VOA标准英语2012--Superheros Unite to Save Earth From Extra-Terrestrials in 'The Avengers'

Superheros Unite to Save Earth From Extra-Terrestrials in 'The Avengers'

 

In The Avengers, billionaire industrialist¹ Tony Stark², also known as Iron Man, is on board along with other characters including Captain America, Thor, Nick Fury, Black Widow, and The Incredible Hulk. They team up to save Earth from extra-terrestrial invaders³ …and rival, evil superheroes.

Robert Downey Jr., who has starred in two Iron Man films, says this ensemble⁴ gave him a fresh take on the character.

"Just being a worker amongst workers is kind of where I started out, and it was nice to not really have to carry a movie," he admitted.

Mark Ruffalo takes on the role of scientist Bruce Banner, whose experiments accidentally turned him into the green, muscular and rage-filled Hulk. Other actors have played the character, but Ruffalo researched The Hulk by watching the 1980s TV series with his 10-year-old son.

"After the the third episode, he turned to me and said 'papa, he is so misunderstood.' And I basically based my character entirely⁵ on my 10-year-old boy who has all of the force of nature screaming out of his body while at the same time having everyone around him telling him to control himself," Ruffalo explained.

Australian actor Chris Hemsworth agrees that kids can easily relate to the Marvel⁶ characters, like his hammer-wielding⁷ Thor. 

"There's a childlike quality in a sense that if he believes something or wants to do something, he does it and says it. Kids own their environment. And I think Thor is there," Hemsworth said.

Samuel L. Jackson plays team leader Nick Fury. He describes The Avengers as a big, dysfunctional family that has to work together to succeed.

"It was allowing an audience to see that, okay, these guys have super powers, but they have normal kinds of attitudes," Jackson said. "They can be heroes and they can just be jerks, but they are eventually going to find a way to love each other."

The director, Joss Whedon, is known for sci-fi and fantasy television series including Buffy The Vampire⁸ Slayer⁹ and Angel. With The Avengers, Whedon says his challenge was to please both film fans and devotees of the original comic books.

"For me, it was capturing the essence of the comic and being true to what's wonderful about it, while remembering that it's a movie and not a comic," explained Whedon.

The Avengers also features Scarlett Johansson as the deadly Russian assassin Black Widow. Jeremy Renner plays her bow-and-arrow wielding colleague, Hawkeye, and Chris Evans once again wears the star-spangled tights of Captain America. 

1 industrialist   

n.工业家，实业家

参考例句：

• The industrialist's son was kidnapped.这名实业家的儿子被绑架了。
• Mr.Smith was a wealthy industrialist,but he was not satisfied with life.史密斯先生是位富有的企业家，可他对生活感到不满意。

2 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

3 invaders   

入侵者，侵略者，侵入物( invader的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They prepared to repel the invaders. 他们准备赶走侵略军。
• The family has traced its ancestry to the Norman invaders. 这个家族将自己的世系追溯到诺曼征服者。

4 ensemble   

n.合奏(唱)组；全套服装；整体，总效果

参考例句：

• We should consider the buildings as an ensemble.我们应把那些建筑物视作一个整体。
• It is ensemble music for up to about ten players,with one player to a part.它是最多十人演奏的合奏音乐，每人担任一部分。

5 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

6 marvel   

vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事

参考例句：

• The robot is a marvel of modern engineering.机器人是现代工程技术的奇迹。
• The operation was a marvel of medical skill.这次手术是医术上的一个奇迹。

7 wielding   

手持着使用（武器、工具等）( wield的现在分词 )； 具有； 运用（权力）； 施加（影响）

参考例句：

• The rebels were wielding sticks of dynamite. 叛乱分子舞动着棒状炸药。
• He is wielding a knife. 他在挥舞着一把刀。

8 vampire   

n.吸血鬼

参考例句：

• It wasn't a wife waiting there for him but a blood sucking vampire!家里的不是个老婆，而是个吸人血的妖精！
• Children were afraid to go to sleep at night because of the many legends of vampire.由于听过许多有关吸血鬼的传说，孩子们晚上不敢去睡觉。

9 slayer   

n. 杀人者，凶手

参考例句：

• The young man was Oedipus, who thus unknowingly became the slayer of his own father. 这位青年就是俄狄浦斯。他在不明真相的情况下杀死了自己的父亲。
• May I depend on you to stand by me and my daughters, then, deer-slayer? 如此说来，我可以指望你照料我和女儿了，杀鹿人？