VOA标准英语2011--In 'A Better Life', Illegal Immigrant Fi

In 'A Better Life', Illegal Immigrant Finds Land of Dreams Can Be Cruel

Director Chris Weitz had a global hit with the second film of the Twilight¹ saga². Now he has left behind the world of vampires³ and is telling a real world story of an illegal immigrant in Los Angeles. Here's a look at the new film A Better Life.
"This country is a land of dreams. It can be a hard place ...a cruel place ...but it is where I work, and I dream of a better life for my son."
Carlos Galindo is a gardener. He works long hours trimming the manicured lawns and maintaining the lush gardens in wealthy communities like Beverly Hills.
Then he goes home to a poor neighborhood where gunfire from street gangs punctuates⁴ the night. He desperately⁵ tries to keep his teenage son Luis out of trouble.
CARLOS: "How many days have you missed this year?"
LUIS: "I don't know ...18 or 19."
CARLOS: "Not good, Luis. I don't want you to miss school any more. School is important. It is everything."
LUIS: "Oh, si professore?" [Oh yes, professor?]
CARLOS: "Do you want to end up like me?"
LUIS: "No."
Luis was born in Los Angeles so he is, by law, a U.S. citizen. Carlos is undocumented. He's an illegal immigrant who entered from Mexico years earlier and he must hide his background or risk being deported⁶.
It's a situation facing thousands of families in the Los Angeles area. They live in the shadows while politicians debate their future.
Director Chris Weitz says A Better Life is not about the politics of illegal immigration. Rather, he says, it's a story about the hopes and struggles of real people.
"It is very quickly established the difference between father and son and how they perceive things," explains Weitz. "The son speaks English to his father in spite of that fact that in another situation he might speak Spanish; but he prefers the dominant⁷ culture. He has little respect for what his father does because the television tells him that if you don't have 'bling' [expensive jewelry] and fast cars and a big house you are not really worth anything."
CARLOS: "You are the most important thing in this world to me, 'mi hijo'. I wanted you to be able to be anything you wanted to be. That would make me feel worthy⁸."
"Carlos is from a very traditional background. He is tremendously stoic⁹. He is tremendously determined," notes Weitz. "But at the same time, because of the situation he is in, he keeps his head down. Also, he doesn't necessarily have the equipment emotionally at the beginning of the film to express to his son why he is doing what he's doing and how he feels about him. So part of the movie is the journey to his ability to say that sort of thing."
CARLOS: "I don't know what's going to happen to us."
LUIS: "You don't have to worry about me."
CARLOS: "I do worry. I worry about you all the time."
One of Mexico's most famous actors, Demian Bichir, stars as Carlos. Bichir says he appreciates his character's dilemma¹⁰: how to be a real presence in his son's life at home, while being invisible at work.
"This is something that comes naturally when you don't have the proper papers or documentation. You'd better try to stay invisible so you don't bring any attention to your life, because there is a big risk that they can take you back and then separate you from your family," Bichir explains.
While Chris Weitz insists A Better Life doesn't take a position on illegal immigrants, Demian Bichir says he hopes the story will touch audiences and make them realize that the issue is about peoples' lives, not just statistics.

 

1 twilight   

n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期

参考例句：

• Twilight merged into darkness.夕阳的光辉融于黑暗中。
• Twilight was sweet with the smell of lilac and freshly turned earth.薄暮充满紫丁香和新翻耕的泥土的香味。

2 saga   

n.(尤指中世纪北欧海盗的)故事，英雄传奇

参考例句：

• The saga of Flight 19 is probably the most repeated story about the Bermuda Triangle.飞行19中队的传说或许是有关百慕大三角最重复的故事。
• The novel depicts the saga of a family.小说描绘了一个家族的传奇故事。

3 vampires   

n.吸血鬼( vampire的名词复数 )；吸血蝠；高利贷者；（舞台上的）活板门

参考例句：

• The most effective weapon against the vampires is avampire itself. 对付吸血鬼最有效的武器就是吸血鬼自己。 来自电影对白
• If vampires existed, don`t you think we would`ve found them by now? 如果真有吸血鬼，那我们怎么还没有找到他们呢？ 来自电影对白

4 punctuates   

v.（在文字中）加标点符号，加标点( punctuate的第三人称单数 )；不时打断某事物

参考例句：

5 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

6 deported   

v.将…驱逐出境( deport的过去式和过去分词 )；举止

参考例句：

• They stripped me of my citizenship and deported me. 他们剥夺我的公民资格，将我驱逐出境。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The convicts were deported to a deserted island. 罪犯们被流放到一个荒岛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

8 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

9 stoic   

n.坚忍克己之人，禁欲主义者

参考例句：

• A stoic person responds to hardship with imperturbation.坚忍克己之人经受苦难仍能泰然自若。
• On Rajiv's death a stoic journey began for Mrs Gandhi,supported by her husband's friends.拉吉夫死后，索尼亚在丈夫友人的支持下开始了一段坚忍的历程。

10 dilemma   

n.困境，进退两难的局面

参考例句：

• I am on the horns of a dilemma about the matter.这件事使我进退两难。
• He was thrown into a dilemma.他陷入困境。