2006年VOA标准英语-New Film Tells the Real – Religious – Christmas

By Jim Bertel
Washington, DC
22 December 2006
 
watch The Nativity Story report

 
The Nativity Story
A new film features some familiar Hollywood plot lines: a scandalous teenage pregnancy¹ and young runaways² fleeing the law. What makes this different from the usual teen rebels is that the pregnant teen is Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, the savior of the Christian³ faith. VOA's Jim Bertel has more on the retelling of the real Christmas story.

At this time every year Christians⁴ around the world celebrate the birth of Jesus. But until now, Hollywood had never brought the story to the big screen. The new film "The Nativity Story" chronicles the journey of two people, Mary and Joseph, a miraculous⁵ pregnancy, and the birth of Jesus.

 
Keisha Castle-Hughes

Australian actress Keisha Castle-Hughes, an Academy Award nominee⁶ for "Whale Rider,” plays the Virgin⁷ Mary.

Iranian born actress Shohreh Aghdashloo co-stars as Mary's cousin Elizabeth. In an interview with VOA, Aghdashloo described her inspiration for the role.

"When I started reading about her I realized what a generous, giving, selfless woman she was, with a heart filled with love and passion for humanity. While doing this research I realized, ‘Oh my God, this woman reminds me of my grandmother so much.’ "
Watch video of complete Shoreh Aghdashloo Interview (broadband)
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The actress says she combined the physical movements of her grandmother with the words of Elizabeth to create the character.

Catherine Hardwicke, a former production designer, directed the film. She says, at first glance, the film did not seem to be the right fit. Then she took a closer look.

"I started to read the script and I was so excited to know that Mary was thirteen years old -- to think of a thirteen-year-old girl was put in these incredible circumstances, and I work with teenagers before [in other films], and that was what got me into it and I wanted to explore that whole world.”

 
Oscar Isaac plays Joseph
Exploring that world and capturing its authenticity⁸ was important to Hardwicke. Guatemalan-American actor Oscar Isaac, who plays Joseph, says that included spending time at what the actors called "the Nazareth boot camp."

"Well, for a month, we worked with technical advisors⁹ and learned how to be a real first century, young, Jewish carpenter,” said Isaac. “And I worked with tools and I made the staff that I used in the film and the walls of my house. And I really learned how to live back then."

Aghdashloo agrees the training was very helpful. "Different sessions -- working with a dialect coach, (a) great dialect coach, Jessica Drake -- and taking different classes: how to weave a carpet, how to milk a goat, how to make bread -- my favorite (was) milking the goat.”

The reviews of the film have been mixed, but most critics agree the story faithfully follows the biblical tale. It is now playing worldwide.

1 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

2 runaways   

（轻而易举的）胜利( runaway的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They failed to find any trace of the runaways. 他们未能找到逃跑者的任何踪迹。
• Unmanageable complexity can result in massive foul-ups or spectacular budget "runaways. " 这种失控的复杂性会造成大量的故障或惊人的预算“失控”。

3 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

4 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

5 miraculous   

adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的

参考例句：

• The wounded man made a miraculous recovery.伤员奇迹般地痊愈了。
• They won a miraculous victory over much stronger enemy.他们战胜了远比自己强大的敌人，赢得了非凡的胜利。

6 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。

7 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。

8 authenticity   

n.真实性

参考例句：

• There has been some debate over the authenticity of his will. 对于他的遗嘱的真实性一直有争论。
• The museum is seeking an expert opinion on the authenticity of the painting. 博物馆在请专家鉴定那幅画的真伪。

9 advisors   

n.顾问，劝告者( advisor的名词复数 )；（指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• The governors felt that they were being strung along by their advisors. 地方长官感到他们一直在受顾问们的愚弄。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We will consult together with advisors about her education. 我们将一起和专家商议她的教育事宜。 来自互联网