2006年VOA标准英语-Environmental Adventure Stirs Controversy

By Alan Silverman
Hollywood
06 May 2006
 
   
  
An environmental adventure enjoyed as a book by millions of young people has been made into a family movie; and, like the book before it, the film is generating some controversy¹. Alan Silverman spoke² with the author for this look at "Hoot³"

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A restaurant chain has plans to build on a vacant field in a sleepy town on the Florida Gulf⁴ Coast, until three 13-year-olds face off against the corporate⁵ developer because, it turns out, the field is habitat for a colony of endangered burrowing⁶ owls⁷:

 
Logan Lerman and Brie Larson in  Hoot   
  
The three of them - Roy, the new kid in school, played by Logan Lerman, Brie Larson as tomboy soccer star Beatrice and Cody Linley as her activist⁸ brother, nicknamed 'Mullet Fingers' - set out on an adventure to stop the bulldozers and save the owls. Brie Larson says she's been a fan of the book since it was first published in 2002. "I was. I was part of a book club when I was about 12 years old and they send you books in the mail every month. I read about a book a week, so it worked out great for me. I got "Hoot" in the mail, read it and loved it and I wanted to make it into a movie," she says.

Cody Linley likes how the story tells young people they can make a difference. "Before the film, I knew about animals and the environment, but I didn't really see how kids could really play a part in helping⁹ out," he says. After doing this film I saw ... the message of the film shows ... that anybody can help out and play a part in saving their environment."

The book was written by Miami Herald¹⁰ newspaper columnist¹¹ and novelist Carl Hiassen as a commentary on the rapid and widespread property development that he has witnessed in his home state of Florida. Hiassen has a sarcastic¹² take on most issues, but not the response of young readers to the 'save the environment' theme of "Hoot."

"As frightening as it is, this book is taught in hundreds of schools now. I didn't realize it, but I've been getting this mail and that theme is the first thing the kids plug into. It's given me a lot of hope because I'm a pretty cynical¹³ guy ... and that's one of the things we always talked about with the movie. The earliest commitment was that this was going to keep the spirit and themes of the book that were important to me, because I didn't want all these kids who had read the book to go into the theater ... they're very loyal ... and to say 'wait a minute, that's not like the book that I read.' Then they come after me. I'm the one that's getting all the mail. So I wanted them to at least have the feel and the sensitivity and the fun of the book," he says.

However, some critics complain that the young heroes of the story break the law when they do things like vandalize a bulldozer and otherwise sabotage¹⁴ the construction site; and the developers are portrayed¹⁵ as unscrupulous opportunists for whom profit trumps¹⁶ environment.

It is criticism the author has heard before and he vigorously defends the characters, especially 'Mullet Fingers,' who Hiassen says is the favorite in most of the mail he receives from young readers. "All he's doing is fighting for something he believes in. He's not stealing. He's not robbing. He's not spray-painting graffiti. He's just fighting these little battles as they come along. I don't think he's a revolutionary or rebel or anything else. If you were walking down the street and you saw somebody kicking a dog, you're one of two kinds of people: you're going to turn around and walk the other way or you're going to walk up to that person and you're going to do whatever you have to do stop him from kicking the dog. If that's being a revolutionary or some sort of 'eco-terrorist,' so what? You're doing the right thing instead of the wrong thing, which is walking away. That's all the message is. It's not complicated," he says.

And Hiassen says he is not worried about backlash. "Oh, nothing would thrill me more; but you know the fact is that kids have a gut¹⁷, intuitive feel for what is right and what is wrong. You put 500 kids in a room, show them this movie and ask them afterwards 'raise your hand if you're for the guy on the bulldozer.' You tell me how many hands you're going to see. That's not brainwashing," he says. "That's coming from their heart. There's a way to balance and balance is the issue here. Growth isn't going to stop. They're n-o-t going to mothball [retire] all of the bulldozers; but there is a balance and that's all you can fight for. I'm not telling them to go out and do it, but the great thing they seem to respond to is that,(like Jimmy Buffett says in the song), sometimes the good guys win. That's all I want them to take away: the feeling that if you don't fight, you've got no chance at all. If you do fight, you might be one of the lucky ones that wins once in a while."

