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THIS IS AMERICA - 'Brokeback Mountain,' 'Crash': Oscar Hopefuls Present a Serious Side of HollywoodBy Shelley Gollust

Broadcast: Monday, February 27, 2006

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VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Barbara Klein.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Steve Ember. Today, we tell about the seventy-eighth Academy Awards ceremony which takes place next Sunday in Los Angeles, California. For people who make movies and for people who love to watch them, it is the most exciting event of the year.

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VOICE ONE:

On March fifth, actors, directors, producers and other filmmakers will gather in Hollywood, the center of the American film industry. They will receive Academy Awards for the best acting¹, directing, writing, editing, music and other work on movies released last year.

The winners will receive an award called an Oscar. This statue is shaped like a man. It is made of several metals covered with gold. The Oscar is only about thirty-four centimeters tall. It weighs less than four kilograms. But the award can be priceless to the person who receives it.

Winning an Oscar can mean becoming much more famous. It can mean getting offers to work in the best movies. It also can mean earning much more money.

VOICE TWO:

Five films are nominated for best motion picture. They are Brokeback Mountain, Good Night, and Good Luck, Crash, Capote and Munich. The directors of these movies were also nominated for best director.

These five films are different from the ones that are often nominated for best picture. They are all realistic films for adults that deal with serious political or social issues. Four of the movies were mainly produced outside the major Hollywood movie studio system. They cost far less money to produce than most major Hollywood movies.

VOICE ONE:

Brokeback Mountain received eight nominations², the most of any movie this year. They include best director for Ang Lee and nominations for two actors and one actress in the film.


Heath Ledger³, left and Jake Gyllenhaal in scene from 'Brokeback Mountain'

Brokeback Mountain is the story of two young cowboys in the western state of Wyoming. They fall in love during the nineteen sixties. They marry young women and have children. But the two men continue their secret relationship for twenty years.

VOICE TWO:

Two of the other films received six nominations each. Good Night, and Good Luck is about the television newsman Edward R. Murrow in the nineteen fifties. His broadcasts opposed the powerful Senator Joseph McCarthy.

George Clooney directed Good Night, and Good Luck. He also wrote the screenplay with Grant Heslov. And Clooney acts in the movie. Clooney was also nominated as best actor in a supporting role in another movie, Syriana. He plays a secret United States government agent in the Middle East.

The film Crash also received six nominations. Paul Haggis wrote and directed the movie. Crash is about racial tensions among a group of people in Los Angeles. These strangers meet during thirty-six hours and are involved in car crashes and crimes.


Matt Dillon and Thandie Newton in scene from CRASH

VOICE ONE:

Bennett Miller⁴ directed Capote, another nominee⁵ for best picture. It is a true story about the writer Truman Capote. It tells about his relationship with two men sentenced to be executed for killing⁶ a family in a small town in Kansas. Capote wrote about the killings⁷ in his famous book, In Cold Blood.

The last nominee for best picture is Munich, directed by Steven Spielberg. It is also based on true events. Munich deals with the killing of eleven Israeli athletes and coaches by Palestinian terrorists. That happened at the Olympic Games in Munich, Germany, in nineteen seventy-two. The movie is about Israeli agents and their efforts to find and kill the men responsible for the deaths.

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VOICE TWO:

Five men were nominated for the best performance by an actor in a leading role. Three of them play famous American men during the nineteen fifties and sixties. The three actors changed their appearances and voices to look and sound like the real people.

David Strathairn plays Edward R. Murrow in Good Night, and Good Luck. Philip Seymour Hoffman plays Truman Capote in Capote. And Joaquin Phoenix⁸ plays the famous country singer Johnny Cash in Walk the Line.


David Strathairn as Edward R. Murrow in the new movie 'Good Night and Good Luck'

Heath Ledger was nominated for his role as one of the gay cowboys in Brokeback Mountain.

And Terrence Howard was nominated for his role in the movie Hustle⁹ and Flow. He plays a man who tries to become a rap music singer in Memphis, Tennessee.

VOICE ONE:

Five women received nominations for best performance by an actress in a leading role. Judy Dench plays a women who owns a musical theater in London during World War Two. Her movie is called Missus Henderson Presents.

Keira Knightley plays a young woman in a family of five sisters who seek husbands in nineteenth-century England. The movie is based on the book called Pride and Prejudice.

Reese Witherspoon plays, and sings the songs of, the famous country music singer June Carter Cash in Walk the Line.


Reese Witherspoon in scene from Walk The Line

Charlize Theron was nominated for the movie North Country. She plays a woman who works in a mine. She takes legal action against the male workers who mistreat her.

