VOA标准英语2012--Veteran US Actor Gives Back to the Community

Veteran US Actor Gives Back to the Community

On Tuesday nights, Reynolds coaches a women's basketball team. He says it is only one of the ways he stays active and involved in his community.

Five days a week, Reynolds plays TV character Abe Carver, mayor of a fictional¹ American town called Salem.

With its iconic introduction featuring an hour glass, Reynolds says the show has built a fan base in the United States and several other countries, including South Africa and France.

“Our show is now 46 years old. And so over the years, most of the people alive in this country at some point or another have seen "Days of Our Lives" and the hourglass and heard Macdonald Carey's voice intone the opening of that show,” Reynolds said.

The show portrays² the lives, loves and intrigues³ of glamorous⁴ people.

“I love it. It's great fun. And certainly, my character has had no shortage of problems and continues to have them. And that's what makes good television viewing,” Reynolds said.

Reynolds was born in the Midwestern state of Kansas. He served in the U.S. Marine⁵ Corps⁶ and then attended college, joking that he joined the theater department because a friend said it was a good place to meet girls. He later worked as an entertainment journalist and then got into acting⁷.

Reynolds and his wife, actress Lissa Layng Reynolds, help to run a small theater called the Fremont Centre Theatre in South Pasadena. The recent opening of a play there brought out local residents for performances by professional Hollywood actors.

Reynolds directed the play called "Holding On -- Letting Go." Lissa Layng Reynolds says her husband has vision and patience to tell a story like this -- a couple coming to terms with a husband's terminal illness.

“And it's really too bad he [i.e., James Reynolds] has this daytime actor job because, doggone it [LAUGHS] . . . I wish he could be a full-time⁸ director,” she said.

Veteran Hollywood actress Iona Morris, one of the stars of the play, says the story requires James Reynolds' sensitive touch.

“The word 'gentle' just keeps coming up. And he creates a very safe camaraderie⁹ feeling amongst all of us, so we're all family. It's really wonderful,” Morris said.

Reynolds is also active in charity work and does United Service Organizations, or USO, tours for U.S. troops overseas, having visited Kuwait and many other countries to connect with Americans who are serving their country.

“I'm a former Marine, so I am very appreciative¹⁰ of what the troops have to do when they're out and away from home. And some of the USO tours, particularly when we're touring in Europe, in Germany, in Spain, in Italy and other places, it was important to reach out to the families as well,” Reynolds said.

Longtime colleague Deidre Hall from "Days of Our Lives" says Reynolds is a joy to work with.

“He is as solid and caring and invested and giving as any human being that I know. And he's also shy about it,” Hall said.

James Reynolds is one of the lucky, gifted actors who have regular work in Hollywood because they have landed recurring¹¹ roles on a long-running television series. And he says he wants to give something back.

“I think there’s a responsibility to do things that help the community at large. I just think you do. I think you have a responsibility to reach out and do whatever you can,” Reynolds said.

And Reynolds says he enjoys his busy schedule both on and off the set. 

1 fictional   

adj.小说的，虚构的

参考例句：

• The names of the shops are entirely fictional.那些商店的名字完全是虚构的。
• The two authors represent the opposite poles of fictional genius.这两位作者代表了天才小说家两个极端。

2 portrays   

v.画像( portray的第三人称单数 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• The museum collection vividly portrays the heritage of 200 years of canals. 博物馆的藏品让运河200 年的历史再现眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The film portrays Gandhi as a kind of superman. 这部电影把甘地描绘成一个超人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 intrigues   

n.密谋策划( intrigue的名词复数 )；神秘气氛；引人入胜的复杂情节v.搞阴谋诡计( intrigue的第三人称单数 )；激起…的好奇心

参考例句：

• He was made king as a result of various intrigues. 由于搞了各种各样的阴谋，他当上了国王。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Those who go in for intrigues and conspiracy are doomed to failure. 搞阴谋诡计的人注定要失败。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 glamorous   

adj.富有魅力的；美丽动人的；令人向往的

参考例句：

• The south coast is less glamorous but full of clean and attractive hotels.南海岸魅力稍逊，但却有很多干净漂亮的宾馆。
• It is hard work and not a glamorous job as portrayed by the media.这是份苦差，并非像媒体描绘的那般令人向往。

5 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

6 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

7 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

8 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

9 camaraderie   

n.同志之爱，友情

参考例句：

• The camaraderie among fellow employees made the tedious work just bearable.同事之间的情谊使枯燥乏味的工作变得还能忍受。
• Some bosses are formal and have occasional interactions,while others prefer continual camaraderie.有些老板很刻板，偶尔才和下属互动一下；有些则喜欢和下属打成一片。

10 appreciative   

adj.有鉴赏力的，有眼力的；感激的

参考例句：

• She was deeply appreciative of your help.她对你的帮助深表感激。
• We are very appreciative of their support in this respect.我们十分感谢他们在这方面的支持。

11 recurring   

adj.往复的，再次发生的

参考例句：

• This kind of problem is recurring often. 这类问题经常发生。
• For our own country, it has been a time for recurring trial. 就我们国家而言，它经过了一个反复考验的时期。