VOA标准英语2011--Sci-Fi Thriller 'Source Code' Gives A Fr

Sci-Fi Thriller¹ 'Source Code' Gives A Fresh Twist to Time Travel

The new film starring Jake Gyllenhaal returns to science fiction that is less about futuristic technology and more about how an ordinary character deals with extraordinary circumstances. Here's a look at Source Code.
"I took your advice. It was very good advice. Sean?"
"Look, I can see you think you know me, but I don't know who you are. My name is Captain Colter Stevens."
"You're kind of freaking me out."
The setting is a commuter² train speeding toward Chicago. If Sean, the man who just awoke from a fitful nap, seems confused, it's because he is actually Captain Stevens, a military officer sent on a most unusual and critical mission into the mind of another person.
"At 7:48 this morning Central Standard Time, a bomb exploded on a commuter train, killing³ everyone on board. That's the train that you've been on."
"No, no I'm right here. You're talking to me right now."
"A man named Sean Fentress was on that train. He, for all intents and purposes, is now you."
"This makes no sense."
The officer at the other end of the communications link explains that Captain Stevens has been sent into the final memories of this bombing victim through an experimental computer program named "Source Code." It allows him to see and hear and interact with the world of this other person for only eight minutes, his last eight minutes. But in that time, he needs to discover clues that could save many more lives.
"Think, Captain. Remember back. Who bombed the train?"
"I don't know who bombed the train."
"Then try again. We've been informed there will be another attack in six hours. If you find the bomber⁴, the next attack can be prevented."
Jonathan Wenk
Jake Gyllenhaal in "Source Code"
Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Captain Stevens who struggles with the concept but starts to believe he can change the past that he is sent back to relive over and over again.
"I remember reading the first 15 pages of the script, which is just like watching the first five minutes of the movie, being completely enthralled⁵ and then putting it down because I thought there is no way the rest is going to be as good as the first 15 pages," explained Gyllenhaal. "I couldn't help but pick it up again pretty quickly afterward⁶. So I read the rest of it, was just blown away by it and thought to myself 'there is a great character in the middle of this movie and the only way this is going to be worlds beyond other movies in a similar genre⁷ is if you have a real character in there."
Jonathan Wenk
Vera Farmiga, left, in a scene from "Source Code"
Vera Farmiga plays Captain Goodwin, the highly focused officer who is the time traveler's only link with the "real" world. She's a face on a screen who debriefs⁸ him, then re-starts the computer program that repeatedly sends him back to the doomed⁹ train.
"To me it's not so much what she is saying, but what she is not saying," Farmiga said, "what is difficult for her to say, what she is trying not to tell him and then making sure the thoughts were precise. I had to be compelled by the character in order for the audience to do the same. And for me that became about thoughts."
Jonathan Wenk
Michelle Monaghan and Jake Gyllenhaal in a scene from "Source Code"
Michelle Monaghan rounds out the triangle of main characters as Christina, the woman on the train who the time traveler encounters every time he is sent back on his mission.
Monaghan believes the science fiction merely provides an avenue into a powerful human drama.
"Is it ethical¹⁰ to sacrifice one life to save thousands?" asked Monaghan. "After having seen the movie a couple of times and then going to dinner afterward, people were really debating it and I was really surprised by how provocative¹¹ the material is. I knew when I read it that is was, but people have very strong opinions about it. It's not just black and white. It's very gray."
"What would you do if you knew you had less than eight minutes to live?"
"I don't know. I'd make those seconds count."
"Tell me everything is going to be okay."
"Everything is going to be okay."
Jonathan Wenk
Director Duncan Jones, center, with Jake Gyllenhaal and Michelle Monaghan on the set of "Source Code"
Source Code is the second film for director Duncan Jones, who won acclaim¹² for his 2009 drama Moon, also about solitary¹³ man on a dangerous mission.
Jones believes Moon and Source Code represent a return to what sci-fi films used to be like before they were overtaken by special effects.
"What we can do with special effects now has been driving the science fiction renaissance," noted¹⁴ Jones, "but once everybody gets over the "whiz-bang" potential of the special effects - and they will, because at some point the explosions and the aliens and all of that are just not going to be the draw any more; you're not going to want to see that again - I am hoping and feeling fairly confident that it's going to be more about ideas and about richer story telling and interesting characters."
Jones is at the beginning of his filmmaking career, but he's been exposed to show business his whole life. His father is legendary rock star and occasional actor David Bowie

1 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。

2 commuter   

n.(尤指市郊之间)乘公交车辆上下班者

参考例句：

• Police cordoned off the road and diverted commuter traffic. 警察封锁了道路并分流交通。
• She accidentally stepped on his foot on a crowded commuter train. 她在拥挤的通勤列车上不小心踩到了他的脚。

3 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

4 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

5 enthralled   

迷住，吸引住( enthrall的过去式和过去分词 )； 使感到非常愉快

参考例句：

• The child watched, enthralled by the bright moving images. 这孩子看着那明亮的移动的影像，被迷住了。
• The children listened enthralled as the storyteller unfolded her tale. 讲故事的人一步步展开故事情节，孩子们都听得入迷了。

6 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

7 genre   

n.(文学、艺术等的)类型，体裁，风格

参考例句：

• My favorite music genre is blues.我最喜欢的音乐种类是布鲁斯音乐。
• Superficially,this Shakespeare's work seems to fit into the same genre.从表面上看， 莎士比亚的这个剧本似乎属于同一类型。

8 debriefs   

v.向（外交人员等）询问执行任务的情况( debrief的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

9 doomed   

命定的

参考例句：

• The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
• A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。

10 ethical   

adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。

11 provocative   

adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的

参考例句：

• She wore a very provocative dress.她穿了一件非常性感的裙子。
• His provocative words only fueled the argument further.他的挑衅性讲话只能使争论进一步激化。

12 acclaim   

v.向…欢呼，公认；n.欢呼，喝彩，称赞

参考例句：

• He was welcomed with great acclaim.他受到十分热烈的欢迎。
• His achievements earned him the acclaim of the scientific community.他的成就赢得了科学界的赞誉。

13 solitary   

adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士

参考例句：

• I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
• The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。

14 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。