VOA常速英语2007年-British Drama 'Atonement' Leads Golden Globe No

By Mike O'Sullivan
Los Angeles
13 December 2007

The British drama Atonement leads the nominees² for the Golden Globe Awards, announced early Thursday in Los Angeles. The honors are presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, and they mark the start of the award season in Hollywood. Mike O'Sullivan reports, 'Atonement' earned seven nominations³, including best drama.

Based on a best-selling novel by Ian McEwan, Atonement is the story of a teenage girl, an aspiring⁴ writer, who changes people's lives when she wrongly accuses her sister's fiancé of a crime. She recounts the events in a work of fiction, which she describes in the film.

"It's about a young girl, a young and foolish girl who sees something from her bedroom window which she doesn't understand, but she thinks she does."

The film earned acting⁵ nominations for stars Keira Knightley and James McAvoy.

Other drama nominees include Daniel Day-Lewis for his role as a ruthless oilman in There Will Be Blood.

The Golden Globe nominations mark the beginning of the annual competition for awards in Hollywood. There are seven nominees for best drama this year, up from the usual five.They include the crime tales No Country for Old Men, Eastern Promises, and American Gangster⁶, with Denzel Washington. 

Other drama nominees are the inspirational college tale The Great Debaters, and the legal story Michael Clayton, with George Clooney as a corporate⁷ lawyer known for fixing problems.

Cate Blanchett is a nominee¹ for best dramatic actress for her title role in the period film Elizabeth: The Golden Age. She also earned a nod as supporting actress for her role as folk-singer Bob Dylan in I'm Not There.

Golden Globe nominees for best musical or comedy include the tale of political intrigue⁸ Charlie Wilson's War, which earned five nominations, including acting nods for Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Other musical-comedy entries include the film adaptation of the Broadway hit Hairspray and the tale of a murderous barber, Sweeney Todd.

Foreign-language nominees include entries from Romania and Taiwan, the French film Persepolis, a coming-of-age tale set in Iran, and the U.S.-produced The Kite Runner, set in Afghanistan.

The Golden Globes will be presented in Los Angeles on January 13.  Hollywood pays attention because they sometimes suggest winners in the more prestigious⁹ Oscars, presented in February.

1 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

2 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

3 nominations   

n.提名，任命( nomination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nominations are invited for the post of party chairman. 为党主席职位征集候选人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Much coverage surrounded his abortive bids for the 1960,1964, and 1968 Republican Presidential nominations. 许多消息报道都围绕着1960年、1964年和1968年他为争取提名为共和党总统候选人所做努力的失败。 来自辞典例句

4 aspiring   

adj.有志气的；有抱负的；高耸的v.渴望；追求

参考例句：

• Aspiring musicians need hours of practice every day. 想当音乐家就要每天练许多小时。
• He came from an aspiring working-class background. 他出身于有抱负的工人阶级家庭。 来自辞典例句

5 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。

6 gangster   

n.匪徒，歹徒，暴徒

参考例句：

• The gangster's friends bought off the police witness.那匪徒的朋友买通了警察方面的证人。
• He is obviously a gangster,but he pretends to be a saint.分明是强盗，却要装圣贤。

7 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

8 intrigue   

vt.激起兴趣，迷住；vi.耍阴谋；n.阴谋，密谋

参考例句：

• Court officials will intrigue against the royal family.法院官员将密谋反对皇室。
• The royal palace was filled with intrigue.皇宫中充满了勾心斗角。

9 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。