And, in the most unusual role, Felicity Huffman was nominated for Transamerica. She plays a man about to have an operation to become a woman. The man discovers for the first time that he has a teenage son.

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VOICE TWO:

Five movies were nominated for best documentary, a movie showing real people and events. Darwin's Nightmare is about the difficult life for the poor people of Tanzania. The movie shows how valuable fish from the country's waters are sent to rich countries while the people of Tanzania are left hungry.

March of the Penguins¹⁰ is a French movie about the struggle for survival of emperor penguins in Antarctica. Murderball is about disabled American athletes who compete in specially¹¹ designed wheelchairs in a sport called Quad¹² Rugby.

VOICE ONE:

Another nominee for best documentary is Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. It is about the top officials of the formerly¹³ powerful energy-trading company. The failure of the company affected¹⁴ the lives of its employees and American business. Two of those Enron officials are currently on trial on charges of plotting to cheat investors¹⁵.

Street Fight is the fifth nominee. It is about a recent election for mayor in Newark, New Jersey¹⁶. The film raises hard questions about American politics, democracy and race.

VOICE TWO:

More than twenty Academy Awards will be presented on Sunday. The people who designed the best costumes, makeup¹⁷ and special effects will receive awards. So will the people who wrote the best screenplays and did the best film and sound editing.

Songs from Crash, Hustle and Flow and Transamerica are nominated as best original song. Musical scores from five other movies are nominated for best original score.

VOICE ONE:

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presents the Oscars each year. Almost six thousand people who work in the movie industry belong to the organization.

Members of the Academy begin the process of choosing award winners. These people work in thirteen different professions. They nominate candidates for Academy Awards.

The members choose among people doing the same kind of work. For example, actors nominate actors. Directors nominate directors. Designers nominate designers.

All Academy members vote to choose the final winners.

VOICE TWO:

The awards are presented in the Kodak Theater in Hollywood. Important people in the movie industry attend the Academy Awards ceremony. Crowds of people wait outside the theater. They watch the famous movie stars as they arrive for the ceremony.

The women wear beautiful dresses and costly¹⁸ jewelry¹⁹ provided by famous designers. Camera lights flash. The actors and actresses smile for the photographers and television cameras.

During the Academy Awards ceremony, famous actors and actresses announce the names of the nominees²⁰ and the winners. Then the winners go up onto the stage to receive their Oscars. Their big moment has arrived. They thank all the people who helped them win the award.

Hundreds of millions of people in the United States and around the world will watch the Academy Awards show on television Sunday night. The American film industry will honor the best movies, actors and technicians. These winners will go home with a golden Oscar.

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VOICE ONE:

Our program was written by Shelley Gollust. It was produced by Caty Weaver²¹. I'm Barbara Klein.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Steve Ember. Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA, in VOA Special English.

1 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

2 nominations   

n.提名，任命( nomination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nominations are invited for the post of party chairman. 为党主席职位征集候选人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Much coverage surrounded his abortive bids for the 1960,1964, and 1968 Republican Presidential nominations. 许多消息报道都围绕着1960年、1964年和1968年他为争取提名为共和党总统候选人所做努力的失败。 来自辞典例句

3 ledger   

n.总帐，分类帐；帐簿

参考例句：

• The young man bowed his head and bent over his ledger again.那个年轻人点头应诺，然后又埋头写起分类帐。
• She is a real accountant who even keeps a detailed household ledger.她不愧是搞财务的，家庭分类账记得清楚详细。

4 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

5 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

6 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

7 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

8 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。

9 hustle   

v.推搡；竭力兜售或获取；催促；n.奔忙(碌)

参考例句：

• It seems that he enjoys the hustle and bustle of life in the big city.看起来他似乎很喜欢大城市的热闹繁忙的生活。
• I had to hustle through the crowded street.我不得不挤过拥挤的街道。

10 penguins   

n.企鹅( penguin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Why can penguins live in cold environment? 为什么企鹅能生活在寒冷的环境中？ 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Whales, seals, penguins, and turtles have flippers. 鲸、海豹，企鹅和海龟均有鳍形肢。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

11 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

12 quad   

n.四方院；四胞胎之一；v.在…填补空铅

参考例句：

• His rooms were on the left-hand side of the quad.他的房间位于四方院的左侧。
• She is a 34-year-old mother of quads.她是个生了四胞胎的34岁的母亲。

13 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

14 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

15 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

16 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

17 makeup   

n.组织；性格；化装品

参考例句：

• Those who failed the exam take a makeup exam.这次考试不及格的人必须参加补考。
• Do you think her beauty could makeup for her stupidity?你认为她的美丽能弥补她的愚蠢吗？

18 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

19 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

20 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

21 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。