ESL Podcast 934 – Watching Special Effects

 　　Chrissy: Wow, that movie was amazing, but I can’t believe that they blew up the Eiffel Tower. I bet the French are really pissed.

　　Jack¹: You’re kidding, right? They didn’t really blow up the Eiffel Tower. They used special effects to make it look that way.

　　Chrissy: Are you sure? It really looked like the real thing.

　　Jack: They used a scale model or a computer- generated image of the Eiffel Tower and added some pyrotechnics or other visual effects to create what you saw on the screen. It’s like a big optical illusion. I can’t believe you really thought they blew up the Eiffel Tower.

　　Chrissy: Oh no, I didn’t. I was just kidding. But you have to admit that it was pretty cool that they got the real president of the United States to kill that monster, right?

　　Jack: You must be messing with my mind again. That wasn’t the president. That was an actor wearing prosthetics and makeup² standing³ in front of a green screen. They added the monster later in post- production.

　　Chrissy: Oh, right, sure. But you have to hand it to them for moving a section of the Great Wall of China to New York City, right?

　　Jack: Oh, boy...

　　Script by Dr. Lucy Tse

1 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。

2 makeup   

n.组织；性格；化装品

参考例句：

• Those who failed the exam take a makeup exam.这次考试不及格的人必须参加补考。
• Do you think her beauty could makeup for her stupidity?你认为她的美丽能弥补她的愚蠢吗？

3 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。