名人轶事:庸人哈尔

Bobby and Peter Farrelly have been widely hailed, and occasionally

criticized, for their wacky, lowbrow humor that leaves audiences rolling in

the aisles¹. We have enjoyed their goofy, unforgettable scenes in “Dumb and

Dumber,” “There's Something About Mary,” and “Me, Myself, and Irene.”

Their upcoming film, “Shallow Hal,” packs plenty of laughs, but marks a

departure for the duo in that it has a serious message as well.

Rising talent Jack² Black plays Hal, an unremarkable man who will only date

beautiful women with perfect bodies. His standards change, however, after he

is hypnotized by self-help guru Tony Robbins. No longer the shallow cad, Hal

is now only concerned with inner beauty.

Hal finds a worthy³ recipient⁴ of his affections in Rosemary (Gwyneth Paltrow),

an intelligent woman of character---and 300 pounds. In Hal's eyes, though,

Rosemary is lithe⁶ and gorgeous. Agog⁷ at this development is Hal's superficial

but likable pal⁵, Mauricio, played by popular funnyman Jason Alexander. In the

end, the illusion of Rosemary's beauty is revealed and Hal learns an

important lesson in life.

All the Farrelly brothers' movies have revolved⁸ around realistic characters

whom the audience can root for. Their tactics and quirky sense of humor have

worked so far to great effect, and “Shallow Hal” looks ready to join their

string of successes, while adding a new dimension to their work. Their

tactics and quirky sense of humor have worked so far to great effect, and

“Shallow Hal” looks ready to join their string of successes, while adding a

new dimension to their work.

A porcelain¹⁰, blond beauty with proven acting¹¹ skills and an air of class,

Gwyneth Paltrow has taken Hollywood by storm. Born in Tinseltown to parents

in the entertainment industry, Paltrow's foray into film came as no surprise.

Paltrow's first training in acting came at the age of 11 while her father was

directing summer stock productions. One of her first roles was in a play

opposite her award-winning actress mother, Blythe Danner. She became bitten

by the acting bug¹² and later quit college to pursue a film career which has

met with great critical and commercial success.

Her movie debut¹³ came in 1991 with “shout,” starring John Travolta. She won

her first real acclaim¹⁴, though, in “Flesh and Bone,” which set her on the

path to fame. In 1995, she landed a fortuitous role in “Seven” opposite

Brad Pitt. A much publicized two-year romance with Pitt followed, culminating

in an engagement and subsequent breakup.

One of Hollywood's more prolific¹⁵ actresses, Paltrow has starred in 15 films

since 1998. Her greatest acclaim so far has come from the period pieces

“Emma” and “Shakespeare in Love,” the latter which earned her a Best

Actress Oscar. Now with “Shallow Hal,” Paltrow has the opportunity to show

her comic side while broadening her already considerable talents and fan

base.

1. lowbrow a. 教养浅薄的

2. cad n. 下流人

3. lithe a. 窈窕的

4. tactic⁹ n. 战术，策略

5. porcelain n. 瓷器

6. fortuitous a. 意外的，偶然的

7. subsequent a. 后来的

8. prolific a. 多产的

1 aisles   

n. (席位间的)通道, 侧廊

参考例句：

• Aisles were added to the original Saxon building in the Norman period. 在诺曼时期，原来的萨克森风格的建筑物都增添了走廊。
• They walked about the Abbey aisles, and presently sat down. 他们走到大教堂的走廊附近，并且很快就坐了下来。

2 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。

3 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

4 recipient   

a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器

参考例句：

• Please check that you have a valid email certificate for each recipient. 请检查是否对每个接收者都有有效的电子邮件证书。
• Colombia is the biggest U . S aid recipient in Latin America. 哥伦比亚是美国在拉丁美洲最大的援助对象。

5 pal   

n.朋友，伙伴，同志；vi.结为友

参考例句：

• He is a pal of mine.他是我的一个朋友。
• Listen,pal,I don't want you talking to my sister any more.听着，小子，我不让你再和我妹妹说话了。

6 lithe   

adj.(指人、身体)柔软的，易弯的

参考例句：

• His lithe athlete's body had been his pride through most of the fifty - six years.他那轻巧自如的运动员体格，五十六年来几乎一直使他感到自豪。
• His walk was lithe and graceful.他走路轻盈而优雅。

7 agog   

adj.兴奋的，有强烈兴趣的； adv.渴望地

参考例句：

• The children were all agog to hear the story.孩子们都渴望着要听这个故事。
• The city was agog with rumors last night that the two had been executed.那两人已被处决的传言昨晚搞得全城沸沸扬扬。

8 revolved   

v.（使）旋转( revolve的过去式和过去分词 )；细想

参考例句：

• The fan revolved slowly. 电扇缓慢地转动着。
• The wheel revolved on its centre. 轮子绕中心转动。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 tactic   

n.战略，策略；adj.战术的，有策略的

参考例句：

• Reducing prices is a common sales tactic.降价是常用的销售策略。
• She had often used the tactic of threatening to resign.她惯用以辞职相威胁的手法。

10 porcelain   

n.瓷；adj.瓷的，瓷制的

参考例句：

• These porcelain plates have rather original designs on them.这些瓷盘的花纹很别致。
• The porcelain vase is enveloped in cotton.瓷花瓶用棉花裹着。

11 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

12 bug   

n.虫子；故障；窃听器；vt.纠缠；装窃听器

参考例句：

• There is a bug in the system.系统出了故障。
• The bird caught a bug on the fly.那鸟在飞行中捉住了一只昆虫。

13 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。

14 acclaim   

v.向…欢呼，公认；n.欢呼，喝彩，称赞

参考例句：

• He was welcomed with great acclaim.他受到十分热烈的欢迎。
• His achievements earned him the acclaim of the scientific community.他的成就赢得了科学界的赞誉。

15 prolific   

adj.丰富的，大量的；多产的，富有创造力的

参考例句：

• She is a prolific writer of novels and short stories.她是一位多产的作家，写了很多小说和短篇故事。
• The last few pages of the document are prolific of mistakes.这个文件的最后几页错误很多。