【英语趣味课堂】电影制作-Making a Film

Jeff: My brothers and I just did a really fun and difficult journey across India in a rickshaw. It's, a rickshaw is a three-wheeled, a little three-wheeled vehicle. It's a cross between a car and a motorcycle. It has no doors and it has no trunk to put luggage in, and it has a little, it has a little steering¹ bar like a motorcycle and it doesn't go very fast, and we drove this all the way across the country from Bangladesh to Pakistan, and it was a crazy journey, it was crazy, very dangerous and full of surprises and very hard of your body and your mind and I did this, with my two brothers in a rickshaw. My brothers and I filmed the entire journey in the rickshaw with a professional video camera. One of my dreams in life is to make a documentary² for TV and we decided³ to make a documentary of our trip across India and it was very difficult. We thought it would be easy, but when we started to do this it was very, very tough. They make it look easy on television and when you have the camera and you're trying to video people it's very difficult. They don't do what you want to do and the weather doesn't cooperate⁴ with you, and maybe the camera breaks down and you're tired and you can't get the video shots that you want and it becomes like a game, or struggle, trying to get the best shots, trying to get the most interesting shots, and it is like a game, a fun, and frustrating⁵ game, but by the end of the trip, we managed to get all of the video, and we put together a very interesting three minute video, and a couple of Indian video producers helped us put this together, and you can see the short video on the web site www.eagarbros.com, and I think you'll like it. It's full of surprises and full of funny and strange sites and full of action, so, it's pretty good. I think you'll like it. 

 

学习内容：

 

Learn Vocabulary from the lesson

rickshaw

 

We did a fun and difficult journey across India in a rickshaw.

 

In the past a 'rickshaw' was a cart with two wheels that was pulled by one or two men and used for transportation in India and other parts of the world. In modern times most rickshaws are motorized and pulled by a motorcycle.  Jeff used a motorized rickshaw to travel. Notice the following:

 

There is a special area for the rickshaws to drive.

We took a rickshaw tour around town.

cross

 

A rickshaw is a cross between a car and a motorcycle.

 

If something is a 'cross' between two things it is a combination⁶ of the two and has characteristics of both. Notice the following:

 

She is definitely⁷ a cross between her mother and father.

It's kind of a cross between a sandwich and a pizza.

cooperate

 

It was difficult, because the weather doesn't cooperate with you.

 

When something or someone works⁸ with us to make something easier we can say it is 'cooperating⁹.' When you talk about the weather not cooperating you are saying it was bad weather for what you were trying to do. Notice the following:

 

We wanted the dog to be in the family photos, but he wouldn't cooperate.

Some days it feels like the city is not cooperating with me at all.

shots

 

We struggled to get the best and most interesting shots.

 

In this case 'shots' refers to a video recording¹⁰ or photos of a place or an even. Notice the following:

 

Out of 300 pictures only 20 of them were good shots.

The light in the morning gives you some very unique shots.

put together

 

We did put together a very interesting three-minute video.

 

When you 'put something together' you make or create it. Notice the following:

 

We are trying to put together a surprise party for your birthday.

I have to put together an hour-long presentation for next week.

1 steering   

n.操舵装置

参考例句：

• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration. 他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。
• Steering according to the wind, he also framed his words more amicably. 他真会看风使舵，口吻也马上变得温和了。

2 documentary   

adj.文献的；n.纪录片

参考例句：

• This case lacked documentary proof.本案缺少书面证据。
• I watched a documentary on the Civil War.我看了一部关于内战的纪录片。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 cooperate   

vi.合作，协作，相配合

参考例句：

• We hope we can cooperate even more closely in the future.希望我们今后能更加密切地合作。
• I hope you can cooperate on this matter.我希望你在这件事上能给予合作。

5 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 combination   

n.组合，合并，联合；

参考例句：

• He carried on the business in combination with his friends.他与朋友们合伙做生意。
• The materials can be used singly or in combination.这些材料可以单独使用也可以混合用。

7 definitely   

adv.一定地，肯定地；明确地，确切地

参考例句：

• The team will definitely lose if he doesn't play.如果他不参加比赛，这个队肯定会输。
• I shall definitely be home before six o'clock.6点以前，我一定回家。

8 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

9 cooperating   

共同运转的，协同操作的

参考例句：

• We have abundant experience in cooperating with a lot of companies. 我们拥有与大量公司合作的丰富经验。
• The interview will generally center round managing and cooperating skills. 访谈将围绕管理和合作技巧展开。

10 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。