VOA慢速英语2015 本届奥斯卡提名名单揭晓充满惊喜意外

 

Several Surprises in Oscar Nominations² 本届奥斯卡提名名单揭晓充满惊喜意外

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced this year’s Oscar nominations. As usual, not everyone is happy about the choices. The nominees⁴ were announced Thursday morning in Hollywood, California.

The debate in the entertainment world centers on how few people of color received nominations for the Oscars.

The online entertainment magazine Variety.com noted⁵ the surprise absence of British actor David Oyelowo. He plays Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the civil rights picture, “Selma.” Critics have widely praised his performance and he already was nominated for several awards, including a Golden Globe.

“Selma” received a total of two nominations for best picture and best original song. But many people expected director Ava Duvernay to make history as the first black female nominated for best director. That did not happen. The Oscar nominees for best director are all men. One of them is Alejandro Gonzalez Innarritu who headed the movie, “Birdman.” It received nine Oscar nominations in all.

Best Picture

“The Grand Budapest Hotel” tied “Birdman” with nine Academy Award nominations. It is a funny film about a hotel employee who is suspected of murder and how he tries to prove his innocence⁶. The film did not receive any acting⁷ nominations but the Academy did honor Wes Anderson as a nominee³ for best director.

“Selma” was one of the four best picture nominees about real people. “The Theory of Everything” is about famed British physicist⁸ Stephen Hawking⁹. It is based on a book by his wife Jane Wilde Hawking that tells about their life together and his scientific career.

“The Imitation Game” is about another British genius. Alan Turing was a mathematician¹⁰ in the 1940s who built a machine to break German code during World War Two. A hero, Britain later jailed him because he was homosexual.

The other two movies nominated for Best Picture are “Boyhood” and “Whiplash.” "Whiplash" tells about a teenage jazz musician pushed to the edge by his music teacher. And “Boyhood” is the story of a family from a boy’s point of view.  Director Richard Linklater shot the movie with the same actors over an 11-year period.

Actor in a Leading Role

Michael Keaton stars in the movie "Birdman" about an aging actor who is trying to renew his career by producing a Broadway play.  The Academy nominated Keaton for an Oscar for best lead actor. Last Sunday, he won the Golden Globe for his performance in the film.

Bradley Cooper also received an Oscar nomination¹ for his lead performance in “American Sniper.” The film is based on a book by an American Marine¹¹ named Chris Kyle. He is considered the deadliest sniper in the history of the American military.

Benedict Cumberbatch received a nomination for his performance as Alan Turing in “The Imitation Game,” and Eddie Redmayne for his role as Stephen Hawking in “The Theory of Everything.” Like Keaton, Redmayne also won a Golden Globe award for his performance.

Actress in a Leading Role

The Academy also nominated Felicity Jones in “The Theory of Everything” as best lead actress for her portrayal¹² of Jane Wilde Hawking.

Along with Felicity Jones, five actresses were nominated for their leading performances. Julianne Moore was honored for her work in “Still Alice.” The film tells the heartbreaking story of a middle-aged¹³ university professor who discovers she has Alzheimer’s disease. Moore won a Golden Globe for her acting in the movie. She is widely favored to win the Academy Award.

Many critics see Reese Witherspoon as Moore's only competition. Witherspoon is nominated for “Wild,” a movie based on the true story of Cheryl Strayed. When Cheryl Strayed was 22, she began a 1,700-kilometer walk up the U.S. Pacific Coast Trail. As she worked her way through California, Oregon and Washington she also worked through her grief over her mother’s death and her struggle with drug abuse.

The Academy also named French actress Marion Cotillard as a nominee for her performance in “Two Days, One Night.” And American actress Rosamund Pike received a nomination for her work in the suspense¹⁴ film “Gone Girl.”

Notably¹⁵ absent from the best actress list was Jennifer Aniston. The former “Friends” actress portrays¹⁶ a woman who suffers from chronic¹⁷ pain in the movie “Cake.” The performance was a hit with many critics.

We can see how it all works out on February 22 when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences holds its 87th Oscar Awards. The ceremony will be televised live from Hollywood, California.

Words in This Story

original – adj. made or produced first: not a copy, translation, etc.

genius – n. a very smart or talented person : a person who has a level of talent or intelligence that is very rare or remarkable¹⁸

code – n. a set of letters, numbers, symbols, etc., that is used to secretly send messages to someone

portrayal – n. the way in which an actor plays a character

sniper – n. a person who shoots at another person from a hidden place

suspense – n. a feeling or state of nervousness or excitement caused by wondering what will happen

chronic – adj. continuing or occurring again and again for a long time

1 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

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 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。

4 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

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 innocence   

n.无罪；天真；无害

参考例句：

• There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。
• The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。

7 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。

8 physicist   

n.物理学家，研究物理学的人

参考例句：

• He is a physicist of the first rank.他是一流的物理学家。
• The successful physicist never puts on airs.这位卓有成就的物理学家从不摆架子。

9 hawking   

利用鹰行猎

参考例句：

• He is hawking his goods everywhere. 他在到处兜售他的货物。
• We obtain the event horizon and the Hawking spectrumformula. 得到了黑洞的局部事件视界位置和Hawking温度以及Klein—Gordon粒子的Hawking辐射谱。

10 mathematician   

n.数学家

参考例句：

• The man with his back to the camera is a mathematician.背对着照相机的人是位数学家。
• The mathematician analyzed his figures again.这位数学家再次分析研究了他的这些数字。

11 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

12 portrayal   

n.饰演；描画

参考例句：

• His novel is a vivid portrayal of life in a mining community.他的小说生动地描绘了矿区的生活。
• The portrayal of the characters in the novel is lifelike.该书中的人物写得有血有肉。

13 middle-aged   

adj.中年的

参考例句：

• I noticed two middle-aged passengers.我注意到两个中年乘客。
• The new skin balm was welcome by middle-aged women.这种新护肤香膏受到了中年妇女的欢迎。

14 suspense   

n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑

参考例句：

• The suspense was unbearable.这样提心吊胆的状况实在叫人受不了。
• The director used ingenious devices to keep the audience in suspense.导演用巧妙手法引起观众的悬念。

15 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

16 portrays   

v.画像( portray的第三人称单数 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• The museum collection vividly portrays the heritage of 200 years of canals. 博物馆的藏品让运河200 年的历史再现眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The film portrays Gandhi as a kind of superman. 这部电影把甘地描绘成一个超人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

18 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。