VOA标准英语2012--Emotion Could Propel Lead Actress to Top in Oscar Race

Emotion Could Propel Lead Actress to Top in Oscar Race

In "My Week with Marilyn," Michelle Williams captivates as Marilyn Monroe.
The film chronicles one week in the Hollywood icon's life while she filmed the musical “The Prince and the Showgirl” with Laurence Olivier in England.
The story is told from the perspective of assistant producer Colin Clark, who falls in love with the charismatic but mentally-fragile Monroe.
Williams exudes¹ energy and sexuality while capturing Monroe's vulnerability.
But that might not be enough.
In "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," Rooney Mara delivers a compelling performance as Lisbeth Salander, a punk computer hacker² who helps journalist Mikael Blomkvist search for a woman who's been missing in Sweden for 40 years.
Salander has suffered abuse from men.
Mara turns her into a dysfunctional but brilliant investigator³ who spares no one.
Fury drives and empowers her.
Mara earned the nomination⁴, but Lisbeth Salander is an unsavory character and could cost Mara the award.
Glenn Close, nominated for her performance as Albert Nobbs, could face similar challenges in the Oscar race.
Nobbs, a woman disguised as a man seeking a better life in male-dominated 19th century Ireland, is awkward and pathetic.
Many say Glenn Close offers the performance of a lifetime.
But she is up against formidable opponents.
Meryl Streep, for one. She offers an intimate portrait of the aging Margaret Thatcher⁵.
Streep gives us a frail⁶ old woman trying to keep her dignity while battling dementia and, in flashbacks, the harsh and unyielding leader of a nation.
Streep masters Thatcher’s mannerisms and intonations⁷ for the role and the resemblance is uncanny.
Her character carries the film.
Streep has won two Oscars - the last one 30 years ago - and has been nominated another 17 times.
Many feel she is long overdue⁸ for a third.
But her Oscar-worthy performance as "The Iron Lady" may not prevail because of our antipathy⁹ toward the real character she portrays¹⁰.
Her strongest competition could come from Viola Davis, who plays Aibileen Clark in "The Help."
She's an African-American maid who risks her life to help publish her story and that of other black maids working for white families in 1960s Mississippi.
Davis delivers a gut-wrenching performance as the all-suffering black woman who raises white children while her own grow up alone.
If she nabs the award on Oscar night, she won't be standing¹¹ alone.
She would validate¹² all of the African-American maids who toiled¹³ for whites.
And that might be difficult for the motion picture academy to overlook.

1 exudes   

v.缓慢流出，渗出，分泌出( exude的第三人称单数 )；流露出对（某物）的神态或感情

参考例句：

• The plant exudes a sticky fluid. 这种植物分泌出一种黏液。
• She exudes sexual magnetism. 她洋溢着女性的魅力。

2 hacker   

n.能盗用或偷改电脑中信息的人，电脑黑客

参考例句：

• The computer hacker wrote that he was from Russia.这个计算机黑客自称他来自俄罗斯。
• This site was attacked by a hacker last week.上周这个网站被黑客攻击了。

3 investigator   

n.研究者，调查者，审查者

参考例句：

• He was a special investigator for the FBI.他是联邦调查局的特别调查员。
• The investigator was able to deduce the crime and find the criminal.调查者能够推出犯罪过程并锁定罪犯。

4 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。

5 thatcher   

n.茅屋匠

参考例句：

• Tom Sawyer was in the skiff that bore Judge Thatcher. 汤姆 - 索亚和撒切尔法官同乘一条小艇。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险
• Mrs. Thatcher was almost crazed; and Aunt Polly, also. 撒切尔夫人几乎神经失常，还有波莉姨妈也是。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险

6 frail   

adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的

参考例句：

• Mrs. Warner is already 96 and too frail to live by herself.华纳太太已经九十六岁了，身体虚弱，不便独居。
• She lay in bed looking particularly frail.她躺在床上，看上去特别虚弱。

7 intonations   

n.语调，说话的抑扬顿挫( intonation的名词复数 )；（演奏或唱歌中的）音准

参考例句：

• Being able to say simple sentences in correct stresses and intonations. 能以正确的重音及语调说出简单的句子。 来自互联网
• Peculiar intonations and interesting stories behind every character are what motivated Asmaa to start learning Chinese. 奇特的声调，有故事的汉字，让吴小莉在阴阳上去中、点横竖撇拉中开始了咿呀学语阶段。 来自互联网

8 overdue   

adj.过期的，到期未付的；早该有的，迟到的

参考例句：

• The plane is overdue and has been delayed by the bad weather.飞机晚点了，被坏天气耽搁了。
• The landlady is angry because the rent is overdue.女房东生气了，因为房租过期未付。

9 antipathy   

n.憎恶；反感，引起反感的人或事物

参考例句：

• I feel an antipathy against their behaviour.我对他们的行为很反感。
• Some people have an antipathy to cats.有的人讨厌猫。

10 portrays   

v.画像( portray的第三人称单数 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• The museum collection vividly portrays the heritage of 200 years of canals. 博物馆的藏品让运河200 年的历史再现眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The film portrays Gandhi as a kind of superman. 这部电影把甘地描绘成一个超人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

12 validate   

vt.（法律）使有效，使生效

参考例句：

• You need an official signature to validate the order.你要有正式的签字，这张汇票才能生效。
• In order to validate the agreement,both parties sign it.为使协议有效，双方在上面签了字。

13 toiled   

长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的过去式和过去分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉

参考例句：

• They toiled up the hill in the blazing sun. 他们冒着炎炎烈日艰难地一步一步爬上山冈。
• He toiled all day long but earned very little. 他整天劳碌但挣得很少。