VOA标准英语2010年-Gods of Ancient Greece Featured in 'Pe

The gods of ancient Greece rarely get featured roles in movies any more; but Zeus, Poseidon, Hades and the rest are at the center of at "Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief," a new film adventure adapted from the first in a series of novels popular among young readers.

Percy Jackson may look like a typical teenager: insecure, brooding and full of anger at the absent father he never knew. However, he is about to find out who his father is and the un-typical family he springs from.

    "There are 12 Olympian gods. The big three are the brothers Zeus, Poseidon and Hades. On several occasions they     would come down to Earth and …"
    "Hook up?"
    "They would 'hook up' with mortals. The children of these unions were half god, half human."

When strange things start happening, such as a winged Fury attacking him, Percy finally learns the secret of his birth. He is, indeed, a demigod: son of the sea god Poseidon and a mortal woman.

Just as he is getting used to the idea, Percy finds himself in the midst of a titanic¹ struggle between the gods over a missing artifact.

    "Zeus's bolt is the most powerful thing ever created."
    "It has been stolen."
    "If it is not returned by the summer solstice there will be a war."

Accused of stealing the lightning bolt, Percy sets out with his friend Grover (who turns out to be a satyr - half-man, half-goat) and another child of the gods, the skilled warrior² Annabeth, daughter of Athena, to discover the true identity of the thief, recover the bolt and save the universe.

"Percy Jackson and the Olympians" is directed by Chris Columbus who also made the first film in the series about another teenager with magical powers: Harry³ Potter. The cast features 18-year-old Logan Lerman as Percy and co-stars Pierce Brosnan as his teacher, Chiron, a half-man, half-horse centaur⁴.

"Of course, my sons were instrumental in me playing in this film," he said. "They had read and love the books. Chris [Columbus] was very sly. He went straight to my vanity. He sent me this beautiful portrait of me as this centaur in which I looked magnificent. I never had muscles like that in all my life and I began to believe my own portrait."

Logan Lerman believes "Percy Jackson" can be a fun way to dust off the ancient myths.

"You learn it in school, but I never really revisited it and being a part of this film has been a great excuse to brush up on my knowledge and learn a little bit more in detail," he said. "I think it's going to spark an interest in anybody who sees the film [and] they're going to get into Greek mythology⁵."

Director Chris Columbus cast a roomful of screen stars as the Olympian gods.  Sean Bean is the mighty⁶ Zeus with Kevin McKidd as Poseidon …Steve Coogan is Hades with Rosario Dawson as his queen of the underworld Persephone …and Uma Thurman plays the snake-crowned Medusa whose stare can turn humans to stone.

"For the gods I cast actors who have sort of a larger-than-life, godlike quality about them," Columbus said. "Who better to play a trainer of heroes - people like Hercules - than Pierce Brosnan? It was really the case with all of these gods and goddesses: how do we find someone who you can believe is a god?

Columbus knows his target audience is primarily young - pre-teens to young teenagers - but as a parent he wanted to make a movie that adults won't mind sitting through with their kids:

"For me, this film had to work on two levels," he said. "The first level is make it a wild ride for the seven- to 16-year-olds; and then for the older kids and adults in the audience, make it something that makes them feel like they are 12 years old again. So you'll see there's a balance where kids are laughing at something and then the parents giggle⁷ at something that goes over the kids' heads.

A warning to fans of the novels by Rick Riordan: there are some changes. For instance, Percy is already a teen at the very beginning; but star Lerman hopes readers go along with the adaptation.

"It would be cheating the audience if I didn't read the book in the first place so, of course, I read that just to understand the basis for the movie in the first place; but I used the script as my bible more than anything," he said.

"Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief" also features Alexandra Daddario as Annabeth and Brandon T. Jackson plays the trusty, lusty satyr Grover.

 

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 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。

3 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

4 centaur   

n.人首马身的怪物

参考例句：

• His face reminded me somehow of a centaur.他的脸使我想起半人半马的怪物。
• No wonder he had soon been hustled away to centaur school.也难怪父母匆匆忙忙就把他送到了半人马学校。

5 mythology   

n.神话，神话学，神话集

参考例句：

• In Greek mythology,Zeus was the ruler of Gods and men.在希腊神话中，宙斯是众神和人类的统治者。
• He is the hero of Greek mythology.他是希腊民间传说中的英雄。

6 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。

7 giggle   

n.痴笑，咯咯地笑；v.咯咯地笑着说

参考例句：

• Both girls began to giggle.两个女孩都咯咯地笑了起来。
• All that giggle and whisper is too much for me.我受不了那些咯咯的笑声和交头接耳的样子。