VOA常速英语2019--奥斯卡金像奖背后的故事

In the late 1920s,Hollywood producers liked coming here to the fancy Millennium¹ Biltmore Hotel to hold business meetings.

The story goes that it was here in 1927 that the studios designer first sketched² the outlook of the Oscar statue.

"During the preliminary session of planning the Oscars,there were a couple of people in conversation talking about this event.

And this started to scribble³ on a napkin and kind of draw a design above what is now the Oscar statue."

No one knows where the historical napkin ended up.

Director of Marketing⁴ at Biltmore Hotel, Ana Segura,believes that was lost nearly hundred years ago,

But the Oscar design endured.

And in 1929,the first Academy Awards ceremony took place at the Roosevelt Hotel,

Yet years later, the ceremony moved to where it all began,the Biltmore Hotel.

This hole hosted the ceremony eight times,though back then,it looked a little different.

"This ballroom⁵ originally was built to cater⁶ to the Oscars with a grand stage.

And because of the reconstruction,the hotel went through a renovation⁷ ,and so they had to downsize the ceiling."

Pompous⁸ receptions, breathtakingly beautiful evening gowns and tuxedos,this was the place to see and be seen in legendary⁹ old Hollywood.

Visitors can still see glimpses of it today on the pictures that adorn¹⁰ the hotel walls.

"This picture, thats the one with Walt Disney and Shirley Temple.

The beauty about this picture is the Oscar.

It’s the most iconic because of the Seven Dwarfs¹¹ nomination¹².

Obviously he got his award,so you have seven little Oscars and then the big Oscar trophy¹³."

But not just Hollywood stars frequented the Biltmore Hotel.

During prohibition¹⁴, the time between 1920 and 1933

when the sale and manufacture of alcohol was illegal,this place drew very different crowds.

Everyone from gangsters¹⁵ to politicians came here to meet in a secret bar that was hidden behind this wall.

"High name profile ranking officials,whether there were government celebrities¹⁶,

It was a combination of just, you know,highly renowned¹⁷ name people .

And of course, because of the prohibition era and having such a great time at some point, somebody had to to get out and get away, right?

And so that was the secret passage."

Even today, actors and producers love coming here.

Hyman has been a barman here for over half a century.

All this time,hes been collecting autographs,pictures and incredible stories.

His favorite is about how he met Al Pacino,who decided¹⁸ to take a stroll around the hotel wearing a black cape¹⁹.

"Mr.Pacino, I almost called securities on you,and say why?

because look at you.

And he said well, I’m rehearsing a play at Aquinas.

Oh my god! So later on, I asked him for his autograph ."

The Academy Award ceremony hasn’t been held here for years.

Its venue²⁰ of choices has long been Hollywoods Dolby Theatre.

But to commemorate²¹ the early days of Oscars, every February, a special themed party is held within the walls of the legendary Biltmore Hotel .

20世纪20年代末，好莱坞制片人喜欢来这里举行商务会议。

故事是这样的，1927年，工作室的设计师在这里首次勾画了奥斯卡雕像的外形。

“在筹备奥斯卡的前期阶段，有几个人在谈论这件事。

然后我开始在一张餐巾纸上乱涂乱画，在现在的奥斯卡雕像上方画了一个图案。”

没有人知道这张具有历史意义的餐巾纸最终落在了哪里。

比尔特莫尔酒店的市场总监安娜·塞古拉认为这是在近一百年前丢失的，

但奥斯卡的设计经久不衰。

1929年，第一届奥斯卡颁奖典礼在罗斯福酒店举行，

然而，几年后，仪式移到了一切开始的地方，比尔特莫尔酒店。

这个地点举办了8次仪式，虽然在当时，它看起来有点不同。

“这个宴会厅最初是为了奥斯卡而建的，有一个大舞台。

由于重建，酒店进行了翻新，所以他们不得不降低天花板的尺寸。”

华丽的招待会，美得令人窒息的晚礼服和无尾礼服，这是在传奇的老好莱坞可以看到和被看到的地方。

今天，游客仍然可以在装饰酒店墙壁的图片上看到它的身影。

“这张照片是沃尔特·迪斯尼和秀兰·邓波儿的合影。

这幅画的美就在于奥斯卡奖。

它是最具标志性的，因为《七个小矮人》的提名。

很明显他得到了他的奖项，所以你有七个小金人，然后是一个大的奥斯卡奖杯。”

但不仅仅是好莱坞明星经常光顾比尔特莫尔酒店。

在禁酒令期间，也就是1920年到1933年间，

酒精的销售和制造是非法的，这个地方吸引了非常不同的人群。

从黑帮到政客，每个人都到这堵墙后面的秘密酒吧里聚会。

“高知名度的高级官员，无论是政府名人，

这都混杂了，你知道，非常有名的人。

当然，由于禁酒令时代的存在在某些时候，有些人不得不离开，离开，对吧?

