VOA标准英语2010年-'127 Hours' Tells True Story of Man's

The new film from Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle tells a remarkable¹ true story of courage and survival. James Franco stars as a young outdoorsman who makes an unthinkable decision when his arm is trapped by a boulder² in a remote canyon³. Alan Silverman has this look at the intense and uplifting drama 127 Hours.

April 2003: Aron Ralston, 26, is on a solo hike deep in the Canyonlands National Park of Utah in the American west. A loose boulder sends him tumbling into a deep crevasse⁴ and pins his right arm to the canyon wall. Wedged in place, it will not budge⁵, no matter what he tries:

"This marks 24 hours of being stuck. I've been chipping away, more to keep warm than anything. I have about 150ml of water left, which should keep me alive until tomorrow night ...if I'm lucky."

 

 
Chuck Zlotnick
James Franco in 127 HOURS
Twenty-four hours stretches into 48, then 72. He didn't tell anyone where he was hiking, so Aron knows his chances for rescue are nil⁶ as he chronicles the ordeal⁷ in a video diary on the camera he carried in his backpack. Finally after five days he decides he must cut off his arm in order to escape; all he has is a dull camping knife, but he manages the grueling amputation⁸, drags himself out of his rocky prison and hikes out to safety.

In his memoir⁹ - Between A Rock and A Hard Place -Aron Ralston wrote about his ordeal and says watching it recreated as "127 Hours" is a somewhat surreal experience.

"It is very emotional for me," admits Ralston. "It's fun. It is really fascinating to watch, as well; but the most heart-wrenching parts of it are the episodes and vignettes that draw me back to the gratitude¹⁰ that I have for my family. I found myself, during the entrapment¹¹ scene as well as the climactic amputation scene, just watching the movie as a really well told story ...very well made and very authentic¹² as well; but the emotions really come up when I'm connected mostly with my family."

"Mom, dad ...I haven't appreciated you as I know that I could. I love you guys and I'll always be with you."

James Franco plays Aron in 127 Hours and says meeting the real person and watching his original video diary put him in touch with those emotions and the character's spirit.

 

 
Chuck Zlotnick
(Left to Right) James Franco, Kate Mara and Amber¹³ Tamblyn in 127 HOURS
"It was our job to make that experience feel authentic," explains Franco. "The best way to achieve that was not to slavishly mimic¹⁴ or imitate Aron's every gesture, but instead talk to Aron as much as we could beforehand, but after that put ourselves in our own canyon and figure it out for ourselves. Do everything that Aron did, but kind of have that experience. So that dictated¹⁵ a lot of the way that we made it and shot it and durations of takes and all that. There was like an 'inside-out' approach."

The screenplay is by Simon Beaufoy, whose previous collaboration¹⁶ with director Danny Boyle was the 2008 Oscar-winner Slumdog Millionaire. Beaufoy believes it is not the physical crisis, but the emotional transformation¹⁷ that makes 127 Hours such compelling drama.

 

 
Chuck Zlotnick
(Left to Right) James Franco and Director Danny Boyle on the set of 127 HOURS
"It's not really about a guy chopping his arm off, of course. It's about someone who has turned his back on his friends and his family and society and goes through this extraordinary change," notes Beaufoy. "He's forced by events to re-examine his life, where he went wrong, what he could have done differently, people he could have treated in a slightly kinder way, maybe; and he comes out of the canyon at the other end someone who wants to reconnect with the world and the people he loves around him."

Still, the amputation is a critical moment in the story and Danny Boyle says he knew it would be a challenge for filmmaker and audience alike.

 

 
Chuck Zlotnick
Director Danny Boyle on the set of 127 HOURS
"We based it very, very closely on what is in the book," explains Boyle. "In reality it took him over 40 minutes and involved a series of plateaus of pain that he had to live through; but most importantly, it was a passage way to something else. It was a delivery to life again ...a doorway¹⁸, a portal to being reborn, really. Aron describes it as an ecstasy¹⁹ of feeling that he is driven through and you have to try to capture that in cinema. It is exhilarating. It is disturbing and overwhelming, but exhilarating as well."

In fact, Boyle sees the end result as unexpectedly uplifting.

"You often get used to the expression 'a feel-good movie' and it seems a funny thing to apply to this movie; but the expression ...and I've done one of them ...often represents what is really basically a cheap thrill in many ways," Boyle says. "There's nothing wrong with that. I love them; but this is a much more profound feeling of euphoria that you arrive at, because you've also been through a great deal to get there. Not as much as he has, obviously, but you've participated in it in some way."

