Lesson 21 William S. Hart and the early 'Western' film 威廉.S. 哈特和早期"西部"影片
课文
William S. Hart was, perhaps, the greatest of all Western stars, for unlike Gary Cooper and John Wayne he appeared in nothing but Westerns.
威廉.S.哈特大概是美国西部电影明星中的佼佼者,他和加里.古柏、约翰.韦恩不同,他只在西部电影中扮演角色。
From 1914 to 1924 he was supreme and unchallenged.
在1914年至1924年期间,他首屈一指,独霸影坛。
It was Hart who created the basic formula of the Western film, and devised the protagonist he played in every film he made, the good-bad man, the accidental, noble outlaw, or the honest, but framed cowboy, or the sheriff made suspect by vicious gossip; in short, the individual in conflict with himself and his frontier environment.
正是他创造了西部电影的基调,即在他自己的拍摄的影片中他所塑造的主人公形象:被认为是坏人的好人,出人意料的高尚的逃犯,诚实却遭陷害的牛仔或因流言蜚语蒙受嫌疑的司法官,总之,主人公是一个自相矛盾,又与他的拓荒环境相矛盾的人物。
Unlike most of his contemporaries in Hollywood, Hart actually knew something of the old West.
哈特与大部分同时代在好莱坞的演员不同,他确实了解西部早期拓荒生活的一些情况。
He had lived in it as a child when it was already disappearing, and his hero was firmly rooted in his memories and experiences, and in both the history and the mythology of the vanished frontier.
作为一个孩子他曾在西部生活过,当时西部拓荒生活正在消失,他塑造的英雄人物深深地扎根于他本人的记忆和经历之中,也扎根于有关已经消失的拓荒生活的历史和神话之中。
And although no period or place in American history has been more absurdly romanticized, myth and reality did join hands in at least one arena, the conflict between the individual and encroaching civilization.
虽然在美国历史上没有任何时期或地区像西部拓荒时期那样被荒谬地浪漫主义化了,但神话和事实至少在某一个舞台上共存,也就是存在于个人与渐渐闯入的文明这两者的冲突之中。
Men accustomed to struggling for survival against the elements and Indians were bewildered by politicians, bankers and businessmen, and unhorsed by fences, laws and alien taboos.
习惯与大自然和印第安人作斗争以求生存的拓荒者被政客、银行家和商人搞得晕头转向,最后被圈地、尖律我外来的清规戒律所击败。
Hart's good-bad man was always an outsider, always one of the disinherited, and if he found it necessary to shoot a sheriff or rob a bank along the way, his early audiences found it easy to understand and forgive, especially when it was Hart who, in the end, overcame the attacking Indians.
哈特扮演的被误为坏人的好人总是一个局外人,总是一个被剥夺继承权的人,如果他认为在进行过程中有必要枪击一个司法官或抢劫一个银行,他的早期观众很容易接受,觉得应该原谅他,特别是当哈特最后战胜了前来进攻的印第安人时,观众更能原谅他。
Audiences in the second decade of the 20th century found it pleasant to escape to a time when life, though hard, was relatively simple.
生活在20世纪20年代的观众认为,逃到一个即使艰苦但比较简朴的时代中去是件愉快的事,
We still do; living in a world in which undeclared aggression, war, hypocrisy, chicanery, anarchy and impending immolation are part of our daily lives, we all want a code to live by.
我们今天仍有这种感觉。如今,不宣而战的侵略、战争、虚伪、诈骗、无政府状态以及即将临头的毁灭成了我们日常生活的一部分,我们都希望有一个赖以生存的行为准则。
词汇讲解
supreme
supreme [su:'pri:m] adj. 至高无上的
supreme adj. 英文解释:having the highest position of power, importance or influence(权力,重要性或影响)最大的,至高无上的
the supreme commander
the Supreme Court 最高法院
the Intermediate People’s Court 中级法院
the Supreme Being 上帝
reign supreme 最为重要
As a wine producer, France still reigns supreme.
Love reigns supreme in her heart.
