Chinese embrace 3D "Titanic," but only some of it

 　　BEIJING, April 10 (Xinhua) -- Chinese moviegoers flocked to cinemas on Tuesday, lining¹ up for tickets to see James Cameron's epic² "Titanic³" in 3D. While the 3D release looks set to be a huge hit in China, some cinemagoers were disgruntled that they couldn't have it all due to censorship cuts.

　　Three IMAX cinemas in Beijing were packed for the movie's debut⁵ screening on Tuesday, despite the high ticket price -- 150 yuan (24 U.S. Dollars) -- and the inconvenient⁶ midnight hour of the screening.

　　"It is expensive," said Liu Hui, manager of Beijing UME cinema chains, "but tickets still sell out. People just prefer to watch movies like this in an IMAX cinema."

　　Even outside Beijing, screenings of the film in 3D cinemas in other large cities sold out days before the film was released.

　　"I have watched Titanic seven or eight times," said Liu Jianwen, 27, who lined up for tickets outside a cinema in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia with his girlfriend. "I'm here for the story rather than the visual effects. It's such touching⁷ love story."

　　The 1997 movie was based on a tragic⁸ love story which takes place aboard the doomed⁹ British passenger liner Titanic, which sank in the north Atlantic on its maiden¹⁰ voyage in 1912 after hitting an iceberg¹¹. Over 1,500 people onboard perished in the disaster.

　　The movie was a phenomenal success globally, and grossed 360 million yuan when it entered the Chinese mainland market in 1998. This phenomenal box office record remained unbroken for 11 years, until the release of Transformers 2 in 2009. A ticket to see the movie Titanic at that time cost 25 yuan at most.

　　Today's higher ticket price won't deter¹² fans, however, as market analysts¹³ believe the 3D "Titantic" is likely to gross over 500 million yuan in mainland cinemas, according to local media reports.

　　Still, despite the special effects, and reworked footage, many fans are disappointed. Some fans were upset about missing out on the romantic but controversial scenes in which Rose, played by Kate Winslet, posed nude¹⁴ for sketches¹⁵.

　　Internet forums¹⁶ and popular microblogging sites were abuzz with criticism of the cut by the censors⁴.

　　"I've been waiting almost 15 years, and not for the 3D icebergs," said a widely forwarded microblog post.

　　Cinemagoers were especially annoyed, given that censors allowed the movie to be screened uncut back in 1998. There is no official response to the roll-back of the censorship policy concerning the 3D film.

　　China does not have a movie rating system. The State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television (SARFT) is the one responsible for censoring¹⁷ scenes of obscene, violent, and other inappropriate content.

　　However, on an online survey conducted by popular microblogging site Sina Weibo, 73 percent of those polled said the movie was "great" and only 12 percent expressed dissatisfaction.

　　"'Titanic' shows us what love is about," said Qi Lunna, a university professor, adding that the movie highlights a sore point in today's society, that materialism¹⁸ is eroding¹⁹ pure relationships.

　　"Many people nowadays pay too much attention to material wealth, especially on who they should marry," she said.

　　"I was deeply touched by this film," said Chen Han, a sophomore²⁰ student at Inner Mongolia University. "I want to love as freely and purely²¹ as Jack²² and Rose."

1 lining   

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

• The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
• Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。

2 epic   

n.史诗，叙事诗；adj.史诗般的，壮丽的

参考例句：

• I gave up my epic and wrote this little tale instead.我放弃了写叙事诗，而写了这个小故事。
• They held a banquet of epic proportions.他们举行了盛大的宴会。

3 titanic   

adj.巨人的，庞大的，强大的

参考例句：

• We have been making titanic effort to achieve our purpose.我们一直在作极大的努力，以达到我们的目的。
• The island was created by titanic powers and they are still at work today.台湾岛是由一个至今仍然在运作的巨大力量塑造出来的。

4 censors   

删剪（书籍、电影等中被认为犯忌、违反道德或政治上危险的内容）( censor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The censors eviscerated the book to make it inoffensive to the President. 审查员删去了该书的精华以取悦于总统。
• The censors let out not a word. 检察官一字也不发。

5 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

6 inconvenient   

adj.不方便的，令人感到麻烦的

参考例句：

• You have come at a very inconvenient time.你来得最不适时。
• Will it be inconvenient for him to attend that meeting?他参加那次会议会不方便吗？

7 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

8 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

9 doomed   

命定的

参考例句：

• The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
• A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。

10 maiden   

n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的

参考例句：

• The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。
• The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow.这架飞机明天首航。

11 iceberg   

n.冰山，流冰，冷冰冰的人

参考例句：

• The ship hit an iceberg and went under.船撞上一座冰山而沉没了。
• The glacier calved a large iceberg.冰河崩解而形成一个大冰山。

12 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。

13 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

14 nude   

adj.裸体的；n.裸体者，裸体艺术品

参考例句：

• It's a painting of the Duchess of Alba in the nude.这是一幅阿尔巴公爵夫人的裸体肖像画。
• She doesn't like nude swimming.她不喜欢裸泳。

15 sketches   

n.草图( sketch的名词复数 )；素描；速写；梗概

参考例句：

• The artist is making sketches for his next painting. 画家正为他的下一幅作品画素描。
• You have to admit that these sketches are true to life. 你得承认这些素描很逼真。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 forums   

讨论会； 座谈会； 广播专题讲话节目； 集会的公共场所( forum的名词复数 )； 论坛，讨论会，专题讨论节目； 法庭

参考例句：

• A few of the forums were being closely monitored by the administrators. 有些论坛被管理员严密监控。
• It can cast a dark cloud over these forums. 它将是的论坛上空布满乌云。

17 censoring   

删剪（书籍、电影等中被认为犯忌、违反道德或政治上危险的内容）( censor的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Therefore, exhibitors shall not make use of these materials before censoring. 展商在审查前不可使用这些资料。
• The company then said it would end self-censoring search results, putting it at odds with Beijing. 随后该公司表示，将停止自我审查搜索结果，从而与中国政府发生对抗。

18 materialism   

n.［哲］唯物主义，唯物论；物质至上

参考例句：

• Idealism is opposite to materialism.唯心论和唯物论是对立的。
• Crass materialism causes people to forget spiritual values.极端唯物主义使人忘掉精神价值。

19 eroding   

侵蚀，腐蚀( erode的现在分词 )； 逐渐毁坏，削弱，损害

参考例句：

• The coast is slowly eroding. 海岸正慢慢地被侵蚀。
• Another new development is eroding the age-old stereotype of the male warrior. 另一个新现象是，久已形成的男人皆武士的形象正逐渐消失。

20 sophomore   

n.大学二年级生；adj.第二年的

参考例句：

• He is in his sophomore year.他在读二年级。
• I'm a college sophomore majoring in English.我是一名英语专业的大二学生。

21 purely   

adv.纯粹地，完全地

参考例句：

• I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。
• This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

22 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。