【英语趣味课堂】制作一部电影-Making a Film

Todd: OK, now Jeff, you made a movie recently. Can you talk a little about what your movie is about?

 

Jeff: OK, Todd, I want to qualify¹ that it is not a movie. It's a television documentary². Very big difference, but actually a movie and a documentary, there's not a lot of difference. I think the main difference is probably time. There's a beginning and a middle and an ending to both, but television documentary must be done in 46 minutes plus commercials³ and a movie is two hours or three hours.

 

Todd: OK, well thanks for that. OK so it's a documentary. What is the documentary about?

 

Jeff: Our documentary is about Indian life, and about our life interacting⁴ with the Indians. We're driving a small auto-rickshaw, which is a three-wheeled. It's a three wheeled car, a mini-three-wheeled car without doors and it doesn't go very fast and it's very uncomfortable and we drive that from the eastern border at Bangladesh to the western border of Pakistan, and we drive it straight across to Northern India.

 

Todd: Wow, that's some idea. Where did you get this idea? Why did you decide "Hey, I'm going to go film you know, going across India?

 

Jeff: Well, we'd been to India numerous⁵ times and it's an amazing country and we wanted to go back and we wanted to do something, we wanted to do some sort of video or documentary there and we wanted to do something unique that hasn't been done before there and this sort of just popped up in our heads through discussion⁶ and kicking around certain ideas, so it was just sort of an inspirational, spur⁷ of the moment thing. They're everywhere in India and we saw one and said "Let's drive one across India so it was sort of just came to mind."

 

Todd: Wow! Well if you had to describe your trip or sum up what the whole experience was like, how would you describe it?

 

Jeff: I think the best word to use to describe the trip was stupid! I don't think anyone would recommend⁸ doing it to anyone. I wouldn't do it again and it was very dangerous. It was very uncomfortable. It was very hot, very noisy. It did nothing. I think the main thing it did was take a few years off my life but it was an experience. It wasn't fun but it was a good experience.

 

Todd: Alright. Thanks Jeff.

1 qualify   

vt.取得资格，有资格，限定，描述；vi.取得资格，有资格

参考例句：

• I won't qualify until next year.我明年才具备资格。
• You must qualify yourself for the post.你必须使自己具备担任这一工作的资格。

2 documentary   

adj.文献的；n.纪录片

参考例句：

• This case lacked documentary proof.本案缺少书面证据。
• I watched a documentary on the Civil War.我看了一部关于内战的纪录片。

3 commercials   

n.（电台或电视播放的）广告 ( commercial的名词复数 )；以大众欣赏为目的谱写的乐曲

参考例句：

• She earns a lot of money doing voice-overs for TV commercials. 她为电视广告作解说收入很高。
• The representative wanted Natalie to be a model in cosmetics commercials. 那个代表想让纳塔利做化妆品广告的模特儿。 来自超越目标英语 第3册

4 interacting   

adj.相互影响的；相互作用的

参考例句：

• The interacting surfaces were lubricated with a mineral oil. 相互作用表面是用矿物油润滑的。
• Proteins which have two separate but interacting sites are called allosteric proteins. 这种具有两个不同而又相互作用位置的蛋白质叫做变构蛋白质。

5 numerous   

adj.为数众多的；极多的

参考例句：

• There have been numerous exchanges of views between the two governments.两国政府间曾多次交换意见。
• There are numerous people in the square. 有许多人在广场上。

6 discussion   

n.讨论，谈论；论述

参考例句：

• It is certain he will come to the discussion.他肯定会来参加讨论。
• After months of discussion,a peace agreement is gradually taking shape.经过几个月的商讨，和平协议渐渐有了眉目。

7 spur   

n.刺激(物)，激励；vt.激励，鞭策，促进

参考例句：

• Even a small success would spur me on to greater effort.哪怕是微小的成功也会促使我做出更大的努力。
• Such stories serve as a spur to children's imagination.这类故事能激发儿童的想像力。

8 recommend   

vt.推荐，介绍；劝告，建议；使成为可取，使受欢迎

参考例句：

• Can you recommend me a good book?你能给我介绍一本好书吗？
• I can recommend this play to all lovers of good theatre.我把这个剧推荐给所有爱好优秀戏剧的人。