美国国家公共电台 NPR It's A Bird! It's A Plane! It's ... A Dog Dangling From A Helicopter?!

 

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

All right. The IMAX film we're going to talk about next opens with a panorama¹ of a snowy mountain range in British Columbia. Emerging over the icy peaks is a dog, dangling² like a stuntman⁴ from a helicopter in a red harness and ski goggles⁵ - or doggles (ph), I guess.

(SOUNDBITE OF DOG BARKING)

CHANG: His name is Henry. Henry's a border collie, and his mission is to save people trapped under avalanches⁶. He's just one of several real-life action stars in the new movie "Superpower Dogs," directed by Daniel Ferguson.

DANIEL FERGUSON: You know, when those goggles were put on, I just said, this could not get any better because, you know, part of the conceit⁷ here is that these dogs are the real-life superheroes. This is the Captain America of dogs.

CHANG: You know, there are so many movies about dogs and how amazing and dutiful and intuitive they are. What did you want to do with this movie that feels a little different?

FERGUSON: No, that's the key. Initially⁸, when my producer Dominic came to me and he said, I want to do this IMAX movie about dogs, I was sort of skeptical⁹. You know, dogs are ubiquitous. I mean, they're just all over. And he said, let me prove it to you. And we went to the Search Dog Foundation out in California. And we went to Italy to work with the Italian coast guard. And by the end of that trip, I said, this is the real deal. I mean, these dogs have powers we can just dream of. And it was a hook, actually, to take this and give it the IMAX treatment.

And the most fun for me was actually translating their olfactory¹⁰ world into our visual one. So you know, every minute of our lives, Ailsa, we're shedding millions of scent¹¹ molecules¹². And, you know, if we could see what dogs could smell, how cool could that be? So we got to do that in a way that's visceral and immersive. So to me, that's what makes it really cinematic, along with all the stunt³ work and, you know, the boats and the helicopters and the cranes...

CHANG: Yes. Yes.

FERGUSON: ...And the sort of epic¹³ nature of this.

CHANG: OK, well, let's meet some of the other action-hero dogs. There's Halo...

(SOUNDBITE OF DOG BARKING)

CHANG: ...Who's training to find people trapped in rubble¹⁴. There's Reef...

(SOUNDBITE OF DOG WHIMPERING)

CHANG: ...This huge, fluffy¹⁵ black Newfoundland who saves people from drowning. She could tow up to 40 times her weight. Did I get that right?

FERGUSON: Yeah, you did. I know. It's amazing.

CHANG: I have to say my favorite, though, were Tipper and Tony. These are twin bloodhound brothers who track down poachers in Kenya. We first see Tipper, I believe it was, with his head out of the window of this single-engine plane.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

CHANG: His long ears are just flapping in the breeze. And they find what looks to be a boot print at a campsite of a potential poacher.

FERGUSON: Well, this is a re-creation of an actual bust¹⁶ that took place. And when we went out one morning to track them, there was actually a murder in the village. And the dogs were brought in, and they tracked for miles. And they went right to the apartment building, up to the seventh floor and found the suspect. It was unbelievable. You know, they can bottle a person's scent for up to two years. And these dogs can pick you out of a scent lineup with 98 percent accuracy.

And so Tipper and Tony - they're not only adorable. But, you know, I had kids come up to me and say, when I grow up, I want to be a dog handler like the Lewa Conservancy rangers¹⁷. That's real heroism¹⁸ right there.

CHANG: These dogs, though - you know, they're not trained Hollywood dogs, of course. What was it like shooting this film when they're just trying to do their jobs and you're kind of in their way?

FERGUSON: That's true. I mean, Ailsa, you have to picture it. These are cameras that are, like, the size of a washing machine. And so we have to be malleable¹⁹. We have to adapt ourselves to the dogs because they're not hitting a mark.

You know, they're not movie dogs, as you say. And when you say, search, that is for real. That dog is saving that person, whether it's a mock victim or not. You know, so, yes, it's not a deployment²⁰ film, but for the dogs, it's the real deal.

CHANG: Was there a moment where you accidentally messed up a dog trying to do his job, but your camera crew or your equipment just got in his way?

FERGUSON: I hope not. If so, I apologize. I really do. There are all kinds of things where, yes, we had puppies colliding with cameras and slobbering the cameras, but we just kind of went with it.

CHANG: Yeah.

FERGUSON: At the beginning, we have a puppy run right into the camera, and it's kind of a signal to the audience that we're going to have fun with this movie.

CHANG: You know, as you watch these incredible dogs working with their handlers, what do you think people who are dog owners who don't own superhero dogs can learn from that master-dog interaction that was evident throughout this movie?

FERGUSON: Oh, gosh. I think that part of the message at the end is really that, you know, not every dog is going to - some dogs - they'll run and get a tennis ball. They might not run to find a human life. But every dog has superpowers. And I think if you ask any pet owner, they will tell you the way their dog makes them feel valorized and just the way dogs lift our spirits and make us feel less lonely...

CHANG: Yeah.

