VOA标准英语2011--Olsen Shines in Cult Psychological Thriller

Olsen Shines in Cult¹ Psychological Thriller²

 

Oscar buzz surrounds the star of a new psychological thriller about a young woman who escapes a cult in "Martha Marcy May Marlene."

Martha is a troubled woman in her 20s when she first meets Patrick, the charismatic leader of a cult in rural upstate New York.

But after living with the group, Martha - or Marcy May, as they rename her - begins to have fears and concerns. She escapes and returns to her sister, from whom she has been estranged³ for three years.

She may have run away from the cult, but Martha hasn't escaped its psychological effects.

Elizabeth Olsen, the younger sister of former teenage idols⁴ Mary Kate and Ashley, stars as Martha and is getting rave⁵ reviews. Although the character of Martha is based on young women who have been members of cults⁶, Olsen says she chose not to meet them before making the film.

"I tried to focus on what was on the page," she says. "If I were to have talked to someone who inspired some of the events and emotions in the story, I would feel like I owed them reverence⁷ in a weird⁸ way. I'd want to tell their story and this is a made-up, imaginary situation."

John Hawkes portrays9 a cult leader and Elizabeth Olsen is the young woman who escapes him in “Martha Marcy May Marlene.”

John Hawkes co-stars as Patrick, the seductive and dangerous leader of the underground community. "I wasn't interested in a movie about cults, and then I read the script and the word 'cult' is nowhere in it. That led me to begin to call it a community and try to develop that idea more in my mind."

Sean Durkin wrote and directed "Martha Marcy May Marlene," which was shot on location in the mountains of upstate New York. While it was inspired by the real-life experiences of several women, Durkin believes the impact of their experiences relates to a wide range of situations.

"I have never been in a cult or come across one, but I do know people who have been addicted¹⁰ to drugs or are alcoholics¹¹ or are in abusive relationships," Durkin says. "Most people do know someone like that and how many of their families step in right away and say 'Okay, we're going to take care of it?' I feel like people don't confront these issues. It takes a long time to actually get there."

Where it actually gets disturbs some viewers because Durkin ends "Martha Marcy May Marlene" rather abruptly¹².

But Olsen says it's in keeping with the film's realism.

"I think a lot of times we go to films to have nice, fixed¹³ story because we don't have that in our own lives. There is no fixed ending in any day of our lives. You don't get that in this movie, and I appreciate that."

1 cult   

n.异教，邪教；时尚，狂热的崇拜

参考例句：

• Her books aren't bestsellers,but they have a certain cult following.她的书算不上畅销书，但有一定的崇拜者。
• The cult of sun worship is probably the most primitive one.太阳崇拜仪式或许是最为原始的一种。

2 thriller   

n.惊险片，恐怖片

参考例句：

• He began by writing a thriller.That book sold a million copies.他是写惊险小说起家的。那本书卖了一百万册。
• I always take a thriller to read on the train.我乘火车时，总带一本惊险小说看。

3 estranged   

adj.疏远的，分离的

参考例句：

• He became estranged from his family after the argument.那场争吵后他便与家人疏远了。
• The argument estranged him from his brother.争吵使他同他的兄弟之间的关系疏远了。

4 idols   

偶像( idol的名词复数 )； 受崇拜的人或物； 受到热爱和崇拜的人或物； 神像

参考例句：

• The genii will give evidence against those who have worshipped idols. 魔怪将提供证据来反对那些崇拜偶像的人。 来自英汉非文学 - 文明史
• Teenagers are very sequacious and they often emulate the behavior of their idols. 青少年非常盲从，经常模仿他们的偶像的行为。

5 rave   

vi.胡言乱语；热衷谈论；n.热情赞扬

参考例句：

• The drunkard began to rave again.这酒鬼又开始胡言乱语了。
• Now I understand why readers rave about this book.我现明白读者为何对这本书赞不绝口了。

6 cults   

n.迷信( cult的名词复数 )；狂热的崇拜；（有极端宗教信仰的）异教团体

参考例句：

• Religious cults and priesthoods are sectarian by nature. 宗教崇拜和僧侣界天然就有派性。 来自辞典例句
• All these religions were flourishing side by side with many less prominent cults. 所有这些宗教和许多次要的教派一起，共同繁荣。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史

7 reverence   

n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• We reverence tradition but will not be fettered by it.我们尊重传统，但不被传统所束缚。

8 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

9 portrays   

v.画像( portray的第三人称单数 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• The museum collection vividly portrays the heritage of 200 years of canals. 博物馆的藏品让运河200 年的历史再现眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The film portrays Gandhi as a kind of superman. 这部电影把甘地描绘成一个超人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 addicted   

adj.沉溺于....的，对...上瘾的

参考例句：

• He was addicted to heroin at the age of 17.他17岁的时候对海洛因上了瘾。
• She's become addicted to love stories.她迷上了爱情小说。

11 Alcoholics   

n.嗜酒者，酒鬼( alcoholic的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Many alcoholics go on drinking sprees that continue for days at a time. 许多酒鬼一次要狂饮好几天。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Do you have a copy of the Alcoholics Anonymous book? 你手上有戒酒匿名会的书吗？ 来自互联网

12 abruptly   

adv.突然地，出其不意地

参考例句：

• He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
• I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。

13 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。