VOA标准英语2009年-'Avatar' Makes Movie History Thanks to

Twelve years ago, writer-director James Cameron made Titanic¹, an epic² romance that became the highest-grossing film in Hollywood history. He is making cinema history again with groundbreaking new 3D technology that puts audiences in the middle of his new science fiction adventure set on another world and 150 years in the future. Here's a look at Avatar.

Alan Silverman | Hollywood 18 December 2009

 Jake Sully is a wounded warrior³: a U.S. Marine⁴ paralyzed from a battlefield injury. The chance to walk again is what initially⁵ draws him to a distant, dangerous moon.

"You are not in Kansas anymore. You're on Pandora. Out there beyond that fence every living thing that crawls, flies or squats⁶ in the mud wants to kill you and eat your eyes for jujubes."

It seems Pandora is the only place in the galaxy⁷ with deposits of a valuable new energy source worth untold⁸ millions back on Earth. To get it, however, they have to go through …or get rid of …the Pandora natives: a tall, blue-skinned tribe called the Na'vi. That's where Jake and his colleagues come in:

"Me and Norm are here to 'drive' these remotely-controlled bodies called avatars. They are grown from human DNA⁹ mixed with the DNA of the natives."

20th Century Fox
Zoe Saldana and Sam Worthington in scene from Avatar

With his mind electronically linked to his Avatar body, Jake not only can walk again and survive in the toxic¹⁰ atmosphere of Pandora, he can also make direct contact with the Na'vi. That doesn't exactly go well at first.

But as the exotically beautiful Neytiri teaches Jake about the Na'vi and their connection to their world, he becomes convinced that the exploitation by his fellow humans must be stopped.

New Zealander Sam Worthington plays Jake and New Jersey¹¹ native Zoe Saldana is Neytiri. Canadian-born Cameron spent years developing a 'performance capture' technology for their Avatar characters. The actors wear high-tech¹² outfits¹³ dotted with sensors¹⁴ that record their every movement including the subtlest facial expressions.

20th Century Fox
Director James Cameron on the set of the movie

"The whole thing we were trying to develop was about keeping alive and without any dilution¹⁵ the actors' work," Cameron says.

Cameron explains that those captured performances are the key to making the CG or computer-generated digital characters that audiences see come 'alive.'

"I don't want to be an animator. I don't want to try to figure out how to make the characters behave later through animation¹⁶. That's not what I do. I work with actors," notes Cameron. "My proposal to the actors was: 'okay, we're going to be in a room [and] we're going to do this strange thing, but every molecule¹⁷ of what you create will be what your character does. I want that to be the performance that is seen two years later in the finished film.

20th Century Fox
Scene from Avatar

Cameron also pioneered a realistic 3D technology that requires the audience to wear special glasses; but Sam Worthington says it puts them with him in the action.

"You are more endeared to these characters by feeling you are in the fight or the battle or the tragedy with them," Worthington says. "By doing that, the veneer¹⁸ of remembering it is a CG character starts to dissolve and you see the spirit. We were never going to lose our jobs because the CG character can only work if it is embodied¹⁹ by us and I can tell you that is 100 percent Zoe and 100 percent my performance. It is not a cartoon. We are not standing²⁰ at a lectern voicing it. We had to do it so every jump and smash and roll and smirk²¹ and glimmer²² and kiss we did. That's the trick and the magic of this movie that Jim and WETA Digital had to push themselves to get to the point where we forget we are watching big, blue people and we start just rooting for the person inside them."

Writer-director Cameron also acknowledges that what the humans try to do on the fictional²³ Pandora is a clear metaphor²⁴ for what he believes are the dangers of exploitation on our own planet; and he believes that is warning science fiction can deliver:

"Science fiction can operate on many different levels. It can operate as a cinema just purely²⁵ of the visual …purely of imagination; but historically the kind of science fiction that I grew up on had a message," Cameron says. "Usually it was a dystopian message in the form of some kind of warning; and I think that science fiction became more escapist fantasy and less a warning or intellectual medium. I think that Avatar was an attempt to merge²⁶ science fiction back to its roots of having a warning."

"They have sent us a message that they can take whatever they want. Well we will send them a message …that this is our land!"

20th Century Fox
Sigourney Weaver²⁷ and Sam Worthington in scene from Avatar

Avatar also features sci-fi veteran Sigourney Weaver as the scientist who creates the program to learn about and understand the Na'vi. Giovanni Ribisi plays the corporate²⁸ manager of the Pandora mining project with Stephen Lang as the paramilitary commander of the human forces and Native American Indian actor Wes Studi is the Na'vi chief. The soundtrack music is composed  by James Horner, whose previous collaborations with James Cameron include the multiple Oscar-winning Titanic.
 