FERGUSON: ...You know, let alone things like medical detection and, you know, dogs who work with people who have juvenile²¹ diabetes²² or epilepsy, all kinds of things that dogs do on a daily basis. They truly are heroes, and they're great teachers as well.

CHANG: Daniel Ferguson is the director of the new movie "Superpower Dogs." Thank you so much for joining us.

FERGUSON: Thank you, Ailsa.

(SOUNDBITE OF STELLA DONNELLY SONG, "TRICKS")

1 panorama   

n.全景，全景画，全景摄影，全景照片[装置]

参考例句：

• A vast panorama of the valley lay before us.山谷的广阔全景展现在我们面前。
• A flourishing and prosperous panorama spread out before our eyes.一派欣欣向荣的景象展现在我们的眼前。

2 dangling   

悬吊着( dangle的现在分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口

参考例句：

• The tooth hung dangling by the bedpost, now. 结果，那颗牙就晃来晃去吊在床柱上了。
• The children sat on the high wall,their legs dangling. 孩子们坐在一堵高墙上，摇晃着他们的双腿。

3 stunt   

n.惊人表演，绝技，特技；vt.阻碍...发育，妨碍...生长

参考例句：

• Lack of the right food may stunt growth.缺乏适当的食物会阻碍发育。
• Right up there is where the big stunt is taking place.那边将会有惊人的表演。

4 stuntman   

n.特技演员

参考例句：

• The stuntman will double for the main actor during the action scenes.一些动作场景中，特技演员代替主演。
• The stuntman flew the aircraft upside-down within a hair's breadth of the rooftops.那位做电影演员替身的杂技演员驾驶着飞机翻过来又倒过去，差一点撞着平顶房的屋顶。

5 goggles   

n.护目镜

参考例句：

• Skiers wear goggles to protect their eyes from the sun.滑雪者都戴上护目镜使眼睛不受阳光伤害。
• My swimming goggles keep steaming up so I can't see.我的护目镜一直有水雾，所以我看不见。

6 avalanches   

n.雪崩( avalanche的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The greatest dangers of pyroclastic avalanches are probably heat and suffocation. 火成碎屑崩落的最大危害可能是炽热和窒息作用。 来自辞典例句
• Avalanches poured down on the tracks and rails were spread. 雪崩压满了轨道，铁轨被弄得四分五裂。 来自辞典例句

7 conceit   

n.自负，自高自大

参考例句：

• As conceit makes one lag behind,so modesty helps one make progress.骄傲使人落后，谦虚使人进步。
• She seems to be eaten up with her own conceit.她仿佛已经被骄傲冲昏了头脑。

8 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

9 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

10 olfactory   

adj.嗅觉的

参考例句：

• He is to develop a sensor to substitute for the olfactory abilities of dogs.克罗克将研制一种传感器用以代替狗的嗅觉功能。
• Based on these findings, Keller suspects that each person has an olfactory blind spot.根据这些发现，凯勒推断，每个人都有一个嗅觉盲区。

11 scent   

n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉

参考例句：

• The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
• The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。

12 molecules   

分子( molecule的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The structure of molecules can be seen under an electron microscope. 分子的结构可在电子显微镜下观察到。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules. 在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

13 epic   

n.史诗，叙事诗；adj.史诗般的，壮丽的

参考例句：

• I gave up my epic and wrote this little tale instead.我放弃了写叙事诗，而写了这个小故事。
• They held a banquet of epic proportions.他们举行了盛大的宴会。

14 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

15 fluffy   

adj.有绒毛的，空洞的

参考例句：

• Newly hatched chicks are like fluffy balls.刚孵出的小鸡像绒毛球。
• The steamed bread is very fluffy.馒头很暄。

16 bust   

vt.打破；vi.爆裂；n.半身像；胸部

参考例句：

• I dropped my camera on the pavement and bust it. 我把照相机掉在人行道上摔坏了。
• She has worked up a lump of clay into a bust.她把一块黏土精心制作成一个半身像。

17 rangers   

护林者( ranger的名词复数 )； 突击队员

参考例句：

• Do you know where the Rangers Stadium is? 你知道Rangers体育场在哪吗？ 来自超越目标英语 第3册
• Now I'm a Rangers' fan, so I like to be near the stadium. 现在我是Rangers的爱好者，所以我想离体育场近一点。 来自超越目标英语 第3册

18 heroism   

n.大无畏精神，英勇

参考例句：

• He received a medal for his heroism.他由于英勇而获得一枚奖章。
• Stories of his heroism resounded through the country.他的英雄故事传遍全国。

19 malleable   

adj.(金属)可锻的;有延展性的；(性格)可训练的

参考例句：

• Silver is the most malleable of all metals.银是延展性最好的金属。
• Scientists are finding that the adult human brain is far more malleable than they once thought.科学家发现成人大脑的可塑性远超过他们之前认识到的。

20 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

21 juvenile   

n.青少年，少年读物；adj.青少年的，幼稚的

参考例句：

• For a grown man he acted in a very juvenile manner.身为成年人，他的行为举止显得十分幼稚。
• Juvenile crime is increasing at a terrifying rate.青少年犯罪正在以惊人的速度增长。

22 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。