"Don't give up. Aron, do not give up."

For most of 127 Hours James Franco is on screen alone, with occasional flashbacks to moments from his life before the accident and visions of what it might be like if he survives. Now wearing a prosthetic arm, Aron Ralston still climbs mountains and explores canyons²⁰. He also travels the world as an inspirational speaker
 

1 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

2 boulder   

n.巨砾；卵石，圆石

参考例句：

• We all heaved together and removed the boulder.大家一齐用劲，把大石头搬开了。
• He stepped clear of the boulder.他从大石头后面走了出来。

3 canyon   

n.峡谷，溪谷

参考例句：

• The Grand Canyon in the USA is 1900 metres deep.美国的大峡谷1900米深。
• The canyon is famous for producing echoes.这个峡谷以回声而闻名。

4 crevasse   

n. 裂缝，破口；v.使有裂缝

参考例句：

• The deep crevasse yawned at their feet.他们脚下的冰川有一道深深的裂缝。
• He fell down a crevasse.他从裂缝处摔了下来。

5 budge   

v.移动一点儿；改变立场

参考例句：

• We tried to lift the rock but it wouldn't budge.我们试图把大石头抬起来，但它连动都没动一下。
• She wouldn't budge on the issue.她在这个问题上不肯让步。

6 nil   

n.无，全无，零

参考例句：

• My knowledge of the subject is practically nil.我在这方面的知识几乎等于零。
• Their legal rights are virtually nil.他们实际上毫无法律权利。

7 ordeal   

n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验

参考例句：

• She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。
• Being lost in the wilderness for a week was an ordeal for me.在荒野里迷路一星期对我来说真是一场磨难。

8 amputation   

n.截肢

参考例句：

• In ancient India,adultery was punished by amputation of the nose.在古代印度，通奸要受到剖鼻的处罚。
• He lived only hours after the amputation.截肢后，他只活了几个小时。

9 memoir   

n.[pl.]回忆录，自传；记事录

参考例句：

• He has just published a memoir in honour of his captain.他刚刚出了一本传记来纪念他的队长。
• In her memoir,the actress wrote about the bittersweet memories of her first love.在那个女演员的自传中，她写到了自己苦乐掺半的初恋。

10 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。

11 entrapment   

n.（非法）诱捕，诱人犯罪；诱使犯罪

参考例句：

• The most common structural targets associated with oil entrapment are anticlines and faults. 与储油圈闭有关的最一般的构造目标是背斜和断层。 来自辞典例句
• The purely mechanical effect of glandular trichome exudates is the entrapment and immobilization of small arthropods. 具腺毛状体分泌物的纯机械作用是诱捕和粘住小的昆虫。 来自辞典例句

12 authentic   

a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的

参考例句：

• This is an authentic news report. We can depend on it. 这是篇可靠的新闻报道, 我们相信它。
• Autumn is also the authentic season of renewal. 秋天才是真正的除旧布新的季节。

13 amber   

n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的

参考例句：

• Would you like an amber necklace for your birthday?你过生日想要一条琥珀项链吗？
• This is a piece of little amber stones.这是一块小小的琥珀化石。

14 mimic   

v.模仿，戏弄；n.模仿他人言行的人

参考例句：

• A parrot can mimic a person's voice.鹦鹉能学人的声音。
• He used to mimic speech peculiarities of another.他过去总是模仿别人讲话的特点。

15 dictated   

v.大声讲或读( dictate的过去式和过去分词 )；口授；支配；摆布

参考例句：

• He dictated a letter to his secretary. 他向秘书口授信稿。
• No person of a strong character likes to be dictated to. 没有一个个性强的人愿受人使唤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 collaboration   

n.合作，协作；勾结

参考例句：

• The two companies are working in close collaboration each other.这两家公司密切合作。
• He was shot for collaboration with the enemy.他因通敌而被枪毙了。

17 transformation   

n.变化；改造；转变

参考例句：

• Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
• He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。

18 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

19 ecstasy   

n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷

参考例句：

• He listened to the music with ecstasy.他听音乐听得入了神。
• Speechless with ecstasy,the little boys gazed at the toys.小孩注视着那些玩具，高兴得说不出话来。

20 canyons   

n.峡谷( canyon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This mountain range has many high peaks and deep canyons. 这条山脉有许多高峰和深谷。 来自辞典例句
• Do you use canyons or do we preserve them all? 是使用峡谷呢还是全封闭保存？ 来自互联网