The Patriot《爱国者》（视频精讲之一）

影片对白

SPEAKER: Our first order of business...

SIMMS: And our last if we vote a levy¹...

SPEAKER: Order! Order! Mr. Simms, you do not have the floor. Our first order of business will be an address by Colonel Harry² Burwell of the Continental³ Army. Colonel Harry Burwell.

BURWELL: You all know why I am here. I am not an orator⁴ and I will not try to convince you of the worthiness⁵ of our cause. I am a soldier and we are at war. From Philadelphia we expect the declaration of independence. Eight of the thirteen colonies have levied⁶ money in support of a Continental Army. I ask South Carolina to be the ninth.

SIMMS: Massachusetts and Virginia may be at war, but South Carolina is not.

CROWD: Here!

BURWELL: It is not a war for the independence of one or two colonies but for the independence of one nation.

WITHINGTON: And now yes, what nation is that?

HOWARD: An American nation.

WITHINGTON: There is no such a nation, and if you speak of one, that is treason.

HOWARD: We are citizens of the American nation and our rights are being threatened by a tyrant⁷ three thousand miles away.

MARTIN: Would you tell me, please, Mr. Howard, why should I trade one tyrant three thousand miles away for three thousand tyrants⁸ one mile away? An elected legislature can trample⁹ a man's rights as easily as a King can.

BURWELL: Captain Martin, I understood you to be a Patriot¹⁰.

MARTIN: If you mean by Patriot, am I angry about the taxation¹¹ without representation? Yes I'm. Should the American colonies govern themselves independently? I believe they can and they should. But if you're asking me am I willing to go to war with England, then the answer is most definitely no.

MIDDLETON: This from the same Captain Benjamin Martin whose fury was so famous during the Wilderness¹² Campaign?

MARTIN: I was intemperate¹³ in my youth.

MIDDLETON: Temperance can be a convenient disguise for fear.

BURWELL: Mr. Middleton, I fought with Captain Martin under Washington in the French and Indian War. There's not a man in this room, or anywhere, for that matter, to whom I would more willingly trust my life.

CROWD: Here!

MARTIN: There are alternatives to war. We take a case before the king. We plea with him.

BURWELL: Yes we tried that.

MARTIN: Oh then we try again and then again if necessary to avoid a war.

BURWELL: Benjamin, I was at Bunker Hill. The British advanced three times and we killed over seven hundred of them at point blank range and still they took the ground. That is the measure of their resolve. If your principles dictate¹⁴ independence, then war is the only way. It has come to that.

CROWD: Here!

MARTIN: I have seven children. My wife is dead. And who's to care for them if I go to war?

BURWELL: Wars are not fought only by childless men.

MARTIN: Granted. But mark my words: this war will be fought not on the frontier or on some distant battlefield. But amongst us, among our homes. Our children will learn it with their own eyes. And the innocent will die with the rest of us. I will not fight. Because I will not fight, I will not cast a vote that will send others to fight in my stead.

BURWELL: And your principles?

MARTIN: I'm a parent. I don't have the luxury of principles.

妙语佳句，活学活用

1. Have the floor

这个片语的意思可不是"有地板"，而是“有发言权”，做动词用，例如：Mr. Nixon has the floor. 尼克松先生发言。

2. Mark my words

Mark 在这里的意思是“留心，注意”，比如：You should mark the change that has taken place. Mark my words 这里表示“留心听着，记住我的话”，例如：Mark my words, you'll regret this later on.

3. Cast a vote

Cast a vote 表示“投票”，例如：I cast a vote of proposal. 同样的意思还可以用 cast one's vote 来表达。

4. In one's stead

“替代、接替（职位、身份、作用）等”的意思，例如：While the chief is away, another director will act in his stead.

文化面面观

The Patriot：电影背后的故事

故事发生在18世纪70年代的美国独立战争前夕，当1763年漫长的英国对法国和印第安人的殖民扩张战争终于结束，曾经是战斗中的英雄本杰明·马丁（梅尔·吉布森饰）也回到了他的南卡罗莱纳州的农场，战争的残暴使他厌恶，他希望从此和妻子孩子过上平静的生活。然而，在战争之后，英国统治者……

本片是梅尔·吉布森主演的又一部具有史诗背景的影片，创作人员阵容强大，剧本由《拯救大兵瑞恩》的编剧罗拨特·路戴执笔，导演则是《独立日》《酷斯拉》的罗兰德·伊马利奇。

