2006年VOA标准英语-Blood Diamonds: New Movie Dramatizes Trade in C

By Alan Silverman
Hollywood
02 December 2006

Leonardo Dicaprio and Djimon Hounsou co-star in a politically charged action-drama set during the Sierra Leone civil war in the 1990's. Alan Silverman has a look at the new film Blood Diamond.

 
Leonardo DiCaprio and Djimon Hounsou run from trouble in "Blood Diamond"
They are known by various nicknames - blood diamonds, war diamonds, conflict diamonds. The movie dramatizes how rebels in Sierra Leone relied on the illegal diamond trade to fund their war, a conflict that uprooted¹ millions of people, among them a Mende fisherman named Solomon, played by Djimon Hounsou. His village is overrun, his wife and young daughters flee with the rest of the refugees, but his 12-year-old son is pressed into service in the rebel army while Solomon is forced to dig for the gems².

When he uncovers a very large pink diamond, Solomon risks death by hiding it. He hopes he can sell it on the black market and buy his son's freedom. Arrested after government troops raid the rebel mine, Solomon finds himself in an unlikely and uneasy alliance with smuggler³ and former South African mercenary Danny Archer⁴, played by Leonardo Dicaprio.

Though the film is set in 1999, Benin-born Djimon Hounsou says it gave him a rare opportunity to portray⁵ issues Africans are still grappling with today. "Issues of child soldiers, of refugees (and) the displacement⁶ of millions of people throughout the continent that affects the neighboring countries. So it was a very powerful story for me, so being an African and being in Hollywood making movies, these are the kinds of stories I love to take on as a challenge and, certainly, to see it bring more awareness⁷ to the world," he says.

Dicaprio spent several months in Southern and West Africa researching his role and learning about real-life "Blood Diamond" stories. "I think I was like anybody else. I heard whispers of it, but it wasn't until I got there and heard the firsthand accounts and started to learn about it that I really understood the immense impact that the diamonds have had on, certainly, Sierra Leone and other places in Africa," he says.

 
Jennifer Connelly in "Blood Diamond"
Oscar-winner Jennifer Connelly plays Maddy Bowen, an American journalist who initially⁸ sees smuggler Archer as a source for her investigation⁹ of conflict diamonds; but Connelly says she ultimately faces an all-too common journalistic conflict over whether to become involved in the story she is covering. "Absolutely. I think it was something that she spent a lot of time thinking about. My guess is she was the type of woman who, every once in a while when she could, would do little gestures here and there, but had to keep in sight her goals for the long term and hope that, if she stayed true to her job, ultimately she could effect some change and be a positive force," she says.

As explained in the film, the global diamond industry responded to the issue of conflict gems in 2002 with a UN-mandated initiative: the "Kimberley Process" to certify¹⁰ that diamonds are mined and sold legitimately¹¹. The industry now claims more than 99-percent of diamonds for sale are from conflict-free sources. International diamond conglomerates¹² were originally up in arms over Blood Diamond, but eventually saw the film as an opportunity to publicize and strengthen the Kimberley Process and protect the interests of the estimated 10-million people worldwide whose livelihoods¹³ are connected to the diamond trade. Leonardo Dicaprio says raising awareness was not his reason to make the film, but he sees it as a good side effect.

"I wasn't personally going out seeking films with social or political messages just to do it for the sake of doing it. There has to have entertainment value. It has to be a good movie and it has to convey a message without the audience feeling like they're being preached to; and I really felt strongly that this script accomplished¹⁴ that," he says.

Blood Diamond is directed by Edward Zwick with a screenplay by Charles Leavitt. The international cast features South African Arnold Vosloo and British actors Michael Sheen and David Harewood. Most of the film was shot in Africa including locations in South Africa's KwaZulu Natal¹⁵ province and Maputo, Mozambique doubling for Freetown during the war years.

1 uprooted   

v.把（某物）连根拔起( uproot的过去式和过去分词 )；根除；赶走；把…赶出家园

参考例句：

• Many people were uprooted from their homes by the flood. 水灾令许多人背井离乡。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The hurricane blew with such force that trees were uprooted. 飓风强烈地刮着，树都被连根拔起了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 gems   

growth； economy； management； and customer satisfaction 增长

参考例句：

• a crown studded with gems 镶有宝石的皇冠
• The apt citations and poetic gems have adorned his speeches. 贴切的引语和珠玑般的诗句为他的演说词增添文采。

3 smuggler   

n.走私者

参考例句：

• The smuggler is in prison tonight, awaiting extradition to Britain. 这名走私犯今晚在监狱，等待引渡到英国。
• The smuggler was finally obliged to inform against his boss. 那个走私犯最后不得不告发他的首领。

4 archer   

n.射手，弓箭手

参考例句：

• The archer strung his bow and aimed an arrow at the target.弓箭手拉紧弓弦将箭瞄准靶子。
• The archer's shot was a perfect bull's-eye.射手的那一箭正中靶心。

5 portray   

v.描写，描述；画(人物、景象等)

参考例句：

• It is difficult to portray feelings in words.感情很难用言语来描写。
• Can you portray the best and worst aspects of this job?您能描述一下这份工作最好与最坏的方面吗？

6 displacement   

n.移置，取代，位移，排水量

参考例句：

• They said that time is the feeling of spatial displacement.他们说时间是空间位移的感觉。
• The displacement of all my energy into caring for the baby.我所有精力都放在了照顾宝宝上。

7 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

8 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

9 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

10 certify   

vt.证明，证实；发证书(或执照)给

参考例句：

• I can certify to his good character.我可以证明他品德好。
• This swimming certificate is to certify that I can swim one hundred meters.这张游泳证是用以证明我可以游100米远。

11 legitimately   

ad.合法地；正当地，合理地

参考例句：

• The radio is legitimately owned by the company. 该电台为这家公司所合法拥有。
• She looked for nothing save what might come legitimately and without the appearance of special favour. 她要的并不是男人们的额外恩赐，而是合法正当地得到的工作。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

12 conglomerates   

n.（多种经营的）联合大企业( conglomerate的名词复数 )；砾岩；合成物；组合物

参考例句：

• At the surface, radioactivity of the conglomerates is locally as high as 30 X background. 在地表，砾岩的局部地段的放射性高达30倍本底值。 来自辞典例句
• The conglomerates failed to understand that books could not be sold like soap. 这些联合大企业不懂卖书不象卖肥皂那样。 来自辞典例句

13 livelihoods   

生计，谋生之道( livelihood的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. 走在最前面的是早期的个人主义先驱者，他们靠狩猎捕鱼为生。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小，他们的传统生计受到了威胁。

14 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

15 natal   

adj.出生的，先天的

参考例句：

• Many music-lovers make pilgrimages to Mozart's natal place.很多爱好音乐的人去访问莫扎特的出生地。
• Since natal day,characters possess the visual elements such as dots and strokes.文字从诞生开始便具有了点画这样的视觉元素。