【同根词】
supremacy n. 霸权;至高无上;主权;最高地位
military supremacy
male supremacy
male supremacist
protagonist
protagonist [prə'tægənɪst] n. 主角(正式)
【近义词组】表达“演员”:
leading role / part 主角
leading man 男主角
leading lady 女主角
supporting role 配角
extra 群众演员
stunt man 特技男演员
stunt woman 特技女演员
comedian 喜剧演员
comedienne 喜剧女演员
tragedian 悲剧演员
tragedienne 悲剧女演员
framed
framed [freimd] adj. 遭到陷害的
【同根词】
frame v. 设计;建造;陷害;使…适合
to frame(装裱) a picture
That’s not my signature! I’ve been framed(陷害)!
My name is Michael Scofield. My brother is facing the electric chair, framed for a crime he didn't commit.
【近义词组】表达“陷害”:
set up sb. 陷害某人
He wasn’t guilty of the fraud. He’d been set up by his business rivals.
越狱:
I didn't kill that man, Michael.
The evidence says you did.
I was set up.
plant sth. on sb. 把脏污放到某人身上,陷害某人
It was planted on me!
越狱:
I never touched those pants.
Which brings us back to the gun, the one you said you dumped. It was planted. It's the only way it could have got there. Ballistics matched to a slug... The gun was planted! It was planted! Just like the pants.
mythology
mythology [mɪ'θɒlədʒi] n. 神话
【辨析】
mythology [U](统称)神话;某文化(或社会等)的神话
myth [C]神话;神话故事
Greek myths
Greek mythology
【扩展】【辨析】
可数 | 不可数
poem | poetry
novel | fiction
scene | scenery
jewel | jewellery (jewelry)
machine | machinery
table/chair … | furniture
pen/pencil … | stationery
trunk / suitcase …| luggage / baggage
leaf | foliage
vanished
vanished ['vænɪʃd] adj. 消失了的
【同根词】
vanish v.(莫名其妙地)突然消失;不复存在;消亡;绝迹
disappear / vanish without trace 消失的无影无踪
fade / fade away 逐渐消失
As the years passed, the memories faded away.
As the music faded away the audience broke into enthusiastic applause.
arena
arena [ə'ri:nə] n. 竞技场;斗争场所;竞争舞台;活动场所
Women are entering the political arena in large numbers.
international arena 国际舞台
encroaching
encroaching [ɪn'krəʊtʃɪŋ] adj. 渐渐渗入的
【同根词】
encroach 侵占(某人的时间);侵犯(某人的权利);扰乱(某人的生活);侵蚀,蚕食(地区)
encroach on / upon … 渐渐渗入…
Housing developments continue to encroach on wildlife habitats.
【近似词组】表达“侵占、侵犯”:
infringe on …
Don’t infringe on his privacy.
trespass on … 非法进入领地
Hunters used to trespass on his fields.
Trespassers will be prosecuted.
invade
The Romans invaded Britain 2,000 years ago.
The infected cells can invade healthy tissue.
Indian
Indian ['ɪndiən] n. 印度人;印第安人
【扩展】形容“人种”“人的地区”“肤色”注意里面含的“贬义”的味道
黑人:
Negro / Black (不尊重)
African-American/Afro-American (尊重)
爱斯基摩人
Eskimo(不尊重)
Inuit(尊重)
亚洲人
Oriental (不尊重)
Asian (尊重)
Asian-American
Chinese-American
Korean-American
Japanese-American
bewilder
bewilder [bɪ'wɪldə(r)] v. 使不知所措,使迷惑
Big city traffic bewildered the country girl.
【近义词】表达“使不知所措,使迷惑”:
confuse
They confused me with their conflicting advice.
puzzle / perplex / baffle (强调本身错综复杂)
The murder case still puzzled / perplexed / baffled the police.
【同根词】
注意:“…ing”做形容词一般表示“令人…”,形容事物的特征;“…ed”做形容词表示人的感受
bewildered
bewildering
a bewildering variety of choices
Films, videos, CDs and CD-ROMS are just some of the bewildering amount of information they will have.
