2007年VOA标准英语-Newborn Could be Key to Humanity's Future in "C

By Alan Silverman
Hollywood
06 January 2007

In a world without babies, a newborn child could be the key to humanity's future in a dark and compelling thriller¹ co-written and directed by Mexican-born filmmaker Alfonso Cuaron. Alan Silverman has this look at "Children of Men:"

Clive Owen and Claire-Hope Ashitey in "Children of Men"

The year is 2027. Inexplicably², fertility has dropped to zero around the world. The prospect³ of being Earth's last human generation sends society over the edge. Terrorists topple governments, religious zealots preach the 'end of days' and desperate refugees stream across borders only to find themselves caged in camps:

In the England of this near-future, martial⁴ law keeps chaos⁵ from overwhelming the country. As heavily-armed troops patrol street corners, announcements remind the public that 'England soldiers on.' Meanwhile, the government distributes suicide pills for those who can no longer cope. In the midst of this is a sad bureaucrat⁶ named Theo who becomes reluctant guardian⁷ of the future embodied⁸ by a young African 'fugee named Kee.

Kee opens her tattered⁹ dress to reveal her swollen¹⁰ belly¹¹.

Theo is recruited by an underground group to escort Kee safely to the 'Humanity Project,' which no one is sure exists, but everyone hopes will figure out what has gone wrong to fix it in time.

The premise¹² for "Children of Men" comes from the 1992 novel by English writer P.D. James; but director and screenwriter Alfonso Cuaron says the film adaptation reflects today's world. "From the beginning, the whole thing of infertility¹³, for me, was more than anything a metaphor¹⁴. What I wanted to do was make a movie in which you take a journey through the state of things outside of our 'green zones' ...outside the comfort of our 'green zones.' So, for me, the important thing was the observation about these themes that are crafting our present. Then, at the end, while you are going through the state of things, audiences make a decision of whether there is the possibility of hope after witnessing the world that we're living in now," he says.

"If you really strip it all away, the film is about the loss of hope. It is about hope ceasing to be real thing within people and my character, Theo, embodies¹⁵ that," says Clive Owen, who stars as Theo and he sees the journey of the reluctant hero, not as some futuristic fable¹⁶, but a relevant ...even urgent ... commentary on today. "The human spirit is in a sense of hopelessness. Theo has given up. There is no point to anything and in the movie hope is re-awakened. Theo does become engaged again as a human being and there is something to fight for. That's why I would argue with anybody that says it's a very bleak¹⁷, dark outlook of the future because you can relate to it. This film feels, to me, more relevant than a lot of films that are set right now in the present day."

Young newcomer Claire-Hope Ashitey co-stars as pregnant Kee and says that the parallels with contemporary events keep "Children of Men" from becoming another dystopian science fiction tale. "Absolutely. I think there are so many parallels to be drawn¹⁸ between what goes on in the film and what goes on in our world today and I think that's exactly how Alfonso intended it ...as a way of drawing attention, albeit¹⁹ in a slightly exaggerated form, to the problems that we have today and the things we are doing wrong: highlighting them and putting them in this setting which is really kind of pessimistic and sort of depressing," she says.

Cuaron says he welcomes real world political debate on issues such as unchecked illegal immigration and abridgment²⁰ of rights in the name of security that he includes in the film; but he does not welcome a label often used to describe it. "I refuse to portray²¹ "Children of Men" as a cautionary tale because there is no time for caution anymore. There is only time for transformation²² now and trying to correct wherever we went wrong," he says.

"Children of Men" also features Julianne Moore as the rebel leader whose history with Theo leads her to recruit him for the dangerous mission. Michael Caine plays an old friend who helps guide Theo back to caring about what happens. "I only worked for two weeks on "Children of Men." I mean it's a very important, very showy part ... which is why I did it. And it's two weeks, which is also why I did it," he says.

The cinematographer is Emmanuel "Chivo" Lubezki, a frequent and close collaborator²³ with director Alfonso Cuaron.

