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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
Anna: Hello I'm Anna Jones and this is Entertainment.
And today we’re going hear what some people are saying about the recently
released film of the bestselling novel ‘The Da Vinci Code.’ Now the film has
caused quite a lot of controversy1 – if something causes ‘controversy’ or is
‘controversial then it means that there is public discussion and argument about
something that some people feel strongly about. The Da Vinci code has caused
controversy because of its plot - A murder inside the Louvre and clues in
Leonardo Da Vinci paintings lead to the discovery of a religious mystery
protected by a secret society for two thousand years -- which could shake the
foundations of Christianity. The film is directed by Ron Howard and stars
Tom Hanks as the professor who gets drawn2 into trying to solve the Da Vinci
code. Well, as I said earlier the film has caused controversy and some Church
leaders want it to be censored4 because it suggests that Mary Magdalen had a
child whose father was Jesus Christ. If you ‘censor3’ something then you
remove the parts that are considered offensive or politically dangerous.
Now the film has met with mixed reviews. The film critic Jason Solomon saw
it at the recent Cannes Film Festival and he explained how the audience reacted
to it. Listen out for several expressions he uses to describe this reaction. Do
you think the audience liked the film?
Well the reaction here was rather flat, it was met with no applause and normally the first night
audiences at Cannes applaud wildly if they like something or boo vigorously if they don’t.
There was kind of hushed silence that met the whole proceeding5 – I think in the end it has to
have gone down as a bit of a failure here on the Croisette.
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Anna: Well according to Jason Solomon the audience at Cannes did not like the film.
He uses the following expressions to describe their reaction: ‘flat’ which
means to lack interest or enthusiasm. He says that the film was met with ‘no
applause.’ – they did not applaud or clap their hands together at the end of the
film. Instead there was a kind of ‘hushed silence’ - throughout the film the
audience was very quiet and said nothing. Jason says that the film was ‘a
bit of a failure’ in Cannes –He uses the noun ‘failure’ which means that the
film did not succeed or was not popular in Cannes. Listen out for those
expressions again.
Well the reaction here was rather flat, it was met with no applause and normally the first night
audiences at Cannes applaud wildly if they like something or boo vigorously if they don’t.
There was kind of hushed silence that met the whole proceeding – I think in the end it has to
have gone down as a bit of a failure here on the Croisette.
Anna: And that was film critic, Jason Solomon.
The historical novelist, Sarah Dunant, has also seen the film – does she think
the film is similar to the book?
It’s a slavishly faithful film of the book and I think there lies its problem. Like it or not the
first half of this book is indeed a page turner – Dan Brown hooks you on adrenalin and keeps
you going on adrenalin. Now the problem is, actually the devices he uses are quite clichéd but
the speed at which he throws them at you means you don’t notice it.
Anna: She says the film is “slavishly faithful” – it’s a very true and accurate reflection
of the book. If something is dscribed as doing something “slavishly then it
means it follows or copies someone or something exactly. Sarah uses the
word “slavishly” to emphasise6 how closely the film resembles the book .
She says that ‘like it or not’ – whether you like the book or not – it is a ‘page
turner,’ it’s a very exciting read and makes you want to carry on reading it.
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She says that the author ‘hooks you on adrenalin’ he keeps the readers
interest by getting their ‘adrenalin’ going – the plot is designed to keep the
reader’s interest and excitement. Does Sarah think that the devices that the
author uses to do this work? Listen again
It’s a slavishly faithful film of the book and I think there lies its problem. Like it or not the
first half of this book is indeed a page turner – Dan Brown hooks you on adrenalin and keeps
you going on adrenalin. Now the problem is, actually the devices he uses are quite clichéd but
the speed at which he throws them at you means you don’t notice it.
Anna: Sarah says Dan Brown uses devices that are quite ‘cliched’ – they have been
used so often that they are no longer interesting. Now let’s take a look at
some of the language that we heard today:
Controversy - the book caused quite a controversy
Censor – the theatre director tried to reverse the decision to censor her play
Flat – the lecture sounded very flat and uninteresting
Failure – he felt a failure because he could not pass his exams
like it or not - like it or not you will have to work harder if you want to get a
better job
Anna: That's all from entertainment this week.
1 controversy | |
n.争论,辩论,争吵 | |
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2 drawn | |
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的 | |
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3 censor | |
n./vt.审查,审查员;删改 | |
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4 censored | |
受审查的,被删剪的 | |
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5 proceeding | |
n.行动,进行,(pl.)会议录,学报 | |
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6 emphasise | |
vt.加强...的语气,强调,着重 | |
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