英语听力精选进阶版 6211

First Female Best Director 第一位最佳女导演

One film was the highest-grossing of all time, making ￡1.32bn (13bn yuan) at the box office; the other had taken just ￡10m (100m yuan).

One film was a sci-fi fantasy, rich in the latest CGI and 3D techniques, set on a lush, leafy, fictional¹ planet called Pandora; the other was a gritty, realistic war drama set in the deserts of Iraq.

And perhaps most interestingly of all, one film was by Hollywood mega-director James Cameron, with the Oscar-winning movie Titanic² under his belt; the other was by the less celebrated³ Kathryn Bigelow, who also happened to be his ex-wife.

Both films were nominated for nine awards apiece.

Yet it was Bigelow's The Hurt Locker⁴ that stole the show, winning six awards including best picture, as opposed to Cameron's Avatar, which won just three.

It was also, significantly, the first time a woman had won the best director award. Bigelow, however, is reluctant to be referred to as a 'female director', and made no reference to her gender⁵ in her Oscars acceptance speech.

"I'd love to think of myself as a filmmaker, and I long for the day when a modifier can be a moot⁶ point," she said.

"But I'm ever grateful if I can inspire some young, intrepid⁷, tenacious⁸ male or female filmmaker and have them feel that the impossible is possible and never give up on your dream."

Nonetheless, her victory does highlight the position of women in cinema. At present only around 10% of films in the UK and 7% of Hollywood films are directed by women. Many hope Bigelow's win will help change this.

So, did James Cameron begrudge⁹ his ex-wife landing the top honours? Speaking on the red carpet ahead of the ceremony, he said:

"I've extolled¹⁰ her virtues¹¹ to the world and supported her as a filmmaker. I'd be tremendously proud if she won."

Glossary 词汇表

highest-grossing 创票房最高纪录的 

sci-fi fantasy 科幻片 

lush 草木茂盛的，肥沃的 

gritty 纪实风格的、暴露性的 

mega-director 超级大导演 

under his belt 已经有了 

less celebrated 没有那么出名的 

ex-wife 前妻 

apiece 每个，各 

stole the show 抢尽风头 

reluctant 不情愿的 

gender 性别 

acceptance speech 受奖演讲 

modifier 修饰语 

moot point 争论点 

intrepid 无畏的 

tenacious 顽强的 

begrudge 嫉妒 

extolled her virtues 盛赞她的美德 

tremendously proud 非常自豪

1 fictional   

adj.小说的，虚构的

参考例句：

• The names of the shops are entirely fictional.那些商店的名字完全是虚构的。
• The two authors represent the opposite poles of fictional genius.这两位作者代表了天才小说家两个极端。

2 titanic   

adj.巨人的，庞大的，强大的

参考例句：

• We have been making titanic effort to achieve our purpose.我们一直在作极大的努力，以达到我们的目的。
• The island was created by titanic powers and they are still at work today.台湾岛是由一个至今仍然在运作的巨大力量塑造出来的。

3 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

4 locker   

n.更衣箱，储物柜，冷藏室，上锁的人

参考例句：

• At the swimming pool I put my clothes in a locker.在游泳池我把衣服锁在小柜里。
• He moved into the locker room and began to slip out of his scrub suit.他走进更衣室把手术服脱下来。

5 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

6 moot   

v.提出；adj.未决议的；n.大会；辩论会

参考例句：

• The question mooted in the board meeting is still a moot point.那个在董事会上提出讨论的问题仍未决的。
• The oil versus nuclear equation is largely moot.石油和核能之间的关系还很有争议。

7 intrepid   

adj.无畏的，刚毅的

参考例句：

• He is not really satisfied with his intrepid action.他没有真正满意他的无畏行动。
• John's intrepid personality made him a good choice for team leader.约翰勇敢的个性适合作领导工作。

8 tenacious   

adj.顽强的，固执的，记忆力强的，粘的

参考例句：

• We must learn from the tenacious fighting spirit of Lu Xun.我们要学习鲁迅先生韧性的战斗精神。
• We should be tenacious of our rights.我们应坚决维护我们的权利。

9 begrudge   

vt.吝啬，羡慕

参考例句：

• I begrudge spending so much money on train fares.我舍不得把这么多钱花在火车票上。
• We should not begrudge our neighbour's richness.我们不应该嫉妒邻人的富有。

10 extolled   

v.赞颂，赞扬，赞美( extol的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school. 他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Tessenow decried the metropolis and extolled the peasant virtues. 特森诺夫痛诋大都市，颂扬农民的美德。 来自辞典例句

11 virtues   

美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处

参考例句：

• Doctors often extol the virtues of eating less fat. 医生常常宣扬少吃脂肪的好处。
• She delivered a homily on the virtues of family life. 她进行了一场家庭生活美德方面的说教。