1 thriller   

n.惊险片，恐怖片

参考例句：

• He began by writing a thriller.That book sold a million copies.他是写惊险小说起家的。那本书卖了一百万册。
• I always take a thriller to read on the train.我乘火车时，总带一本惊险小说看。

2 inexplicably   

adv.无法说明地，难以理解地，令人难以理解的是

参考例句：

• Inexplicably, Mary said she loved John. 真是不可思议，玛丽说她爱约翰。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Inexplicably, she never turned up. 令人不解的是，她从未露面。 来自辞典例句

3 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

4 martial   

adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的

参考例句：

• The sound of martial music is always inspiring.军乐声总是鼓舞人心的。
• The officer was convicted of desertion at a court martial.这名军官在军事法庭上被判犯了擅离职守罪。

5 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

6 bureaucrat   

n. 官僚作风的人，官僚，官僚政治论者

参考例句：

• He was just another faceless bureaucrat.他只不过是一个典型呆板的官员。
• The economy is still controlled by bureaucrats.经济依然被官僚们所掌控。

7 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

8 embodied   

v.表现( embody的过去式和过去分词 )；象征；包括；包含

参考例句：

• a politician who embodied the hopes of black youth 代表黑人青年希望的政治家
• The heroic deeds of him embodied the glorious tradition of the troops. 他的英雄事迹体现了军队的光荣传统。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 tattered   

adj.破旧的，衣衫破的

参考例句：

• Her tattered clothes in no way detracted from her beauty.她的破衣烂衫丝毫没有影响她的美貌。
• Their tattered clothing and broken furniture indicated their poverty.他们褴褛的衣服和破烂的家具显出他们的贫穷。

10 swollen   

adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀

参考例句：

• Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着，她的双腿已经肿了。
• A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她，她的手臂肿起来了。

11 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。

12 premise   

n.前提；v.提论，预述

参考例句：

• Let me premise my argument with a bit of history.让我引述一些史实作为我立论的前提。
• We can deduce a conclusion from the premise.我们可以从这个前提推出结论。

13 infertility   

n.不肥沃，不毛；不育

参考例句：

• It is the Geneva, Switzerland-based Biotech Company's second recombinant infertility drug. 它是瑞士生物技术公司在日内瓦的公司生产的第二种重组治疗不孕症的药。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术制药疫苗
• Endometritis is a cause of infertility. 子宫内膜炎是不育的原子。 来自辞典例句

14 metaphor   

n.隐喻，暗喻

参考例句：

• Using metaphor,we say that computers have senses and a memory.打个比方，我们可以说计算机有感觉和记忆力。
• In poetry the rose is often a metaphor for love.玫瑰在诗中通常作为爱的象征。

15 embodies   

v.表现( embody的第三人称单数 )；象征；包括；包含

参考例句：

• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This document embodies the concern of the government for the deformity. 这个文件体现了政府对残疾人的关怀。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

16 fable   

n.寓言；童话；神话

参考例句：

• The fable is given on the next page. 这篇寓言登在下一页上。
• He had some motive in telling this fable. 他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

17 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

18 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

19 albeit   

conj.即使；纵使；虽然

参考例句：

• Albeit fictional,she seemed to have resolved the problem.虽然是虚构的，但是在她看来好象是解决了问题。
• Albeit he has failed twice,he is not discouraged.虽然失败了两次，但他并没有气馁。

20 abridgment   

n.删节，节本

参考例句：

• An abridgment of the book has been published for young readers.他们为年轻读者出版了这本书的节本。
• This abridgment provides a concise presentation of this masterpiece of Buddhist literature.这个删节本提供了简明介绍佛教文学的杰作。

21 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？

22 transformation   

n.变化；改造；转变

参考例句：

• Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
• He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。

23 collaborator   

n.合作者，协作者

参考例句：

• I need a collaborator to help me. 我需要个人跟我合作，帮我的忙。
• His collaborator, Hooke, was of a different opinion. 他的合作者霍克持有不同的看法。