VOA标准英语2010年-Railroad Men Race to Stop Runaway Trai

"I'm Will Colson. We're working together today on train 1206.""This ain't training. In training they just give you an 'F.' Out here you get killed."Frank Barnes is a veteran engineer hauling tons of freight across the Pennsylvania countryside. In the locomotive cab with him this day is Will Colson, fresh out of training. While they work what starts out as a normal day on the tracks, a stupid mistake by a maintenance crew sets another train in motion with nobody at the controls and its safety. systems disabled"We have an unmanned train rolling into a highly populated area with no air brakes?""Yeah."Robert ZuckermanChris Pine as conductor Will Colson hangs on for the ride of his life, as he and a veteran train engineer attempt to prevent a massive disaster in Unstoppable. Its throttle¹ wide open, the runaway² - train number 777 - roars down the main track heading right for a town where its cargo³ of industrial chemicals could cause a major disaster. One by one, every effort fails to stop it.
The rail yard supervisor⁴, played by Rosario Dawson, is on the radio ordering other trains out of the path of the speeding runaway; but when it passes Frank Barnes and his train number 1206, the experienced engineer sees a way to capture it with his own locomotive ...from behind.
Unstoppable TrailerUnstoppable director and producer Tony Scott says the characters are fictional⁵, but the story does include details of a real incident that occurred in Ohio in 2001.
"We mixed and matched in terms of my research and what I could do in terms of the characters and the event ...so it's a mixture," explains Scott. "That's why it says 'inspired by.'
Robert ZuckermanChris Pine portrays⁶ a rookie train conductor who works with a veteran engineer to avert⁷ a major disaster in Unstoppable.
"You're trying to balance the two worlds: the conflict between the two guys, which is great in terms of drama - these two guys in this small space, it's almost like a piece of theater - in conjunction with what the train is doing," Scott adds. "Then you're cutting back to Rosario, who is the eyes and ears of the audience, trying to tap into what is going on. For me it's a great vehicle because I've got all these different (elements). When you're shooting, you create paint for your palette to put on your canvas when you get in the editing room; but I had great, great colors to draw from to put on that canvas."Scott says he used (and wrecked) real trains rather than try to recreate the scenes with CG or computer-generated images.
"This movie is about reality, weight and speed and no matter how good CG is, it's really hard to reproduce," the director admits.
Robert ZuckermanDenzel Washington as train engineer Frank Barnes races to stop an unmanned runaway train - effectively a missile the size of a skyscraper⁸ - and prevent disaster in a heavily populated area in Unstoppable.
He also puts his main characters right in the middle of the fast-paced action; but co-star Chris Pine says he was happy to let the professional stunt⁹ double take over.
"Pretty much every time I'm not connected to any vehicle ...if someone is jumping, it's not me," explains Pine. "But I did most all of it except for jumping onto moving vehicles. That's not me."Denzel Washington jokes about taking on all the daredevil feats¹⁰ himself; but that IS him on top of a tank car as his character tries to bring the runaway under control.
Robert ZuckermanDenzel Washington stars as a veteran locomotive engineer who helps devise an incredible plan to try and stop a runaway train - and prevent certain disaster in a heavily populated area in Unstoppable.
"What I didn't realize was going to happen was because the cars were not full - the train cars were empty - there was a lot more wiggle in it so it was really unstable," says Washington.
"I'm not risking this company just because some engineer wants to play hero.""It's not for you. I'm not doing it for you."Co-star Rosario Dawson says characters like Washington's Frank, Chris Pine's Will and her dispatcher Connie represent the ordinary people dedicated¹¹ to doing their jobs even through tough economic times.
"Railroads are a huge part of American history and it was an incredible journey for all of us, even the little bits that I had, to travel with this movie and be in parts of America that I hadn't been in and to learn about the industry and a world that we don't get to look into very often," notes Dawson. "It's a very old kind of world, but this has so much on topic ...and I think that was actually quite a joy to work with such incredible talents who know how to tell a great, fun popcorn-action film, but with incredible heart that is very palpable with what is going on right now."Unstoppable is written by Mark Bomback and was filmed on location in the rail yards and on the main line freight tracks of the American northeast.

1 throttle   

n.节流阀，节气阀，喉咙；v.扼喉咙，使窒息，压

参考例句：

• These government restrictions are going to throttle our trade.这些政府的限制将要扼杀我们的贸易。
• High tariffs throttle trade between countries.高的关税抑制了国与国之间的贸易。

2 runaway   

n.逃走的人，逃亡，亡命者；adj.逃亡的，逃走的

参考例句：

• The police have not found the runaway to date.警察迄今没抓到逃犯。
• He was praised for bringing up the runaway horse.他勒住了脱缰之马受到了表扬。

3 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

4 supervisor   

n.监督人，管理人，检查员，督学，主管，导师

参考例句：

• Between you and me I think that new supervisor is a twit.我们私下说，我认为新来的主管人是一个傻瓜。
• He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor.他说我太轻浮不能成为一名好的管理员。

5 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。

6 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》

7 avert   

v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等)

参考例句：

• He managed to avert suspicion.他设法避嫌。
• I would do what I could to avert it.我会尽力去避免发生这种情况。

8 skyscraper   

n.摩天大楼

参考例句：

• The skyscraper towers into the clouds.那幢摩天大楼高耸入云。
• The skyscraper was wrapped in fog.摩天楼为雾所笼罩。

9 stunt   

n.惊人表演，绝技，特技；vt.阻碍...发育，妨碍...生长

参考例句：

• Lack of the right food may stunt growth.缺乏适当的食物会阻碍发育。
• Right up there is where the big stunt is taking place.那边将会有惊人的表演。

10 feats   

功绩，伟业，技艺( feat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He used to astound his friends with feats of physical endurance. 过去，他表现出来的惊人耐力常让朋友们大吃一惊。
• His heroic feats made him a legend in his own time. 他的英雄业绩使他成了他那个时代的传奇人物。

11 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。