英语听力精选进阶版 14028

Superman's career crisis

Summary

30 October 2012

One of the world's best-known comic book superheroes, Superman, is about to have a career crisis. No, he's not hanging up his cape¹ and refusing to leap tall buildings in a single bound - but his alter ego² Clark Kent is about to turn his back on his newspaper reporting career, in protest at some very real-world concerns.

Reporter:

John McManus

Report

Any comic book fan can tell you that when Superman came to Earth as a refugee from the Planet Krypton, saving lives and foiling the plots of evil madmen would be his main day job. But there was also the question of how to keep his alter ego, Clark Kent, occupied, and when the character first came out in print, his creators decided³ that he would be a newspaper journalist. Very handy, if you want to be the first to know about major catastrophes⁴.

But now the mild-mannered reporter is going solo. DC Comics, which publishes the Superman stories, says that Clark Kent will walk out of his job at the Daily Planet, protesting that hard news has given way to too many soft 'entertainment' stories. It's a scenario⁵ that real reporters - and their readers and listeners - might recognise. What kind of stories do the public really want - showbiz gossip, or the latest discussions from the UN? DC Comics has hinted that Clark Kent might even go the way of many journalists and become a blogger, in an effort to get his own, non-super views across to a wider audience. But for fans who think that this is all getting a little bit too much like grim reality, don't worry. In a nod to the changing media landscape of the 1970s, Clark temporarily ditched his notebook for a camera, becoming a cable TV presenter⁶. But he never forgot his real calling - saving the planet.

1 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

2 ego   

n.自我，自己，自尊

参考例句：

• He is absolute ego in all thing.在所有的事情上他都绝对自我。
• She has been on an ego trip since she sang on television.她上电视台唱过歌之后就一直自吹自擂。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 catastrophes   

n.灾祸( catastrophe的名词复数 )；灾难；不幸事件；困难

参考例句：

• Two of history's worst natural catastrophes occurred in 1970. 1970年发生了历史上最严重两次自然灾害。 来自辞典例句
• The Swiss deposits contain evidence of such catastrophes. 瑞士的遗址里还有这种灾难的证据。 来自辞典例句

5 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

6 presenter   

n.（电视、广播的）主持人，赠与者

参考例句：

• Most people think being a television presenter is exciting.很多人认为当电视节目主持人是一件刺激的事情。
• The programme dispensed with its most popular presenter.这个节目最受欢迎的主持人被换掉了。