6级真题:
Many tourists were ___B___ by the city’s complicated traffic system.
(A) degraded
(B) bewildered
(C) evoked
(D) diverted
考研英语(阅读真题):
As an increasing number of traffic regulation schemes are devised, the poor bewildered driver finds himself diverted and forced into one-way systems which cause even greater delays than the traffic jams they are supposed to prevent.
I was constantly ill, with a baffling array of symptoms.
alien
alien ['eɪliən] adj. 陌生的;格格不入的; 外国的;外星的
In a world that had suddenly become alien and dangerous, he was her only security.
The idea is alien to our religion.
Luxury is alien to her nature.
alien cultures 外国文化
alien beings (外星人)from another planet
【近义词】
foreign adj. 陌生的;格格不入的
Jealousy is foreign to his nature.
exotic adj. 异国的;外来的;异国情调的
exotic tropical plants
I am charmed by her exotic beauty.
extrinsic (to …) 固有的;非本质的;外在的;外来的
They’re looking for extrinsic aid.
The question is extrinsic to our discussion.
intrinsic 固有的;内在的;本身的
a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic factors
disinherit
disinherit [7dɪsɪn'herɪt] v. 剥夺……的继承权
disinherit sb. 剥夺……的继承权
He has disinherited his eldest son.
【反义词组】
inherit sth. from sb. 继承…
He inherited a fortune from his grandfather.
【扩展】
dispossess sb. of sth. 剥夺财产…
The nobles were dispossessed of their estates.
deprive sb. of sth. 剥夺权利…
Some criminals are deprived of political rights.
strip sb. of sth. 剥夺…
divest sb. of sth. 剥夺…
hypocrisy
hypocrisy [hɪ'pɒkrəsi] n. 虚伪,伪善
He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another.
【同根词】
hypocritical
hypocrite 伪君子;伪善者;虚伪的人
The newspapers branded him (as) a hypocrite.
【反义词】
sincerity n.真诚
sincere
impending
impending [ɪm'pendɪŋ] adj. 迫在眉睫的,即将发生的 (贬义)
【同义词】
impending / imminent
an ~~~ danger / disaster / threat / famine
【近义词】
coming (中性词)
upcoming (中性词)
forthcoming (中性词)
approaching (中性词)
the coming year
the upcoming holiday
the approaching election
loom (贬义)v. 赫然耸现;(尤指)令人惊恐地隐现
As the day of my interview loomed, I became increasingly nervous.
【近义词组】表达“某个日子快到了”:
My birthday is fast approaching.
My birthday is coming soon.
My birthday is near at hand.
My birthday is coming up.
My birthday is just around the corner.
code
code [kəʊd] n. 密码;编码;法规,准则
a letter in code
decipher / break / crack a code 破译密码
postcode (zip code) 邮编
bar code 条码
penal code 刑法
traffic code 交通规则
code of conduct 行为准则
code of ethics 道德准则
课文讲解
(标题)
William S . Hart and the early ‘ Western ’ film
知识点(1)
课文背景介绍:
In searching for a subject unique to the young nation some American writers of the 19th century turned to the land itself ―the vast, largely untamed territory that stretched from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean.
As settlement moved westward from the eastern seaboard, the West came to symbolize the qualities associated with that land―open, wild and full of opportunity.
Artists of all kinds found this symbol so evocative that a new genre emerged in literature and other arts: the Western. It’s mainly about life in the 19th century in the American West, especially the lives of cowboys.
In 1903, Edwin S. Porter produced a short silent film, the Great Train Robbery, whose theme, crime and retribution, became a standard of Western filmmaking for 75 years.
The western film reached the height of its popularity from 1930 to 1950. After 1950 television Westerns drew audiences away from big-screen Westerns.
主人公介绍:
William S. Hart is noted for his insistence on realism in Westerns based on his own life in Dakota Territory. Hart directed and starred in silent movies from 1914 until 1925.
