VOA标准英语2011--Hollywood Gets Ready for Oscars

The stars will be out on Sunday in Hollywood for the movie industry's biggest event of the year, the Academy Awards. This year's Oscar contest pits a film about the British royal family, The King's Speech, against the Internet tale The Social Network and the re-make of a classic Western, True Grit¹.
Scene from "The King's Speech"
The King's Speech, based on the real-life story of a stuttering monarch², is a tale of friendship between the man who became King George VI and his speech therapist.
DUKE OF YORK "I'm not here to discuss personal matters."
THERAPIST "Why are you here, then?"
DUKE OF YORK "Because I bloody³ well stammer⁴."
The film has 12 nominations⁶, including Oscar nods for lead actor Colin Firth, supporting actress Helena Bonham Carter, supporting actor Geoffrey Rush and director Tom Hooper. It has already won key awards from the Screen Actors Guild⁷ and the Directors Guild of America.
But Rush, who spoke⁸ with journalists at a recent lunch for nominees¹⁰, says he doesn't count on winning an Oscar.
"If it doesn't happen, that's fine. We still made the work, and it's a film that I'm very, very proud of," Rush said.
Jeff Bridges and Hailee Steinfeld star in "True Grit"
True Grit is a re-make of a Western made famous by movie star John Wayne in 1969. It's the story of a young girl's search for her father's killer¹¹ with help from a gritty lawman named Rooster Cogburn, played in the new film by Jeff Bridges.
COURTROOM LAWYER "Mr. Cogburn, in your four years as US Marshall, how many men have you shot?"
COGBURN "Shot, or killed?"
COURTROOM LAWYER "Let us restrict it to killed so we may have a manageable figure."
Bridges has been nominated for best actor. And his 14-year-old costar, Hailee Steinfeld, is an Oscar nominee⁹ for her supporting role.
Merrick Morton
Jesse Eisenberg stars in Columbia Pictures' "The Social Network."
The Social Network, which chronicles the rise of the Internet phenomenon Facebook, earned a best actor nomination⁵ for Jesse Eisenberg, who plays Facebook founder¹² Mark Zuckerberg.
ZUCKERBERG "I think I've come up with something"
FRIEND "That looks good. That looks really good"
ZUCKERBERG "People want to go on the Internet and check out their friends. That's what the Facebook is going to be about"
Other Oscar nominees include Natalie Portman for her leading role in the psychological drama Black Swan, Nicole Kidman for the drama Rabbit Hole and Annette Bening for her role as a lesbian mother in The Kids Are All Right.
Christian¹³ Bale and Mark Wahlberg in "The Fighter"
Christian Bale is nominated for his supporting role in the boxing film The Fighter, and costars Amy Adams and Melissa Leo are nominated for their supporting roles.
This year's foreign language nominees come from Mexico, Greece, Denmark, Canada and Algeria. Javier Bardem, who stars in the Mexican entry Biutiful, is also nominated for best actor.
Nominee Jeff Bridges says the Oscars help publicize filmmakers and their films.
"These awards, as well as being a chance to acknowledge our peers' great work, it's also kind of a commercial for the motion picture industry. It's a chance for all of the filmmakers and the studios to say, come on, see our movie," Bridges said.
James Franco, a best actor nominee for the survival tale 127 Hours, will cohost the Oscar presentation with actress Anne Hathaway. The show will give its usual bow to Hollywood history, but Franco says the job is to draw in younger viewers as well.

1 grit   

n.沙粒，决心，勇气；v.下定决心，咬紧牙关

参考例句：

• The soldiers showed that they had plenty of grit. 士兵们表现得很有勇气。
• I've got some grit in my shoe.我的鞋子里弄进了一些砂子。

2 monarch   

n.帝王，君主，最高统治者

参考例句：

• The monarch's role is purely ceremonial.君主纯粹是个礼仪职位。
• I think myself happier now than the greatest monarch upon earth.我觉得这个时候比世界上什么帝王都快乐。

3 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

4 stammer   

n.结巴，口吃；v.结结巴巴地说

参考例句：

• He's got a bad stammer.他口吃非常严重。
• We must not try to play off the boy troubled with a stammer.我们不可以取笑这个有口吃病的男孩。

5 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

6 nominations   

n.提名，任命( nomination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nominations are invited for the post of party chairman. 为党主席职位征集候选人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Much coverage surrounded his abortive bids for the 1960,1964, and 1968 Republican Presidential nominations. 许多消息报道都围绕着1960年、1964年和1968年他为争取提名为共和党总统候选人所做努力的失败。 来自辞典例句

7 guild   

n.行会，同业公会，协会

参考例句：

• He used to be a member of the Writers' Guild of America.他曾是美国作家协会的一员。
• You had better incorporate the firm into your guild.你最好把这个公司并入你的行业协会。

8 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

9 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

10 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

11 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

12 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

13 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。