常春藤解析英语【52】Hollywood: Home of Movie History电

Hollywood: Home of Movie History　电影之都好莱坞

by Jerri Graham

In the hills above Los Angeles, you can see an image that is familiar to millions: tall, white letters spelling "HOLLYWOOD." It is a famous symbol of the world's movie capital. However, Hollywood wasn't always so well known. In 1853, only a single mud hut stood there. Two decades later, the area just west of Los Angeles was a farming community. It wasn't until the early 1900s that the film industry arrived and changed Hollywood forever.

In film's early days, most movies were made in New Jersey¹ on the US east coast. However, bad weather and limited sunlight made making movies there difficult. Added to this was the fact that Thomas Edison had patents in the east on most filmmaking technology, and getting permission to use it was expensive. In the west, however, these patents were rarely obeyed. In 1910, director D.W. Griffith arrived in Los Angeles to film the short movie In Old California. He loved filming there and quickly spread the word of this great location. Cecil B. DeMille, one of the all-time greatest directors, filmed The Squaw Man in Hollywood in 1914. It was the west coast's first full-length movie, a huge success, and the reason why the film industry never left California again.

Hollywood has since grown a lot, adding famous movie studios and becoming the center of the motion² picture world. Less well known is a film editing³ company called Hollywood Digital Laboratory⁴. When it first opened its doors in 1911, it was called Hollywood Film Laboratory. As Hollywood's oldest operating film company, the small building is a different kind of Hollywood landmark⁵ showing how the town began years ago and how far it has come since then.

1. Prior⁶ to becoming a place to make films, Hollywood was _____.
(A) agricultural land
(B) known as Los Angeles
(C) strictly⁷ governed
(D) located on the east coast

2. Which of the following is FALSE about early filmmaking?
(A) The industry became successful on the west coast.
(B) The light on the east coast was inferior⁸ to that of the west.
(C) Filmmakers moved production to Hollywood for many reasons.
(D) All films were made on the American east coast.

3. Why does the article mention Hollywood Digital Laboratory?
(A) It shows how famous Hollywood is now.
(B) It is still Hollywood's only film laboratory.
(C) It is notable⁹ in the history of Hollywood.
(D) It is more important than the big movie studios.

精解字词词组

1. be familiar to sb　　对某人来说很熟悉
be familiar with sb/sth　　熟悉某人∕某物
例: That singer is familiar to almost everybody across the island.
（岛上的人几乎无人不识那位歌手。）
例: Are you familiar with this system?
（你熟悉这个系统吗？）

2. It isn't/wasn't until...that...　　直到……才……
例: It wasn't until I arrived at the office that I realized I'd left the project at home.
（我到了办公室才知道我把那份项目留在家里了。）

3. be added to...　　增添到……之上
例: Sliced carrots were added to the soup.
（这碗汤里头加了红萝卜切片。）

4. permission n. 许可
permit vt. 允许
permit sb to V　　允许某人做……
例: The teacher permitted Sean to hand in his report two days late.
（老师允许史恩可以晚两天交报告。）

5. spread the word of...　　散布……的消息
例: Lily couldn't wait to spread the word of her wedding.
（莉莉等不及要宣布自己结婚的消息。）

6. prior to + N/V-ing　　（时间）在……之前
例: Prior to the war, John was a teacher.
（在战争之前，约翰是一名老师。）

7. govern vt. 管理，统治
government n. 政府
例: The small country is governed by a set of strict laws.
（那个小国以一套严刑厉法治理。）

8. be located on + 地方上/in + 区域内或大地方/at + 小地方
= be situated¹⁰ on/in/at...
位于∕座落在……
例: Our company is located in downtown Taipei.
（我们公司位于台北市中心。）

9. be inferior to...　　比……差
be superior¹¹ to...　　比……好∕优良
例: This camera is superior to the one I bought a few years ago.
（这台相机比我几年前买的那台来得好。）

文法一点灵

Hollywood has since grown a lot...
...and how far it has come since then.

注意:
a. 上述第一句中的 since 作副词用，表『从那时起、自此以后』，修饰完成（进行）式的主要子句，since 可置于句尾或句中完成式助动词 have、has、had 之后。

例: Lisa had an operation last month. She has since made a full recovery¹².
（莉莎上个月开刀。从那时起她已经完全康复了。）

b. 上述第二句中的 since 作介词用，表『自从……』、『自……之后』，之后接明确的时间、名词、动名词或时间副词 then，形成副词词组，修饰完成（进行）式的主要子句。

例: Since moving to Japan, Al has written many interesting stories about his life there.
（自从搬到日本后，艾尔写了很多有趣的生活故事。）

难句分析

＊ Less well known is a film editing company called Hollywood Digital Laboratory.
= A film editing company called Hollywood Digital Laboratory is less well known.
（有个较不为人知的电影剪接公司叫做『好莱坞数字实验室』。）

单字小铺

1. capital n. 首都
2. mud n. 泥巴
3. hut n. 小屋
4. patent n. 专利
5. filmmaking n. 电影制片
6. all-time a. 空前的
7. squaw n. 北美原住民女子（贬意）
8. full-length a. 长篇的；未删节的
9. motion picture　　电影
10. editing n. 剪接
11. digital a. 数位的
12. laboratory n. 实验室
13. landmark n. 地标
14. agricultural a. 农业的
15. strictly adv. 严格地
16. production n. 制作
17. notable a. 值得注意的；显著的

