VOA标准英语2010年-Dreams And Reality Collide in Thriller

Hollywood is sometimes called "the dream factory" and the new film from The Dark Knight¹ writer-director Christopher Nolan takes that idea to new levels, creating a world in which dreams can be shared and ideas stolen …but not without risk to both the thief and the dreamer. Here's a look at the thought-provoking new action-drama Inception², starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

"I specialize in a very specific type of security: subconscious³ security."
"You're talking about dreams."

Dom Cobb operates in the shadowy world of other people's dreams. Using a combination of technology and pharmacology, he exploits a technique that brings Cobb and his team into a client's …or victim's… sleep to search out personal or business secrets.

It can be for industrial espionage⁴ to learn the plans of a competitor or for political purposes, to find 'dirt' on an opponent; but for his 'big score,' Cobb is trying something new: "Inception." Instead of taking secrets away, he and his team will plant an idea so that when the victim awakes, he will believe he thought of it himself.

"I'm just doing what I know and I'm doing what you taught me."

"I never taught you to be a thief."

"No, you taught me to navigate⁵ people's minds; but after what happened, there weren't a whole lot of legitimate⁶ ways for me to use that skill."

 

 
Stephen Vaughan
Director CHRISTOPHER NOLAN with LEONARDO DiCAPRIO on the set of Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary⁷ Pictures’ sci-fi action film “INCEPTION,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release.

Writer-director Christopher Nolan launched his career with Memento⁸ and Insomnia⁹, mysteries that delve¹⁰ into how reality can be in the mind of the beholder¹¹. He also explored dark recesses¹² of the subconscious in the action hits Batman Begins and The Dark Knight; and Nolan says Inception goes on an even deeper inner journey:

"I've been fascinated by dreams my whole life, since I was a kid. I think the relationship between movies and dreams is something that has always interested me and I've liked the idea of trying to portray¹³ dreams on film," Nolan explains. "For me the primary interest in dreams and in making this film is this notion that [in] your mind, while you are asleep, you can create an entire world that you are also experiencing without realizing that you're doing that. I think it says a lot about the potential of the human mind, particularly the creative potential. It's something I've found fascinating."

 

 
Melissa Moseley
LEONARDO DiCAPRIO as Cobb in Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary Pictures’ sci-fi action film “INCEPTION,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release.

Leonardo DiCaprio stars as mind thief Cobb and says Nolan's audacious mix of action and science demands the full attention of both actors and audience.

"I tried to take a traditional sort of approach to researching this project and doing preparation for it," DiCaprio says. "I read books like Freud's book on the analysis of dreams …but I realized this is Chris Nolan's dream world. It has its own structure and set of rules that apply in it."

"You create the world of the dream. We bring the subject into that dream and they fill it with their subconscious."

"How could I ever acquire enough detail to make them think that it's reality?"

"Well, dreams feel real while we're in them, right? It's only when we wake up we realize something was actually strange."

"This story structure was extremely ambitious in the fact that simultaneously¹⁴ you had four different states of the human subconscious that represented different dream states and each one affected¹⁵ the other," notes DiCaprio. "What was startling to me, considering how complicated the screenplay was, was seeing it in a visual format¹⁶. That's the magic of movie making. It was a lot easier to understand than I ever thought it would be. That's a testament¹⁷ to how engaging movies are and the visual medium is.

"You mustn't be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling."

Writer-director Nolan says the worldwide success of his Batman adventures, especially the 2008 blockbuster The Dark Knight, gave him in the unique chance to make an unconventional studio film.

With the success of The Dark Knight we were in a position where the studio was prepared to put a lot of faith in us and trust us to really do something special," explains Nolan. "Those opportunities are very rare for filmmakers, so I felt a responsibility to try and do something memorable¹⁸ with it."

Stephen Vaughan
LEONARDO DiCAPRIO as Cobb and CILLIAN MURPHY as Robert Fischer in Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary Pictures’ sci-fi action film “INCEPTION,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release.

Along with the many 'wow' action scenes and visually stunning¹⁹ dreamscapes, Inception does demand attention from the audience; but co-star Cillian Murphy says he believes it can be enjoyed on many levels.

"I think people really like to be challenged when they go to the cinema and you watch it and you want to go back again and take more from it," Murphy says, "because a film like this can appeal to people who want to go for their thrills and spills and their big action spectacular and it will appeal to people who want to go and be stimulated²⁰ intellectually. That's rare too."