Hart was followed by the most influential of all Western filmmakers, John Ford.
Ford’s 1939 movie Stagecoach introduced John Wayne as the perfect example of the tough, taciturn Western cowboy, who became an icon of the movie Western.
In the 1950s, Western films were joined by a subcategory, the adult Western. It focused more on the psychology of the characters than on action. A classic example of the genre is High Noon, starring Gary Cooper.
In the 1970s and 1980s Westerns began to lose box-office appeal because social protest movements caused many Americans to question the cultural values presented in Westerns.
However, in the early 1990s, two Westerns won Academy Awards for best picture. One is Dances with wolves (1990), directed by Kevin Costner.
The other is Unforgiven (1992), directed by Clint Eastwood. Westerns were resurrected.
(第一段)
William S. Hart was, perhaps, the greatest of all Western stars, for unlike Gary Cooper and John Wayne he appeared in nothing but Westerns.
语法分析:
William S. Hart was, perhaps, the greatest of all Western stars, for unlike Gary Cooper and John Wayne(介词短语做状语) he appeared in nothing but(=only) Westerns. (for... 原因状语从句)
知识点(1)
appear / act / perform in a film / movie 出演电影
play the lead in … 主演
John Wayne played the lead in Stagecoach.
star
John Wayne starred in Stagecoach.
Stagecoach starred John Wayne.
co-star 联合主演
Gary Cooper co-starred with Grace Kelly in High Noon.
High Noon co-starred Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly.
feature 由…主演
The movie featured Bruce Willis.
知识点(2)
nothing but (修饰名词)
= nothing more than
= only
Nothing but a miracle can save her now.
You are nothing but a thief.
He dismissed Bryan as nothing more than an amateur.
【扩展】
anything but (修饰名词和形容词)
= not … at all
He is anything but a hero / stupid.
all but (adv.)
= almost / virtually
It’s all but impossible to read his writing.
The party was all but over when we came.
【辨析】
We could, at one time, repair ourselves—well enough, at least, to overcome all but(字面意思,不是副词)the most instantly fatal illnesses and accidents.
From 1914 to 1924 he was supreme and unchallenged.
知识点(1)
supreme and unchallenged 同义词连用,加强语气
【扩展】表达“至高无上的”:
supreme
unchallenged
incomparable
unequalled
peerless
be second to none
When it comes to singing, Mary is second to none.
It was Hart who created the basic formula of the Western film, and devised the protagonist he played in every film he made, the good-bad man, the accidental, noble outlaw, or the honest, but framed cowboy, or the sheriff made suspect by vicious gossip; in short, the individual in conflict with himself and his frontier environment.
语法分析:
It was(强调句) Hart who created the basic formula of the Western film, and devised the protagonist he played in every film he made(内部小定语从句)(定语从句), the good-bad man(protagonist同位语1), the accidental-noble outlaw(protagonist同位语2), or the honest-but-framed cowboy(protagonist同位语3), or the sheriff made suspect by vicious gossip(后置定语)(protagonist同位语4); in short(简言之), the individual in conflict with himself and his frontier environment(介词短语当后置定语)(protagonist同位语6).
知识点(1)
语法:一般强调句:
it is/was +被强调部分 + that/who(m)+ 从句 可以强调句子中任何非谓语的部分;只用于书面语
The tree was planted near the church fifty years ago, but it is only in recent years(强调时间) that it has gained an evil reputation.
It is I that am looking for you. 强调 “I”
It is Jack who(m) Frank phoned last night. 强调 “Jack”
it is … which …(尤其用于科技、说明文体)
知识点(2)
formula pl. formulas / formulae 配方、处方;(派生)模式
the formula for a new drug / the washing powder
It is said that the nerve poison is the more primitive of the two, that the blood poison is, so to speak, a newer product from an improved formula.
知识点(3)
devise vt. 设计;想出;发明;图谋;遗赠给
The cartoon character Mickey Mouse was devised by Walt Disney in 1928.