"Hoot" also features Luke Wilson as a bumbling sheriff's deputy who starts out as an adversary¹⁸ but then becomes an ally of the young environmentalists. It is the latest project of Denver-based Walden Media, which has as its goal films with uplifting themes. The producers also include singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett, who plays a small role on screen [as a science teacher] and provides several songs for the soundtrack. "Hoot" was shot on location on Florida's scenic¹⁹ west coast.

1 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 hoot   

n.鸟叫声，汽车的喇叭声； v.使汽车鸣喇叭

参考例句：

• The sudden hoot of a whistle broke into my thoughts.突然响起的汽笛声打断了我的思路。
• In a string of shrill hoot of the horn sound,he quickly ran to her.在一串尖声鸣叫的喇叭声中，他快速地跑向她。

4 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

5 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

6 burrowing   

v.挖掘（洞穴），挖洞( burrow的现在分词 )；翻寻

参考例句：

• What are you burrowing around in my drawer for? 你在我抽屉里乱翻什么？ 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The forepaws are also used for burrowing and for dragging heavier logs. 它们的前爪还可以用来打洞和拖拽较重的树干。 来自辞典例句

7 owls   

n.猫头鹰( owl的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• 'Clumsy fellows,'said I; 'they must still be drunk as owls.' “这些笨蛋，”我说，“他们大概还醉得像死猪一样。” 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
• The great majority of barn owls are reared in captivity. 大多数仓鸮都是笼养的。 来自辞典例句

8 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

9 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

10 herald   

vt.预示...的来临，预告，宣布，欢迎

参考例句：

• In England, the cuckoo is the herald of spring.在英国杜鹃鸟是报春的使者。
• Dawn is the herald of day.曙光是白昼的先驱。

11 columnist   

n.专栏作家

参考例句：

• The host was interviewing a local columnist.节目主持人正在同一位当地的专栏作家交谈。
• She's a columnist for USA Today.她是《今日美国报》的专栏作家。

12 sarcastic   

adj.讥讽的，讽刺的，嘲弄的

参考例句：

• I squashed him with a sarcastic remark.我说了一句讽刺的话把他给镇住了。
• She poked fun at people's shortcomings with sarcastic remarks.她冷嘲热讽地拿别人的缺点开玩笑。

13 cynical   

adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的，不信世道向善的

参考例句：

• The enormous difficulty makes him cynical about the feasibility of the idea.由于困难很大，他对这个主意是否可行持怀疑态度。
• He was cynical that any good could come of democracy.他不相信民主会带来什么好处。

14 sabotage   

n.怠工，破坏活动，破坏；v.从事破坏活动，妨害，破坏

参考例句：

• They tried to sabotage my birthday party.他们企图破坏我的生日晚会。
• The fire at the factory was caused by sabotage.那家工厂的火灾是有人蓄意破坏引起的。

15 portrayed   

v.画像( portray的过去式和过去分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• Throughout the trial, he portrayed himself as the victim. 在审讯过程中，他始终把自己说成是受害者。
• The author portrayed his father as a vicious drunkard. 作者把他父亲描绘成一个可恶的酒鬼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

16 trumps   

abbr.trumpets 喇叭；小号；喇叭形状的东西；喇叭筒v.（牌戏）出王牌赢（一牌或一墩）( trump的过去式 )；吹号公告，吹号庆祝；吹喇叭；捏造

参考例句：

• On the day of the match the team turned up trumps. 比赛那天该队出乎意料地获得胜利。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Every time John is late getting home he trumps up some new excuse. 每次约翰晚回家都会编造个新借口。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 gut   

n.[pl.]胆量；内脏；adj.本能的；vt.取出内脏

参考例句：

• It is not always necessary to gut the fish prior to freezing.冷冻鱼之前并不总是需要先把内脏掏空。
• My immediate gut feeling was to refuse.我本能的直接反应是拒绝。

18 adversary   

adj.敌手，对手

参考例句：

• He saw her as his main adversary within the company.他将她视为公司中主要的对手。
• They will do anything to undermine their adversary's reputation.他们会不择手段地去损害对手的名誉。

19 scenic   

adj.自然景色的，景色优美的

参考例句：

• The scenic beauty of the place entranced the visitors.这里的美丽风光把游客们迷住了。
• The scenic spot is on northwestern outskirts of Beijing.这个风景区位于北京的西北远郊。