影片在南北战争中的一些真实历史事件的基础上进行了艺术加工，其中男主人公本杰明·马丁以及他的儿子等人物都在历史上确有其人。梅尔·吉布森在片中饰演男主角本杰明·马丁，一个美国独立战争期间的英雄，早期曾经为殖民扩张而战，后来对战争产生了厌恶，直到轰轰烈烈的美国南北战争的战火烧到了家门口，才逼他又投身到了美国人民追求自由和民主的斗争中。梅尔·吉布森自己透露，他父亲早年也是个反战份子，因打过仗深知战争的惨烈，所以为了避免梅尔·吉布森卷入越战，才举家迁往澳大利亚，因此在诠释这一角色时自然有切身的体会。

这部影片在真实再现历史方面下了大功夫，为求写实并呈现最原始的场景，制作小组还特地与"史密斯松尼"机构合作，"史密斯松尼"机构相当于我们常说的历史博物馆，专门研究和保存美国的历史文化，而导演也将拍摄场地移至当时发生独立战争的地点南卡罗莱纳州，并依照十八世纪的建筑样式在当地重建一座城镇，甚至还研究南卡罗莱纳州所种的树木，可见导演的用心程度。
我观之我见

 

Before they were soldiers, they were family. Before they were legends, they were heroes. Before there was a nation, there was a fight for freedom.

这是 The Patriot 这部电影的tagline。The Patriot是一个美国式的“逼上梁山”的故事，梅尔·吉布森在影片中不太情愿地成为了一位为自由而战斗的父亲。节选的这个片断发生在南卡莱罗纳参战前夕，人们召集会议讨论要不要参战。参加会议的代表们各怀心思，独立派和保皇派唇枪舌剑，即使是独立派内部也存在分歧，一些人希望和国王谈判来取得独立，另一些人则认为只有通过战争才能获得独立。从中我们可以窥见美国民主的渊源。

考考你

用今日所学将下面的句子译成英语。

1．留心听着，这次我该告诉你妈妈了。
2．国王的侄子代表国王来到。

The devil wears Prada 《时尚女魔头》（精讲之六）考考你 参考答案

1. 这不是他们自己的主意，有人鼓动他们这么做。
They didn't think of it on their own; someone put them up to it.

2. 老板说了算。
It's up to the boss to call the shots.

1 levy   

n.征收税或其他款项，征收额

参考例句：

• They levy a tax on him.他们向他征税。
• A direct food levy was imposed by the local government.地方政府征收了食品税。

2 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

3 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。

4 orator   

n.演说者，演讲者，雄辩家

参考例句：

• He was so eloquent that he cut down the finest orator.他能言善辩，胜过最好的演说家。
• The orator gestured vigorously while speaking.这位演讲者讲话时用力地做手势。

5 worthiness   

价值，值得

参考例句：

• It'satisfies the spraying robot's function requirement and has practical worthiness. " 运行试验表明，系统工作稳定可靠，满足了喷雾机器人的功能要求，具有实用价值。
• The judge will evaluate the worthiness of these claims. 法官会评估这些索赔的价值。

6 levied   

征（兵）( levy的过去式和过去分词 )； 索取； 发动（战争）； 征税

参考例句：

• Taxes should be levied more on the rich than on the poor. 向富人征收的税应该比穷人的多。
• Heavy fines were levied on motoring offenders. 违规驾车者会遭到重罚。

7 tyrant   

n.暴君，专制的君主，残暴的人

参考例句：

• The country was ruled by a despotic tyrant.该国处在一个专制暴君的统治之下。
• The tyrant was deaf to the entreaties of the slaves.暴君听不到奴隶们的哀鸣。

8 tyrants   

专制统治者( tyrant的名词复数 )； 暴君似的人； （古希腊的）僭主； 严酷的事物

参考例句：

• The country was ruled by a succession of tyrants. 这个国家接连遭受暴君的统治。
• The people suffered under foreign tyrants. 人民在异族暴君的统治下受苦受难。

9 trample   

vt.踩，践踏；无视，伤害，侵犯

参考例句：

• Don't trample on the grass. 勿踏草地。
• Don't trample on the flowers when you play in the garden. 在花园里玩耍时,不要踩坏花。

10 patriot   

n.爱国者，爱国主义者

参考例句：

• He avowed himself a patriot.他自称自己是爱国者。
• He is a patriot who has won the admiration of the French already.他是一个已经赢得法国人敬仰的爱国者。

11 taxation   

n.征税，税收，税金

参考例句：

• He made a number of simplifications in the taxation system.他在税制上作了一些简化。
• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。

12 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

13 intemperate   

adj.无节制的，放纵的

参考例句：

• Many people felt threatened by Arther's forceful,sometimes intemperate style.很多人都觉得阿瑟的强硬的、有时过激的作风咄咄逼人。
• The style was hurried,the tone intemperate.匆促的笔调，放纵的语气。

14 dictate   

v.口授；(使)听写；指令，指示，命令

参考例句：

• It took him a long time to dictate this letter.口述这封信花了他很长时间。
• What right have you to dictate to others?你有什么资格向别人发号施令？