美国国家公共电台 NPR It's Not Just The Thin Air That's Breathtaking: The Documentary 'Mountain'

 

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

"Climb Every Mountain," "Rocky Mountain High," "Night On Bald Mountain" - music and mountains have long been linked in the public imagination. Critic Bob Mondello says a documentary called "Mountain" finds a new sort of purity in the connection.

BOB MONDELLO, BYLINE¹: One of the first images is a solo climber hanging onto the face of a cliff hundreds of feet up untethered. He's in sneakers, a red T-shirt, entirely² without ropes or special gear, every inch of him understandably plastered against the rock. He reaches up with one hand to a stone nub maybe as wide as the first joint³ of his index finger, tests it for a moment, then lets go with his other hand. And as he shifts his legs into a newly precarious⁴ position, the camera, which must be on a drone, swings to one side and captures the very start of a smile. And all I could think was, he's nuts. You could be a mountain goat and think this is crazy. And heart-stopping as it is, it turns out to be just a prelude⁵.

Director Jennifer Peedom has orchestrated to alternately ethereal and percussive⁶ music from the Australian Chamber⁷ Orchestra a rhapsodic feature-length aria⁸ of altitude - majestic⁹ snow-capped peaks, rugged¹⁰ cliffs long uncharted and regarded as places of peril¹¹ until, as Willem Dafoe's narrator puts it, an Age of Exploration led to the blank spaces on maps getting filled in.

(SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, "MOUNTAIN")

WILLEM DAFOE: (As Narrator) The imperial aim was to grid¹², girdle and name the upper world...

MONDELLO: A nice phrase that.

(SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, "MOUNTAIN")

DAFOE: (As Narrator) ...To replace mystery with mastery.

MONDELLO: An even nicer phrase adapted by Robert McFarlane from his memoir¹³ "Mountains Of The Mind," accompanied by startling century-old black and white footage of corseted women rock climbing in heels, hats and ankle-length dresses among the many adventurers we'll see Not just scaling cliffs but biking atop peaks that come to sharp points, snowboarding off helicopters, soaring in wing suits that turn daredevils into flying squirrels.

(SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, "MOUNTAIN")

DAFOE: (As Narrator) How has it come to this - the mountains as a stage set for a pumped-up poker¹⁴ game of high stakes and high returns all driven by big brains and online views?

MONDELLO: Then there'll be a montage of people - thankfully tethered - slipping, falling, caught by ropes to dangle¹⁵ from stone outcroppings thousands of feet in the air. You'd have to be made of stone not to gasp¹⁶, especially if, like me, you have a fear of heights and will never clamber up, schuss down or otherwise risk life and limb on Purple Mountain's majesty¹⁷. At the film's outset, words on the screen say, those who dance are considered mad by those who cannot hear the music - have to say that those who climb still strike me as mad, but "Mountain" let me hear the music. I'm Bob Mondello.

(SOUNDBITE OF AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA PERFORMANCE OF ARVO PART'S "FRATRES")

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

3 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

4 precarious   

adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的

参考例句：

• Our financial situation had become precarious.我们的财务状况已变得不稳定了。
• He earned a precarious living as an artist.作为一个艺术家，他过得是朝不保夕的生活。

5 prelude   

n.序言，前兆，序曲

参考例句：

• The prelude to the musical composition is very long.这首乐曲的序曲很长。
• The German invasion of Poland was a prelude to World War II.德国入侵波兰是第二次世界大战的序幕。

6 percussive   

adj.敲击的

参考例句：

• When it is dragged over pliant areas, an additional percussive tap could indicate this collision. 当它被拖到受范区域时，一个附加的敲击声提示这种碰触。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Pneumatic DTH (Down-The-Hole) hammer is one of main pneumatic percussive-rotary drilling equipments. 风动冲击器是气动冲击回转钻进的主要设备之一。 来自互联网

7 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

8 aria   

n.独唱曲，咏叹调

参考例句：

• This song takes off from a famous aria.这首歌仿效一首著名的咏叹调。
• The opera was marred by an awkward aria.整部歌剧毁在咏叹调部分的不够熟练。

9 majestic   

adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的

参考例句：

• In the distance rose the majestic Alps.远处耸立着雄伟的阿尔卑斯山。
• He looks majestic in uniform.他穿上军装显得很威风。

10 rugged   

adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的

参考例句：

• Football players must be rugged.足球运动员必须健壮。
• The Rocky Mountains have rugged mountains and roads.落基山脉有崇山峻岭和崎岖不平的道路。

11 peril   

n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物

参考例句：

• The refugees were in peril of death from hunger.难民有饿死的危险。
• The embankment is in great peril.河堤岌岌可危。

12 grid   

n.高压输电线路网；地图坐标方格；格栅

参考例句：

• In this application,the carrier is used to encapsulate the grid.在这种情况下，要用载体把格栅密封起来。
• Modern gauges consist of metal foil in the form of a grid.现代应变仪则由网格形式的金属片组成。

13 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。

14 poker   

n.扑克；vt.烙制

参考例句：

• He was cleared out in the poker game.他打扑克牌，把钱都输光了。
• I'm old enough to play poker and do something with it.我打扑克是老手了，可以玩些花样。

15 dangle   

v.(使)悬荡，(使)悬垂

参考例句：

• At Christmas,we dangle colored lights around the room.圣诞节时，我们在房间里挂上彩灯。
• He sits on the edge of the table and dangles his legs.他坐在桌子边上，摆动著双腿。

16 gasp   

n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说

参考例句：

• She gave a gasp of surprise.她吃惊得大口喘气。
• The enemy are at their last gasp.敌人在做垂死的挣扎。

17 majesty   

n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权

参考例句：

• The king had unspeakable majesty.国王有无法形容的威严。
• Your Majesty must make up your mind quickly!尊贵的陛下，您必须赶快做出决定！