2007年VOA标准英语-Film About Terrorist Victim Daniel Pearl Opens

By Anita Elash
Paris
21 May 2007

A film about American journalist Daniel Pearl, who was kidnapped and murdered by Islamic militants¹ in Pakistan in 2002, has opened at the Cannes Film Festival. Pearl The film, A Mighty² Heart, is based on a book written by his wife Mariane Pearl, and stars Angelina Jolie. For VOA, Anita Elash filed this report from Paris.

American journalist Daniel Pearl was researching a story in Pakistan about Richard Reid, the so-called "shoe bomber," when he was kidnapped in 2002. A group of Islamic militants claimed responsibility and said Pearl was an American spy. After he was killed, the group circulated a video on the Internet showing his execution.

The film, A Mighty Heart, is based on a book written by Pearl's wife, Mariane, who was five months pregnant when he was killed. It begins on her last day with her husband in Pakistan, where they were on assignment together, and depicts³ her efforts to find Daniel and to come to terms with his death.

From left: Mariane Pearl, Angelina Jolie and Bradd Pitt at Cannes Film Festival, 21 May 2007

Mariane Pearl is played by American actress Angelina Jolie. Pearl said she asked Jolie to play the part after she read an interview with her and thought they could be friends.

Jolie was about six-months pregnant as she prepared for the film. She told reporters in Cannes that that helped her understand what Mariane Pearl was going through.

"I remember being six-months pregnant, and thinking 'I cannot imagine, at this time, not having the father with me', you know? Not having and being concerned about his life and trying to eat, and trying to remember to get some sleep and trying to take a deep breath, and physically⁴ even just moving around," she said. "So, as a woman, it just made me so much more connected to her and aware of her"

The film is directed by British director Michael Winterbottom and co-produced by Jolie's husband Brad Pitt. It opens in the United States on June 22.

1 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

2 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

3 depicts   

描绘，描画( depict的第三人称单数 )； 描述

参考例句：

• The book vividly depicts French society of the 1930s. 这本书生动地描绘了20 世纪30 年代的法国社会。
• He depicts the sordid and vulgar sides of life exclusively. 他只描写人生肮脏和庸俗的一面。

4 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。