所以这就是秘密通道。”

即使在今天，演员和制片人也喜欢来这里。

海曼在这里当了半个多世纪的酒保。

一直以来，他都在收集签名、照片和令人难以置信的故事。

他最喜欢的是他如何遇到阿尔·帕西诺，后者决定穿着黑色斗篷在酒店周围散步。

“帕西诺先生，我差点打电话问你，为什么?

因为看看你。

他说，嗯，我在阿奎那排练一出戏。

哦我的上帝!后来，我向他要签名。”

哦我的上帝!后来，我向他要签名。”

它选择的场所长期以来一是好莱坞杜比剧院。

但是为了纪念奥斯卡早期的日子，每年二月，在传奇的比尔特莫尔酒店内都会举行一个特别的主题派对。

1 millennium   

n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世

参考例句：

• The whole world was counting down to the new millennium.全世界都在倒计时迎接新千年的到来。
• We waited as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the old millennium.我们静候着时钟滴答走过千年的最后几秒钟。

2 sketched   

v.草拟（sketch的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The historical article sketched the major events of the decade. 这篇有关历史的文章概述了这十年中的重大事件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He sketched the situation in a few vivid words. 他用几句生动的语言简述了局势。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 scribble   

v.潦草地书写，乱写，滥写；n.潦草的写法，潦草写成的东西，杂文

参考例句：

• She can't write yet,but she loves to scribble with a pencil.她现在还不会写字，但她喜欢用铅笔乱涂。
• I can't read this scribble.我看不懂这种潦草的字。

4 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

5 ballroom   

n.舞厅

参考例句：

• The boss of the ballroom excused them the fee.舞厅老板给他们免费。
• I go ballroom dancing twice a week.我一个星期跳两次交际舞。

6 cater   

vi.(for/to)满足，迎合；(for)提供饮食及服务

参考例句：

• I expect he will be able to cater for your particular needs.我预计他能满足你的特殊需要。
• Most schools cater for children of different abilities.大多数学校能够满足具有不同天资的儿童的需要。

7 renovation   

n.革新，整修

参考例句：

• The cinema will reopen next week after the renovation.电影院修缮后，将于下星期开业。
• The building has undergone major renovation.这座大楼已进行大整修。

8 pompous   

adj.傲慢的，自大的；夸大的；豪华的

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities.他有点自大，自视甚高。
• He is a good man underneath his pompous appearance. 他的外表虽傲慢，其实是个好人。

9 legendary   

adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学）

参考例句：

• Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
• Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。

10 adorn   

vt.使美化，装饰

参考例句：

• She loved to adorn herself with finery.她喜欢穿戴华丽的服饰。
• His watercolour designs adorn a wide range of books.他的水彩设计使许多图书大为生色。

11 dwarfs   

n.侏儒，矮子（dwarf的复数形式）vt.（使）显得矮小（dwarf的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

• Shakespeare dwarfs other dramatists. 莎士比亚使其他剧作家相形见绌。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The new building dwarfs all the other buildings in the town. 新大楼使城里所有其他建筑物都显得矮小了。 来自辞典例句

12 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。

13 trophy   

n.优胜旗，奖品，奖杯，战胜品，纪念品

参考例句：

• The cup is a cherished trophy of the company.那只奖杯是该公司很珍惜的奖品。
• He hung the lion's head as a trophy.他把那狮子头挂起来作为狩猎纪念品。

14 prohibition   

n.禁止；禁令，禁律

参考例句：

• The prohibition against drunken driving will save many lives.禁止酒后开车将会减少许多死亡事故。
• They voted in favour of the prohibition of smoking in public areas.他们投票赞成禁止在公共场所吸烟。

15 gangsters   

匪徒，歹徒( gangster的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gangsters offered him a sum equivalent to a whole year's earnings. 歹徒提出要给他一笔相当于他一年收入的钱。
• One of the gangsters was caught by the police. 歹徒之一被警察逮捕。

16 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

17 renowned   

adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的

参考例句：

• He is one of the world's renowned writers.他是世界上知名的作家之一。
• She is renowned for her advocacy of human rights.她以提倡人权而闻名。

18 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

19 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

20 venue   

n.犯罪地点，审判地，管辖地，发生地点，集合地点

参考例句：

• The hall provided a venue for weddings and other functions.大厅给婚礼和其他社会活动提供了场所。
• The chosen venue caused great controversy among the people.人们就审判地点的问题产生了极大的争议。

21 commemorate   

vt.纪念，庆祝

参考例句：

• This building was built to commemorate the Fire of London.这栋大楼是为纪念“伦敦大火”而兴建的。
• We commemorate the founding of our nation with a public holiday.我们放假一日以庆祝国庆。