VOA慢速英语--电影展示穆罕默德·阿里温柔的一面

Film Shows Soft Side of Muhammad Ali 电影展示穆罕默德·阿里温柔的一面

The world is remembering Muhammad Ali, a man who transcended² sports, culture and religion to become a worldwide icon³.

"I Am Ali" is a 2014 documentary film by Clare Lewis. It used audio tapes he recorded with family and friends to provide an inside look at the boxing star.

"My father has a lot of sides and you hear about the fights. You don't hear about family that much, and what that meant to him."

That is Muhammad Ali’s daughter, Maryum Ali.

"What's your daddy's name?"

"Muhammad Ali!!"

Few people knew of the existence of these audio tapes until the documentary was being made.

"Maryum?"

"Sir?"

"You're now 11 years old."

The recordings⁴ capture personal moments of the boxing champion's life. Ali's daughter Hana offered the tapes to filmmaker Clare Lewis who used them in the documentary.

"My father was always conscious about history and, you know, I think that's one of the reasons why he made this series of audiotape cassette recordings.'"

"Say, 'Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.' "

Chorus: "'Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee."

The film shows the whole world in love with Ali. Statements from his friends and opponents paint the Olympic champion as a sensitive, touching⁵ and courageous⁶ man.

His birth name was Cassius Clay. He converted to Islam and changed his name to Muhammad Ali. Ali refused to serve in the Vietnam War, the major American conflict of his time, because of his religious beliefs.

As a result, boxing officials withdrew his championship title. He was barred from the profession as well. His close friend, former football player Jim Brown, remembers.

"He had a lot of courage. The risk he had to take and to be isolated⁷ to have his crown taken away, not be able to make a living, that was difficult."

But Ali held firmly to his beliefs and in 1974, at the age of 32, he made a comeback.

"When George Foreman meets me, he'll pay his debt. I can drown a drink of water and kill a dead tree, wait till you see Muhammad Ali."

He defeated then-heavyweight champion George Foreman, and recaptured his title.

"I get into the ring with the guy. I bluffed⁹ him, I've done everything. Beat him up, basically for about five or six rounds. I thought it was easy. Then about the sixth round he whispered in my ear after I hit him in the side, 'That all you got, George?' And that was about all I had!"

“I Am Ali” does not deal very much with the boxer’s failed marriages. Instead, it highlights his bond with his children.

"I was the Concorde of boxing. I was in higher altitude than the rest, moving faster than the rest ..."

As he ages, we hear the once eloquent¹⁰ Muhammad Ali begin to slur¹¹ his words, a sign of his developing Parkinson's disease. He finally retired¹² in the late 1970s. In the middle 1980s, he was diagnosed with Parkinson's.

But to the world and his children, Ali remained a symbol of power and grace.

"If anyone wonder why, me, Muhammad Ali, is making these tapes, it is because history is so beautiful."

Words in This Story

transcend¹ - v. to rise above or go beyond the normal limits of (something)?

icon - n. a person who is very successful and admired?

comeback - n. a return to a former good position or condition?

bluff⁸ - v. to pretend that you will do something or that you know or have something in order to trick someone into doing what you want?

highlight - v. to direct attention to (someone or something)?

eloquent - adj. having or showing the ability to use language clearly and effectively?

slur - v. to pronounce words in an unclear way

1 transcend   

vt.超出，超越(理性等)的范围

参考例句：

• We can't transcend the limitations of the ego.我们无法超越自我的局限性。
• Everyone knows that the speed of airplanes transcend that of ships.人人都知道飞机的速度快于轮船的速度。

2 transcended   

超出或超越（经验、信念、描写能力等）的范围( transcend的过去式和过去分词 )； 优于或胜过…

参考例句：

• He wanted assurance that he had transcended what was inherently ambiguous. 他要证明，他已经超越了本来就是混淆不清的事情。
• It transcended site to speak to universal human concerns. 它超越了场所的局限，表达了人类共同的心声。

3 icon   

n.偶像，崇拜的对象，画像

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• Click on this icon to align or justify text.点击这个图标使文本排齐。

4 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

5 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。

6 courageous   

adj.勇敢的，有胆量的

参考例句：

• We all honour courageous people.我们都尊重勇敢的人。
• He was roused to action by courageous words.豪言壮语促使他奋起行动。

7 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

8 bluff   

v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗

参考例句：

• His threats are merely bluff.他的威胁仅仅是虚张声势。
• John is a deep card.No one can bluff him easily.约翰是个机灵鬼。谁也不容易欺骗他。

9 bluffed   

以假象欺骗，吹牛( bluff的过去式和过去分词 )； 以虚张声势找出或达成

参考例句：

• Hung-chien bluffed, "You know perfectly well yourself without my telling you." 鸿渐摆空城计道：“你心里明白，不用我说。”
• In each case the hijackers bluffed the crew using fake grenades. 每一个案例中，劫机者都用了假手榴弹吓唬机组人员。

10 eloquent   

adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的

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。
• These ruins are an eloquent reminder of the horrors of war.这些废墟形象地提醒人们不要忘记战争的恐怖。

11 slur   

v.含糊地说；诋毁；连唱；n.诋毁；含糊的发音

参考例句：

• He took the remarks as a slur on his reputation.他把这些话当作是对他的名誉的中伤。
• The drug made her speak with a slur.药物使她口齿不清。

12 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。