1 titanic   

adj.巨人的，庞大的，强大的

参考例句：

• We have been making titanic effort to achieve our purpose.我们一直在作极大的努力，以达到我们的目的。
• The island was created by titanic powers and they are still at work today.台湾岛是由一个至今仍然在运作的巨大力量塑造出来的。

2 epic   

n.史诗，叙事诗；adj.史诗般的，壮丽的

参考例句：

• I gave up my epic and wrote this little tale instead.我放弃了写叙事诗，而写了这个小故事。
• They held a banquet of epic proportions.他们举行了盛大的宴会。

3 warrior   

n.勇士，武士，斗士

参考例句：

• The young man is a bold warrior.这个年轻人是个很英勇的武士。
• A true warrior values glory and honor above life.一个真正的勇士珍视荣誉胜过生命。

4 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

5 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

6 squats   

n.蹲坐，蹲姿( squat的名词复数 )；被擅自占用的建筑物v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的第三人称单数 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。

参考例句：

• The square squats in the centre of the city. 广场位于市中心。 来自互联网
• Various squats, lunges, jumps and sprints are incorporated for the humans. 主人们还要进行下蹲、弓步、跳跃和短跑等各项训练。 来自互联网

7 galaxy   

n.星系；银河系；一群(杰出或著名的人物)

参考例句：

• The earth is one of the planets in the Galaxy.地球是银河系中的星球之一。
• The company has a galaxy of talent.该公司拥有一批优秀的人才。

8 untold   

adj.数不清的，无数的

参考例句：

• She has done untold damage to our chances.她给我们的机遇造成了不可估量的损害。
• They suffered untold terrors in the dark and huddled together for comfort.他们遭受着黑暗中的难以言传的种种恐怖，因而只好挤在一堆互相壮胆。

9 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

10 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

11 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

12 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。

13 outfits   

n.全套装备( outfit的名词复数 )；一套服装；集体；组织v.装备，配置设备，供给服装( outfit的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He jobbed out the contract to a number of small outfits. 他把承包工程分包给许多小单位。 来自辞典例句
• Some cyclists carry repair outfits because they may have a puncture. 有些骑自行车的人带修理工具，因为他们车胎可能小孔。 来自辞典例句

14 sensors   

n.传感器，灵敏元件( sensor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were more than 2000 sensors here. 这里装有两千多个灵敏元件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Significant changes have been noted where sensors were exposed to trichloride. 当传感器暴露在三氯化物中时，有很大变化。 来自辞典例句

15 dilution   

n.稀释，淡化

参考例句：

• There is no hard and fast rule about dilution.至于稀释程度，没有严格的规定。
• He attributed this to a dilution effect of the herbicide.他把这归因于除草剂的稀释效应。

16 animation   

n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作

参考例句：

• They are full of animation as they talked about their childhood.当他们谈及童年的往事时都非常兴奋。
• The animation of China made a great progress.中国的卡通片制作取得很大发展。

17 molecule   

n.分子，克分子

参考例句：

• A molecule of water is made up of two atoms of hygrogen and one atom of oxygen.一个水分子是由P妈̬f婘̬ 妈̬成的。
• This gives us the structural formula of the molecule.这种方式给出了分子的结构式。

18 veneer   

n.(墙上的)饰面，虚饰

参考例句：

• For the first time her veneer of politeness began to crack.她温文尔雅的外表第一次露出破绽。
• The panel had a veneer of gold and ivory.这木板上面镶饰了一层金和象牙。

19 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》

20 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

21 smirk   

n.得意地笑；v.傻笑；假笑着说

参考例句：

• He made no attempt to conceal his smirk.他毫不掩饰自鸣得意的笑容。
• She had a selfsatisfied smirk on her face.她脸上带着自鸣得意的微笑。

22 glimmer   

v.发出闪烁的微光；n.微光，微弱的闪光

参考例句：

• I looked at her and felt a glimmer of hope.我注视她，感到了一线希望。
• A glimmer of amusement showed in her eyes.她的眼中露出一丝笑意。

23 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。

24 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。

25 purely   

adv.纯粹地，完全地

参考例句：

• I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。
• This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

26 merge   

v.(使)结合，(使)合并，(使)合为一体

参考例句：

• I can merge my two small businesses into a large one.我可以将我的两家小商店合并为一家大商行。
• The directors have decided to merge the two small firms together.董事们已决定把这两家小商号归并起来。

27 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

28 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。