VOA标准英语2009年-'Amelia' Tells Story of Life, Tragic Disap

By Alan Silverman
Hollywood
29 October 2009

The life and tragic¹ disappearance² of pioneer aviator³ Amelia Earhart are dramatized in a new film starring two-time Oscar-winner Hilary Swank and directed by Indian-born Mira Nair. Here's a look at Amelia.

"When I was a little girl, I'd spend hours just dreaming that someday I would go to strange faraway places."

 

Amelia Earhart would get to those places at the controls of her aircraft, becoming one of the most famous flyers in the world of the 1920's and 30's.

 
Hillary Swank in scene from Amelia
She discovered her passion for piloting at an early age and by 23 was one of the few women then licensed⁵ to fly. Her enthusiasm and a bit of daredevil attitude led her to achieve numerous 'firsts' in the young field of aviation. It was on an attempt for another 'first' - a flight around the world - that Amelia Earhart disappeared over the Pacific Ocean in July 1937.

Hilary Swank has done movie characters based on real people before; but the actress found playing "Amelia" especially challenging.

"It's a big responsibility to play someone who really lived [and] it's a big responsibility to play somebody as iconic as 'Amelia' too," Swank says. "We all have such a great idea of who she was and what she looked like, so there wasn't a lot of room for fictional⁶ license⁴ and [I think] we had to do the best we could to do honor to that person and try to navigate⁷ the best we could."

"I'm a flier pursuing my passion for the fun of it. There's more to life than being a passenger."

 

 
Hillary Swank in scene from Amelia
"You can't play Amelia Earhart and not learn how to fly. That would just be wrong in every way," Swank says.

Swank says reading biographies and watching vintage newsreels gave her only part of what she needed to portray⁸ the character. To really understand Amelia, Swank felt she needed to learn how to pilot an airplane.

"It takes all of your senses. You are completely immersed. It is adventurous⁹ [and] dangerous," Swank explains. "It is all of the things that I love and that, I think, Amelia loved. One of the great things about my job is I get to do all of these things that I may not have experienced had I not been an actor. I think saying that I learned how to fly to play Amelia Earhart is pretty great."

In 1932 Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic, four years after her first trans-Atlantic flight on which she had only been allowed as a passenger. It was among many events that thrust her into the media spotlight¹⁰. Director Mira Nair says she came to understand how Amelia Earhart used that celebrity¹¹ status to pursue her aviation dreams.

 
Mira Nair, right, on the set of the movie with Hillary Swank
"For me, the real window onto understanding who she might have been was her own writings; and she wrote with a very interesting turn of phrase. 'There is more to life than being a passenger.' ' Why do you fly? I fly for the fun of it.' She had simple, pithy¹², but really pretty contemporary ways of writing and speaking," Nair notes. "And, I must say, what really attracted me was what I thought was a sense of great humility¹³. She did all of this hoopla of publicity¹⁴ and whatever in order so she could fly. Humility is not a real American trait and I come from a place where we are taught to be humble¹⁵; so I thought 'that's interesting' …that she has consistently got that humility. Whether she is getting medals or flying in the cockpit, she has a sense of "I'm really here for the ecstasy¹⁶ of this flight" rather than for the awards or the accolades¹⁷."

Amelia does not attempt to solve the enduring mystery of exactly what happened when Earhart, flying with navigator Fred Noonan, disappeared on their globe-circling attempt in 1937. The film portrays¹⁸ the final flight using transcripts¹⁹ of the actual radio transmissions and other verified facts to suggest the chain of events that occurred. Star Hilary Swank believes, despite the pilot's tragic ending, Earhart's dream survived.

"Think about it: we fly all the time," Swank says. "There are hundreds of planes in the air right now and they're going to be there tomorrow and they are flying all of the time. When Amelia was doing it, it was a sport and she hoped that someday it would be a way of transportation."

 
Richard Gere and Hillary Swank in scene from Amelia
Amelia co-stars Richard Gere as publisher George Putnam who turned Amelia Earhart into a star and, along the way, fell in love with and married her. Ewan McGregor plays Earhart's sometime lover Gene²⁰ Vidal, who partnered with her to establish one of America's first commercial airline companies. Rather than rely upon computer-generated images, director Mira Nair insisted on real aircraft, so the flight scenes in Amelia feature faithful recreations of the planes she flew, including the bright red Lockheed Vega with which she crossed the Atlantic (and which is on display at the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum) and the twin-engine Electra from that final, fateful journey.

1 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

2 disappearance   

n.消失，消散，失踪

参考例句：

• He was hard put to it to explain her disappearance.他难以说明她为什么不见了。
• Her disappearance gave rise to the wildest rumours.她失踪一事引起了各种流言蜚语。

3 aviator   

n.飞行家，飞行员

参考例句：

• The young aviator bragged of his exploits in the sky.那名年轻的飞行员吹嘘他在空中飞行的英勇事迹。
• Hundreds of admirers besieged the famous aviator.数百名爱慕者围困那个著名飞行员。

4 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

5 licensed   

adj.得到许可的v.许可，颁发执照(license的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The new drug has not yet been licensed in the US. 这种新药尚未在美国获得许可。
• Is that gun licensed? 那支枪有持枪执照吗？

6 fictional   

adj.小说的，虚构的

参考例句：

• The names of the shops are entirely fictional.那些商店的名字完全是虚构的。
• The two authors represent the opposite poles of fictional genius.这两位作者代表了天才小说家两个极端。

7 navigate   

v.航行，飞行；导航，领航

参考例句：

• He was the first man to navigate the Atlantic by air.他是第一个飞越大西洋的人。
• Such boats can navigate on the Nile.这种船可以在尼罗河上航行。

8 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？

9 adventurous   

adj.爱冒险的；惊心动魄的，惊险的，刺激的　

参考例句：

• I was filled with envy at their adventurous lifestyle.我很羨慕他们敢于冒险的生活方式。
• He was predestined to lead an adventurous life.他注定要过冒险的生活。

10 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

11 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

12 pithy   

adj.(讲话或文章)简练的

参考例句：

• Many of them made a point of praising the film's pithy dialogue.他们中很多人特别赞扬了影片精炼的对白。
• His pithy comments knocked the bottom out of my argument.他精辟的评论驳倒了我的论点。

13 humility   

n.谦逊，谦恭

参考例句：

• Humility often gains more than pride.谦逊往往比骄傲收益更多。
• His voice was still soft and filled with specious humility.他的声音还是那么温和，甚至有点谦卑。

14 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

15 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

16 ecstasy   

n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷

参考例句：

• He listened to the music with ecstasy.他听音乐听得入了神。
• Speechless with ecstasy,the little boys gazed at the toys.小孩注视着那些玩具，高兴得说不出话来。

17 accolades   

n.（连结几行谱表的）连谱号( accolade的名词复数 )；嘉奖；（窗、门上方的）桃尖拱形线脚；册封爵士的仪式（用剑面在肩上轻拍一下）

参考例句：

• Unlike other accolades for literature which tend to value style or experimentation. 有别于其他偏重风格活实验性的文学奖项。 来自互联网
• Build your trophy room while amassing awards and accolades. 建立您的奖杯积累奖项和荣誉。 来自互联网

18 portrays   

v.画像( portray的第三人称单数 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• The museum collection vividly portrays the heritage of 200 years of canals. 博物馆的藏品让运河200 年的历史再现眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The film portrays Gandhi as a kind of superman. 这部电影把甘地描绘成一个超人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句

20 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。