英语名人堂：华特·迪士尼

华特·迪士尼 (也叫做沃尔特·迪斯尼）（Walt Disney，全名：Walter Elias Disney 1901年12月5日—1966年12月15日），是美国著名动画大师、企业家、导演、制片人、编剧、配音演员、卡通设计者，举世闻名的迪士尼公司创始人，也是一位备受美国人民热爱和怀念的长者。他获得了56个奥斯卡奖提名和7个艾美奖。华特·迪士尼是世界上获得奥斯卡奖最多的人。华特有2个女儿Diane Disney和Sharon Disney（Sharon是其领养的）。他和他的职员一起创造了许许多多著名、受世人欢迎的卡通角色，包括那个被无数人喜爱的经典卡通形象、华特·迪士尼的好友——米老鼠（Mickey Mouse）。

Walt Disney was one of the most famous people ever to have lived. He has touched the lives of millions of children and adults. He holds the record for winning the  most Academy Awards (26) and was an innovative¹ film producer and animator. He created some of the most successful characters, movies and theme parks of the 20th Century.

 

Disney was born in 1901 in Chicago. He developed a great love of drawing as a youngster². When he was ten, he discovered the world of theatre and cinema and fell in love with it. He became the cartoonist for his high school newspaper. In 1920, he set up his own animation³ company and his “Laugh-O-Gram” cartoons became very popular.

 

Disney wanted more and so he moved to Hollywood. He developed a character based on a pet mouse he once had. He gave the mouse his own voice and personality. Disney’s wife named him Mickey. Disney put Mickey in his first movie with sound, ‘Steamboat Willie’. By 1930, Mickey Mouse was the world’s most popular cartoon character and Walt Disney was a household name.

 

Following on from Mickey’s success, Disney created characters such as Donald Duck, Goofy, and Pluto⁴. He then produced an animated⁵ feature-length version of Snow White, which was the most successful movie of 1938. Dozens more movies followed, including Fantasia and Bambi. Disney built up a global entertainment empire, including his Disneyland theme park. He died of cancer in 1966.

1 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。

2 youngster   

n.儿童，少年，年轻人

参考例句：

• I rode the youngster on my back.我让小孩骑在背上。
• That youngster works with a will.这小伙子干活有股傻劲儿。

3 animation   

n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作

参考例句：

• They are full of animation as they talked about their childhood.当他们谈及童年的往事时都非常兴奋。
• The animation of China made a great progress.中国的卡通片制作取得很大发展。

4 Pluto   

n.冥王星

参考例句：

• Pluto is the furthest planet from the sun.冥王星是离太阳最远的行星。
• Pluto has an elliptic orbit.冥王星的轨道是椭圆形的。

5 animated   

adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的

参考例句：

• His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
• We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。