中文翻译＆标准答案

在洛杉矶的山丘上，你可以看到数百万人熟悉的景象：高耸的白色字母写着 HOLLYWOOD。这是世界电影之都著名的象征。然而，好莱坞不是一直都这么有名。1853 年时，这里只有一间小泥屋。二十年后，这洛杉矶的西区也不过是个农村。直到 20 世纪初电影工业进驻后一切才改观，并永远改变了好莱坞。

在电影发展初期，大多数电影都是在美国东岸的纽泽西拍摄。然而，天候不佳和日照不足使电影拍摄工作困难。另一个原因是爱迪生在东岸拥有大多数电影科技的专利，而取得专利使用许可非常昂贵。然而在西岸，没什么人遵守专利权。1910 年，导演葛里菲斯到洛杉矶拍摄短片 In Old California。他喜欢在此拍片，不久就到处宣扬这个绝佳的地点。史上最伟大的导演之一赛西尔‧迪米尔于 1914 年在好莱坞拍摄了西岸的第一部电影长片 The Squaw Man，结果大获成功，而这也是电影工业从此在加州扎根的原因。

好莱坞从此蓬勃发展，著名的电影片厂也进驻了，变成电影世界的中心。有个较不为人知的电影剪接公司叫做『好莱坞数字实验室』，它在 1911 年时以『好莱坞电影实验室』的名称开幕。身为好莱坞最古老且仍在营运的电影公司，这间小房子是好莱坞另一种地标，显示着这个城镇多年前如何发迹，以及它后来长足的发展。

1. 成为拍片地点之前，好莱坞 _____。
(A) 是块农地
(B) 以洛杉矶之名著称
(C) 受到严格管理
(D) 位在东岸

题解: 根据第一段，1853 年时，好莱坞只有一间小泥屋，即使是二十年后，这里也只不过是个农村，故应选 (A)。

2. 关于早期的电影制作，下列何者为非？
(A) 电影工业在西岸很成功。
(B) 东岸的光线不如西岸充足。
(C) 制片家因为众多理由而将制作移至好莱坞。
(D) 所有电影都是在美国东岸拍摄。

题解: 根据第二段，在电影发展初期，大多数电影都是在美国东岸拍摄，并非所有电影；此外，导演葛里菲斯和赛西尔‧迪米尔都曾在西岸的好莱坞拍过片，因此 (D) 为错误叙述，故选之。

3. 为何文章中提到『好莱坞数字实验室』？
(A) 它显示好莱坞现在多有名。
(B) 它依旧是好莱坞唯一的电影实验室。
(C) 它在好莱坞的历史上占有重要地位。
(D) 它比电影大片厂还重要。

题解: 根据第三段，『好莱坞数字实验室』的前身是『好莱坞电影实验室』。身为好莱坞最古老的电影剪接公司，这间小房子是好莱坞另一种地标，显示这个城镇多年前如何发迹，以及它后来长足的发展，意思与 (C) 相近，故选之。

标准答案: 1. (A)　2. (D)　3. (C)
 

1 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。

2 motion   

n.打手势，示意，移动，动作，提议，大便；v.运动，向...打手势，示意

参考例句：

• She could feel the rolling motion of the ship under her feet.她能感觉到脚下船在晃动。
• Don't open the door while the train is in motion.列车运行时，请勿打开车门。

3 editing   

adj.编辑的

参考例句：

• The processing of data in random order,not subject to preliminary editing or sorting.未经预先编辑或分类，以任意次序对数据进行的处理的做法。

4 laboratory   

n.实验室，化验室

参考例句：

• She has donated money to establish a laboratory.她捐款成立了一个实验室。
• Our laboratory equipment isn't perfect,but we must make do.实验室设备是不够理想，但我们只好因陋就简。

5 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

6 prior   

adj.更重要的，较早的，在先的；adv.居先；n.小修道院院长；大修道院副院长

参考例句：

• The duty to protect my sister is prior to all others.保护我的妹妹是我最重要的责任。
• I took up one-year prior course in German in this college.我在这所大学读了一年的德语预科。

7 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

8 inferior   

adj.劣等的，次的，下级的；n.下级，下属

参考例句：

• These oranges are inferior to those I bought last week.这些桔子没我上个周买的好。
• They sell inferior goods at that store.那家商店卖劣等货。

9 notable   

adj.值得注意的，著名的；n.名人，要人

参考例句：

• His achievement is very notable.他的成就是非常显著的。
• He wrote and published the essay under notable's name.他假托名人写文章发表。

10 situated   

adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的

参考例句：

• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。
• She is awkwardly situated.她的处境困难。

11 superior   

n.上级，高手，上标；adj.上层的，上好的，出众的，高傲的

参考例句：

• This machine is superior in many respects to that.这台机器在很多方面比那台好。
• He acted in obedience to the orders of his superior.他是遵照他的上级指示行动的。

12 recovery   

n.恢复，痊愈；追回，寻回，收复

参考例句：

• The doctors said that his recovery was a miracle. 医生们说他的复原是件奇事。
• The quick recovery was truly in response to medication.这次迅速康复确实是对药物治疗的反应。