2006年VOA标准英语-Universal Studios Park Has Attracted Over 100 M

By Mohamed Elshinnawi
Washington, DC
31 October 2006
 
watch Universal Studio report

With summer vacations over and students back in school, the crowds are thinning at Universal Studios Park in Hollywood, California. But not by much. The movie-studio theme park, open since 1964, is one of the most popular year-round tourist destinations in the United States.

Universal Studios is the home of one of the biggest and busiest working motion picture studio in the world. To tour the studio and its 400 plus-acres theme park, is to be immersed completely in the excitement of Hollywood's make believe worlds.

Visitors are surrounded by movie history, live action shows, movie stunts¹ and visual tricks performed by special effects experts.

 
Universal Studios' Bates motel was the local for "Psycho"
Rick Fitzgerald is a veteran Universal Studios tour guide. "Because of its history, because of what it offers, guests have the opportunity to go right on the back lot to see filming going on. We drive them onto the most famous sets in Hollywood history. Sets from films like Jurassic Park and Alfred Hitchcock's 'Psycho.' "

As guests tour the Hollywood sets they sometimes get to see their favorite stars actually at work filming their next movie.

 
Universal Studios, Jurassic Park
Another unique thrill is the chance to walk around in the actual environment of blockbuster adventure movies like "Jurassic Park".

Director and producer Steven Spielberg says he knew from the start that his dinosaur² movie would fit right into the theme Park. "We began the concept of Jurassic Park -- the ride -- while Jurassic Park -- the film -- was in production."

Another popular draw at Universal Studios Park is the "Terminator", based on the trio of science fiction films about killer³ robots. Academy award-winning director James Cameron says the park takes the movie to a whole new level. "We are trying to break down that barrier between the audience and the film through actually having characters jumping into the screen and come down from the screen."

The special effects stages reveal the production secrets behind the scenes of some of Hollywood's blockbusters including the "Star Trek⁴" series and "The Mummy Returns."

Visitors also get to see how fist-fighting scenes are choreographed⁵, how spectacular explosions are detonated safely, and how a stuntman⁶ survives a plunge⁷ from a tall building.  And daring jet ski operators wow the crowds in the Park's popular Water World.

Norm Kahn is Water World spokesman. "[It is] spectacular for the audience, because not only they do see the explosions, the fights and the high fall, but they also see spectacular stunts on jet skies and water skies"

It's not uncommon⁸ to spot some Hollywood movie stars sharing the fun at the park. Here, Brendan Fraser is reliving his hit movie "The Mummy Returns" -- not acting⁹ in it but just going along for the ride. "It is great, it is in the spirit of the film, which is adventurous¹⁰, fun, like some other rides. It does not take itself so seriously, but it is formidably frightening when it needs to be."

Universal Studios started its "Behind the Scene Tram Tour" on July 1964.  Since then, over 100 million people have been entertained -- and educated -- at one of Hollywood's most historic studio lots.

1 stunts   

n.惊人的表演( stunt的名词复数 )；（广告中）引人注目的花招；愚蠢行为；危险举动v.阻碍…发育[生长]，抑制，妨碍( stunt的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He did all his own stunts. 所有特技都是他自己演的。
• The plane did a few stunts before landing. 飞机着陆前做了一些特技。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 dinosaur   

n.恐龙

参考例句：

• Are you trying to tell me that David was attacked by a dinosaur?你是想要告诉我大卫被一支恐龙所攻击？
• He stared at the faithful miniature of the dinosaur.他凝视著精确的恐龙缩小模型。

3 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

4 trek   

vi.作长途艰辛的旅行；n.长途艰苦的旅行

参考例句：

• We often go pony-trek in the summer.夏季我们经常骑马旅行。
• It took us the whole day to trek across the rocky terrain.我们花了一整天的时间艰难地穿过那片遍布岩石的地带。

5 choreographed   

v.设计舞蹈动作( choreograph的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• There was some carefully choreographed flag-waving as the President drove by. 总统的车经过时，人们按精心编排的动作挥舞着旗帜。
• Achim had choreographed the dance in Act II himself. 阿希姆自己设计了第2幕的舞蹈动作。 来自辞典例句

6 stuntman   

n.特技演员

参考例句：

• The stuntman will double for the main actor during the action scenes.一些动作场景中，特技演员代替主演。
• The stuntman flew the aircraft upside-down within a hair's breadth of the rooftops.那位做电影演员替身的杂技演员驾驶着飞机翻过来又倒过去，差一点撞着平顶房的屋顶。

7 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。

8 uncommon   

adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的

参考例句：

• Such attitudes were not at all uncommon thirty years ago.这些看法在30年前很常见。
• Phil has uncommon intelligence.菲尔智力超群。

9 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。

10 adventurous   

adj.爱冒险的；惊心动魄的，惊险的，刺激的　

参考例句：

• I was filled with envy at their adventurous lifestyle.我很羨慕他们敢于冒险的生活方式。
• He was predestined to lead an adventurous life.他注定要过冒险的生活。