Quest for the Ring

 

 

Ian Mackellen (Gandalf): I’m sure the audience watching will be full of fear and anticipation¹. It’s the ¹⁾ultimate adventure story.

The Lord of the Rings takes place in a world called Middle Earth, a vision of our own planet ²⁾predating recorded history. It is an age when peace and freedom are under attack from dark forces bent² on destruction.

Unaware³ of the ³⁾approaching danger are the Hobbits, a small peace loving people, closely related to humans. One Hobbit, Frodo Baggins, has led a simple life, until he ⁴⁾inherits a ring. He learns from the wizard Gandalf that it is in fact the one ring, an instrument of absolute evil ⁵⁾forged by the dark lord Sauron.

Ian Mackellen (Gandalf): This simple band of gold which contains in its very essence the blood of evil. Ultimately that ring will corrupt⁴ whoever has it in its ⁶⁾possession. And Gandalf isn’t sure that he - even a superhuman ⁷⁾immortal⁵ as he is -he’s not sure that he can resist the force of the ring, but he has faith that a Hobbit can. Very touching⁶.

Frodo (Off-screen voice): What should I do?

Elijah Wood (Frodo): Frodo has an amazing amount of trust in Gandalf and anything that Gandalf would ask Frodo to do, Frodo would know that it would be for the best.

⁸⁾Accompanied by his friends, Sam, Merry, and Pippin, Frodo ⁹⁾sets out on a quest to destroy the ring. But that can only be ¹⁰⁾accomplished by throwing it into the fires of Mount Doom⁷, in the heart of the dark lord’s ¹¹⁾territory.

This ¹²⁾heroic quest ¹³⁾sprang from the imagination of J.R.R. Tolkien, professor of ancient languages and ¹⁴⁾mythology⁸ at England’s Oxford⁹ University. Tolkien spent 14 years writing the three-volume ¹⁵⁾epic¹⁰, read by more than 100 million people around the globe. For five decades since it was published, most assumed the enormous ¹⁶⁾scope of The Lord of the Rings would ¹⁷⁾prevent it from ever being made into a live action movie. Then New Zealand filmmaker Peter Jackson took up his own quest to bring Tolkien’s ¹⁸⁾masterpiece to the screen.

Peter Jackson (Director): It’s taken 50 years for The Lord of the Rings to be ¹⁹⁾adapted into a live action movie. And I think there’s two key reasons for that. The first one is the New Line Cinema supported the idea of not just making one film but three films. You don”t attempt to adapt the most beloved book of all time in a way that you have to cut half of the good ²⁰⁾stuff out. The other key reason that The Lord of the Rings can be made today is because of the advances in technology that really have only come about in the last seven or eight years. We are now able to really just push through that the ²¹⁾barrier of what is possible to show. CE

 

05、寻找魔戒

 

伊恩·麦克伦（甘多夫扮演者）∶我相信观众们在观看电影时将会满怀恐惧与期望。故事描述的是一个不折不扣的探险。

《魔戒》故事发生在地球史前时代的中土。在那个时代中，自由和和平都饱受黑暗势力的摧残。

霍比人是一群热爱和平的小人，与人类有着很密切的关系，他们完全没有察觉到危险在靠近。其中一个叫弗罗多·巴金斯的霍比人在继承了一枚指环后，简单的生活便被打乱了。他从巫师甘多夫那里了解到，那实际上是一只黑暗魔王索隆打造的无比邪恶的魔戒。

伊恩·麦克伦（甘多夫扮演者）∶这枚小小的金戒暗含着极度邪恶的魔力。谁拥有它都将被它彻底腐蚀掉。甘多夫尽管是个能人异士，品格崇高，但连他都不能肯定自己可以抵制得了戒指的魔力，可是他却对霍比人很有信心。故事非常感人。

弗罗多（屏幕画外音）∶我该怎么办呢？

埃利加·伍德（弗罗多扮演者）∶弗罗多非常信任甘多夫，甘多夫让弗罗多做什么，弗罗多都知道那么做是最好的。

在朋友山姆、梅利、皮平的陪伴下，弗罗多踏上了消灭魔戒的征途。魔戒唯有被扔进黑暗魔王的疆域要害——厄运山——的火焰中才能被彻底销毁。

这则极富想像力的英雄探险故事的作者是J.R.R.托尔金，一名英国牛津大学的古代语言及神话学教授。托尔金花费了14年心血写下这三本巨作，全球读者逾百万。《魔戒》一书场面极度浩大，因此在书出版后五十年都难以拍摄成电影。后来新西兰制片人彼得·杰克逊担起此重任，把托尔金的巨著搬上银屏。

彼得·杰克逊（导演）∶过了50年才把《魔戒》改拍成电影。我认为这是由两个主要因素促成的。一是新线影院电影公司支持不只拍一部而是拍三部电影的想法。所以用不着改编读者一向心头挚爱的书，不用被迫砍掉一半的好故事。《魔戒》今天能拍成电影的另一因素是在最近七、八年中科技进步了。所以我们能够真地克服了难关，把拍摄变为可能。CE

 

1) ultimate [5Qltimit] a. 最终的，根本的 

2) predate [5pri:5deit] v. 在日期上早于

3) approaching [E5prEutFiN] a. 接近的，靠近的

4) inherit [in5herit] v. 继承

5) forge [fC:dV] v. 铸造

6) possession [pE5zeFEn] n. 拥有，占有

7) immortal [i5mC:tEl] a. 不朽的

8) accompany [E5kQmpEni] v. 陪伴

9) set out 出发，开始

10) accomplish [E5kQmpliF] v. 完成

11) territory [5teritEri] n. 领土，地域

12) heroic [hi5rEuik] a. 英雄的

13) spring [spriN] v. 涌出，出身

14) mythology [mi5WClEdVi] n. 神话

15) epic [5epik] n. 史诗，伟大事迹

16) scope [skEup] n. 范围，余地 

17) prevent [pri5vent] v. 预防，防止

18) masterpiece [5ma:stEpi:s] n. 杰作，名著   

19) adapt [E5dApt] v. 使适应，使适合

20) stuff [stQf] n. 原料，材料 

21) barrier [5bAriEr] n. 障碍

 

 

1 anticipation   

n.预期，预料，期望

参考例句：

• We waited at the station in anticipation of her arrival.我们在车站等着，期待她的到来。
• The animals grew restless as if in anticipation of an earthquake.各种动物都变得焦躁不安，像是感到了地震即将发生。

2 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

3 unaware   

a.不知道的，未意识到的

参考例句：

• They were unaware that war was near. 他们不知道战争即将爆发。
• I was unaware of the man's presence. 我没有察觉到那人在场。

4 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

5 immortal   

adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的

参考例句：

• The wild cocoa tree is effectively immortal.野生可可树实际上是不会死的。
• The heroes of the people are immortal!人民英雄永垂不朽！

6 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。

7 doom   

n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定

参考例句：

• The report on our economic situation is full of doom and gloom.这份关于我们经济状况的报告充满了令人绝望和沮丧的调子。
• The dictator met his doom after ten years of rule.独裁者统治了十年终于完蛋了。

8 mythology   

n.神话，神话学，神话集

参考例句：

• In Greek mythology,Zeus was the ruler of Gods and men.在希腊神话中，宙斯是众神和人类的统治者。
• He is the hero of Greek mythology.他是希腊民间传说中的英雄。

9 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

10 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。