【近义词】表达“设计;想出;”:
conceive
come up with
托福听力真题:
A. Very few people come to it.
B. A good name hasn’t been found for it.
C. People don’t like climbing the stairs to get there.
D. She has decided to phone the ticket office.
M: what had they decided to call the stadium?
W: No one has come up with a good name.
Q: What does the woman say about the stadium?
Answer: (B) A good name hasn’t been found for it.
fabricate / concoct 捏造
fabricate / concoct an excuse
知识点(4)
写作:矛盾修饰法(Oxymoron);越接近名词的越是表面含义
bad-good news
a cold warm embrace
sick health
sweat sorrow
a damned saint
a beautiful tyrant
an honorable murder
知识点(5)
accidental adj. 意外的;偶然的;附属的;临时记号的
incidental adj. 附带的;偶然的;容易发生的
incidental expenses
incidental music for the movie
incidentally (引出新话题、附加信息、或临时想到的问题)顺便提一句
知识点(6)
suspect n. 嫌疑犯 ;adj. 可疑的;不可信的;v. 怀疑;猜想
suspect that … 怀疑…
suspect sb. of doing 怀疑某人做某事
I suspected him of lying.
make 表“选举”;可以和没有冠词的名词搭配
We made him monitor / king.
课文此处为形容词:
or the sheriff made suspect(adj.) by vicious gossip
The statistics are suspect(adj.).
知识点(7)
vicious adj. wicked; evil; malicious adj. 恶毒的;恶意的;堕落的;有错误的;品性不端的;剧烈的
a vicious circle
a virtuous circle
a malignant tumor
a benign tumor
知识点(8)
【近似词组】表达“简言之、总之”:总结句
in short
in sum
in summary
to sum up
to summarize
simply put
知识点(9)
in conflict (with …) 与…有冲突
As long as poor people, who in general are colored, are in conflict with richer people, who in general are lighter skinned, there’s going to be a constant racial conflict in the world.
【形近词】【辨析】
inflict sth. on sb. 把…(痛苦的事)强加给某人
Please don’t inflict your love on me.
afflict sb. 折磨某人
He may never be sure where the next meal is coming from, but he is free from the thousands of anxieties which afflict other people.
托福:
Hazen and Brown's work was stimulated by the wartime need to find a cure for the fungus infections that afflicted many military personnel.
be afflicted with / by … 被…折磨
托福:
Although afflicted by serious eyesight problems, Alicia Alonso was one of the principal stars of the American Ballet Theater and later formed her own dance company.
(第二段)
Unlike most of his contemporaries in Hollywood, Hart actually knew something of the old West.
知识点(1)
contemporary n. 同时代的人;同时期的东西 ;adj. 当代的;同时代的;属于同一时期的
counterpart n.职位(或作用)相当的人;对应的事物
He had lived in it as a child when it was already disappearing, and his hero was firmly rooted in his memories and experiences, and in both the history and the mythology of the vanished frontier.
语法分析:
He had lived in it as a child when it was already disappearing(时间状语从句), and his hero was firmly rooted in his memories and experiences, and in both the history and the mythology of the vanished frontier.
知识点(1)课文背景介绍
Hart was born in 1870, just after the end of American Civil War in 1865. After the Civil War, slavery was abolished, four trans-continent railroads were built, and American economy was rapidly developed.
Meanwhile, the Wild West was fading away.
知识点(2)
be rooted in … 根植于…
The conflict in this area was rooted in history and religion.
【近义词组】表达“根植于…”:
be embedded in …
be entrenched in …
be ingrained in …
He always meant to go back one day, but not to stay. His roots and mine had become too firmly embedded in the new land.
【近义词组】表达“根深递归的”:
deep-seated / deep-rooted
a deep-seated faith in god
a deep-rooted bad habit
inveterate (贬义)
inveterate hatred(仇恨) / prejudice(偏见) / distrust(不信任) 深深的、根深蒂固的…
an inveterate smoker(老烟鬼) / drinker(老酒鬼) / gambler(赌棍) / liar(骗子)
If we remain inveterate smokers, it is only because we have so often experienced the frustration that results from failure.
