VOA标准英语2012--Batman Trilogy Ends with 'The Dark Knight'

 

Batman Trilogy Ends with 'The Dark Knight¹'

Eight years after his last battle as Batman, the eccentric billionaire Bruce Wayne is a broken man. He lost the love of his life and has unjustly become Gotham City's pariah². His butler, Alfred, is his only friend.

But, a terror attack on the city brings the caped³ warrior⁴ back in action.

Tom Hardy⁵ plays the new villain⁶, Bane. He rallies criminals against Gotham City. Once again, Christian⁷ Bale plays the Dark Knight. “This is the first time Batman has come across anybody who is superior physically," said Bale.

The Bane character presented an opportunity, Nolan said. "Batman might not survive the conflict with this person."

The cast is as impressive as his larger than life story. Anne Hathaway plays Catwoman, Batman’s lithe⁸ and limber adversary⁹ and love interest.

Nolan's cinematography and gritty atmospherics tap into fears of terrorism and economic meltdown. His scenario¹⁰ is post-apocalyptic. Its impact is enhanced by the gargantuan¹¹ sets, including a plane that breaks apart thousands of feet in the air.

“The Dark Knight Rises is certainly the biggest film I’ve undertaken by far," Nolan said. "We really looked to the silent era of motion pictures when the image was paramount¹², when you had the scope and scale of the location, thousands of extras, that kind of thing.”

Nolan's Batman films have helped boost the comic book industry says Howard Marshall of Aftertime Comics, a comic book store in the Washington area.

“It’s very exciting really, it’s never been bigger," Marshall said. "The past ten years, it’s really grown. The movies have helped. Knightfall is the story that is being adapted for this new movie. The story was written 15 years ago, off the top of my head. Bane is in Knightfall." 

But Marshall says children can't benefit. Like the movie trilogy, Batman comics have gotten darker.

“There is a rating system now," he said. "For your edification, it's in the bar code now. I don’t want to be responsible for kids seeing something that their parents are not going to want them to see yet because they are only six."

The Dark Knight Rises is not for kids. But it's an epic¹³ tale whose depth and timelessness speak to adults. 

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 pariah   

n.被社会抛弃者

参考例句：

• Shortly Tom came upon the juvenile pariah of the village.不一会儿，汤姆碰上了村里的少年弃儿。
• His landlady had treated him like a dangerous criminal,a pariah.房东太太对待他就像对待危险的罪犯、对待社会弃儿一样。

3 caped   

披斗篷的

参考例句：

4 warrior   

n.勇士，武士，斗士

参考例句：

• The young man is a bold warrior.这个年轻人是个很英勇的武士。
• A true warrior values glory and honor above life.一个真正的勇士珍视荣誉胜过生命。

5 hardy   

adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的

参考例句：

• The kind of plant is a hardy annual.这种植物是耐寒的一年生植物。
• He is a hardy person.他是一个能吃苦耐劳的人。

6 villain   

n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因

参考例句：

• He was cast as the villain in the play.他在戏里扮演反面角色。
• The man who played the villain acted very well.扮演恶棍的那个男演员演得很好。

7 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。

8 lithe   

adj.(指人、身体)柔软的，易弯的

参考例句：

• His lithe athlete's body had been his pride through most of the fifty - six years.他那轻巧自如的运动员体格，五十六年来几乎一直使他感到自豪。
• His walk was lithe and graceful.他走路轻盈而优雅。

9 adversary   

adj.敌手，对手

参考例句：

• He saw her as his main adversary within the company.他将她视为公司中主要的对手。
• They will do anything to undermine their adversary's reputation.他们会不择手段地去损害对手的名誉。

10 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

11 gargantuan   

adj.巨大的，庞大的

参考例句：

• My gargantuan,pristine machine was good for writing papers and playing solitaire,and that was all.我那庞大的、早期的计算机只适合写文章和玩纸牌游戏，就这些。
• Right away,I realized this was a mistake of gargantuan proportions.我立刻意识到这是一个巨大的错误。

12 paramount   

a.最重要的，最高权力的

参考例句：

• My paramount object is to save the Union and destroy slavery.我的最高目标是拯救美国，摧毁奴隶制度。
• Nitrogen is of paramount importance to life on earth.氮对地球上的生命至关重要。

13 epic   

n.史诗，叙事诗；adj.史诗般的，壮丽的

参考例句：

• I gave up my epic and wrote this little tale instead.我放弃了写叙事诗，而写了这个小故事。
• They held a banquet of epic proportions.他们举行了盛大的宴会。