The international cast of Inception features Oscar-winners Michael Caine and Marion Cotillard, also Ken²¹ Watanabe, Ellen Page and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Like the story's dreams, the locations hopscotch²² the globe from the snowy mountains of Canada to the coast of Morocco as well as the streets of Paris, New York and Los Angeles.
 

1 knight   

n.骑士，武士；爵士

参考例句：

• He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
• A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。

2 inception   

n.开端，开始，取得学位

参考例句：

• The programme has been successful since its inception.这个方案自开始实施以来一直卓有成效。
• Julia's worked for that company from its inception.自从那家公司开办以来，朱莉娅一直在那儿工作。

3 subconscious   

n./adj.潜意识(的)，下意识(的)

参考例句：

• Nail biting is often a subconscious reaction to tension.咬指甲通常是紧张时的下意识反映。
• My answer seemed to come from the subconscious.我的回答似乎出自下意识。

4 espionage   

n.间谍行为，谍报活动

参考例句：

• The authorities have arrested several people suspected of espionage.官方已经逮捕了几个涉嫌从事间谍活动的人。
• Neither was there any hint of espionage in Hanley's early life.汉利的早期生活也毫无进行间谍活动的迹象。

5 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。

6 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

7 legendary   

adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学）

参考例句：

• Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
• Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。

8 memento   

n.纪念品，令人回忆的东西

参考例句：

• The photos will be a permanent memento of your wedding.这些照片会成为你婚礼的永久纪念。
• My friend gave me his picture as a memento before going away.我的朋友在离别前给我一张照片留作纪念品。

9 insomnia   

n.失眠，失眠症

参考例句：

• Worries and tenseness can lead to insomnia.忧虑和紧张会导致失眠。
• He is suffering from insomnia.他患失眠症。

10 delve   

v.深入探究，钻研

参考例句：

• We should not delve too deeply into this painful matter.我们不应该过分深究这件痛苦的事。
• We need to delve more deeply into these questions.这些是我们想进一步了解的。

11 beholder   

n.观看者，旁观者

参考例句：

• Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. 看起来觉得美就是美。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It has been said that art is a tryst, for in the joy of it maker and beholder meet. 有人说艺术是一种幽会，因为艺术家和欣赏者可在幽会的乐趣中相遇在一起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 recesses   

n.壁凹( recess的名词复数 )；（工作或业务活动的）中止或暂停期间；学校的课间休息；某物内部的凹形空间v.把某物放在墙壁的凹处( recess的第三人称单数 )；将（墙）做成凹形，在（墙）上做壁龛；休息，休会，休庭

参考例句：

• I could see the inmost recesses. 我能看见最深处。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I had continually pushed my doubts to the darker recesses of my mind. 我一直把怀疑深深地隐藏在心中。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 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？

14 simultaneously   

adv.同时发生地，同时进行地

参考例句：

• The radar beam can track a number of targets almost simultaneously.雷达波几乎可以同时追着多个目标。
• The Windows allow a computer user to execute multiple programs simultaneously.Windows允许计算机用户同时运行多个程序。

15 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

16 format   

n.设计，版式；[计算机]格式，DOS命令:格式化(磁盘)，用于空盘或使用过的磁盘建立新空盘来存储数据；v.使格式化，设计，安排

参考例句：

• Please format this floppy disc.请将这张软盘格式化。
• The format of the figure is very tasteful.该图表的格式很雅致。

17 testament   

n.遗嘱；证明

参考例句：

• This is his last will and testament.这是他的遗愿和遗嘱。
• It is a testament to the power of political mythology.这说明，编造政治神话可以产生多大的威力。

18 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

19 stunning   

adj.极好的；使人晕倒的

参考例句：

• His plays are distinguished only by their stunning mediocrity.他的戏剧与众不同之处就是平凡得出奇。
• The finished effect was absolutely stunning.完工后的效果非常美。

20 stimulated   

a.刺激的

参考例句：

• The exhibition has stimulated interest in her work. 展览增进了人们对她作品的兴趣。
• The award has stimulated her into working still harder. 奖金促使她更加努力地工作。

21 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

22 hopscotch   

n.小孩独脚跳踢石子的游戏，“跳房子”游戏

参考例句：

• The children squared off the sidewalk to play hopscotch.孩子们在人行道上划出方格，做“跳房子”的游戏。
• At hopscotch,the best hoppers are the children.在跳房子的游戏中，孩子是最优秀的单足跳者。