【近义词组】表达“来源于…、起源于…”:
have its roots in …
stem from …
originate in …
Printing has its roots in / stems from / originates in China.
知识点(3)
语法:省略留下介词
He had lived in it as a child when it was already disappearing, and his hero was firmly rooted in his memories and experiences, and in both the history and the mythology of the vanished frontier.
Carlyle was entirely ignorant of what the bottle in his pocket contained, of the nature of the illness from which his friend was suffering, and of what had previously been wrong with his wife, but a medicine that had worked so well in one form of illness would surely be of equal benefit in another, …
The adverse effects of the Great Leap Forward and of the Cultural Revolution still loom large in the minds of Chinese policy makers.
For in a university, science majors look down on humanities majors, foreign language majors on Chinese majors, Chinese majors on philosophy majors, philosophy majors on sociology majors, and sociology majors on education majors. Since education majors have no one to look down on, they can only despise the professors in their own department. ——‘Fortress besieged’ by Zhongshu Qian
And although no period or place in American history has been more absurdly romanticized, myth and reality did join hands in at least one arena, the conflict between the individual and encroaching civilization.
语法分析:
And although no period or place in American history has been more absurdly romanticized(让步状语从句), myth and reality did join hands in at least one arena, the conflict between the individual and encroaching civilization(one arena的同位语).
知识点(1)
join hands: co-exist 共存
知识点(2)
conflict n. clash; collision 冲突
(第三段)
Men accustomed to struggling for survival against the elements and Indians were bewildered by politicians, bankers and businessmen, and unhorsed by fences, laws and alien taboos.
语法分析:
Men accustomed to struggling for survival (状语前置)against the elements and Indians (后置定语)were bewildered by politicians, bankers and businessmen, and unhorsed by fences, laws and alien taboos.
知识点(1)
be accustomed to sth. / doing 习惯于
= be used to sth. / doing
For men accustomed to eating seven-course dinners and sleeping between fine linen sheets at home, the change to the Alps must have very hard indeed.
知识点(2)
… against the elements …
element (earth, water, fire, air)
the elements 指“大自然”
fight / battle / struggle against the elements 与困难做斗争
fight / battle / struggle against the odds 与困难做斗争
They would have continued to struggle against economic odds and would have lived in obscurity.
知识点(3)
unhorse vt. 使下马
Hart's good-bad man was always an outsider, always one of the disinherited, and if he found it necessary to shoot a sheriff or rob a bank along the way, his early audiences found it easy to understand and forgive, especially when it was Hart who, in the end, overcame the attacking Indians.
语法分析:
Hart's good-bad man was always an outsider, always one of the disinherited, and if he found it(形式宾语)necessary to shoot a sheriff or rob a bank along the way(to…真正宾语)(if... 条件状语从句), his early audiences found it(形式宾语)easy to understand and forgive(to…真正宾语), especially when it was(强调句) Hart who, in the end, overcame the attacking Indians when...时间状语从句).
(第四段)
Audiences in the second decade of the 20th century found it pleasant to escape to a time when life, though hard, was relatively simple.
语法分析:
Audiences in the second decade of the twentieth century(后置定语) found it(形式宾语)pleasant to escape to a time when life, though hard(让步状语从句,省略), was relatively simple(when...定语从句)(to…真正宾语).
知识点(1)
decade 十年
century 百年
millennium 前年
We still do; living in a world in which undeclared aggression, war, hypocrisy, chicanery, anarchy and impending immolation are part of our daily lives, we all want a code to live by.
语法分析:
We still do; living in a world(原因状语) in which undeclared aggression, war, hypocrisy, chicanery, anarchy and impending immolation are part of our daily lives(in which...定语从句), we all want a code to live by.
知识点(1)
课文补全:
We still do; …
We still find it pleasant to escape to a time when life, though hard, was relatively simple.
知识点(2)
live by … 按照…的生活
I have always tried to live by my faith.