英语听力精选进阶版 6214（在线收听）

Big Scary Scorpions 庞大恐怖的蝎子

The trend of 3D blockbuster movies continues with this week's release of Clash of the Titans, a film which delves into the rich world of Greek mythology.

It tells the story of the hero Perseus as he battles a host of fearsome creatures including giant scorpions, a huge sea monster called the Kraken and the terrifying Medusa with writhing snakes instead of hair.

Perseus is played by Australian actor Sam Worthington, who made his name as the lead in Avatar, and who seems to be enjoying his sudden rise to international fame. Talking about filming Clash of the Titans, he said:

"Some movies you do because they're a hell of a lot of fun. That's what this one was. Me in a skirt with a rubber sword, killing monsters. It ain't that hard. That's a good day at the office."

The film also features Irish actor Liam Neeson as Zeus, King of the Gods and father of Perseus, and British actor Ralph Fiennes as Hades, the evil Lord of the Underworld.

This year's film is a remake of a 1981 version of the same name, though the look and feel of the two could not be more different.

The original film made use of stop-motion technology to bring model monsters to life. This painstaking technique animates models by moving them in tiny increments one frame at a time and photographing each frame individually.

These days of course CGI and 3D technology allow directors to realise even their wildest visual fantasies.

Nonetheless, the film's French director Louis Leterrier and the cast and crew still wanted to pay homage to the original movie.

Actress Alexa Davalos, who plays Perseus' love interest in the film, said:

"There's a tip of the hat to the original throughout. It was a labour of love to the original. We all really want to honour it. I hope we did that."

Glossary 词汇表

delves into 深入研究，钻研 

Greek mythology 希腊神话 

a host of 许多，一群 

fearsome creatures 令人害怕的怪物 

scorpions 蝎子 

writhing snakes 蠕动的蛇 

a hell of a lot 好多，超级 

rubber sword 橡皮剑 

Underworld （神话中的）阴间 

stop-motion technology 逐格动画技术 

model 模型 

painstaking 极小心的，需专注的 

animates 使栩栩如生地动作 

increments 增量 

frame （电影里的）一个画面、画格 

wildest visual fantasies 最漫无边际的视觉幻想 

pay homage 表示敬意 

love interest 爱慕对象 

tip of the hat 致敬 

labour of love 为了兴趣爱好而做的事情