper.炉子清洁无瑕就表明他母亲是个勤劳的主妇。
• She is an economical housekeeper and feeds her family cheaply.她节约持家，一家人吃得很省。

18 playwright   

n.剧作家，编写剧本的人

参考例句：

• Gwyn Thomas was a famous playwright.格温·托马斯是著名的剧作家。
• The playwright was slaughtered by the press.这位剧作家受到新闻界的无情批判。