Godfather Marlon Brando

Godfather Marlon Brando

We start tonight with Marlon Brando. He was 80 when he died of lung failure yesterday in Los Angeles. As an actor, Brando’s talent was 1)unparalleled. As a man, he was something of an 2)enigma¹.

One of Brando’s publicists once described him as, “mean, moody² and magnificent.” In the 1950’s, he was the highest paid actor in Hollywood, although later in life, he seemed to reject his 3)stardom and his talent. “The only reason I’m in Hollywood”, he said, “is because I don’t have the moral courage to refuse the money.”

A new book about his life claims that Brando died in debt, living on social security and the little money that 4)trickled in from his old films. 5)Turmoil⁴, tragedy, and brilliance⁵ swirled⁶ around him. As his co-star, 6)Jack⁷ Nicholson once said, “He gave us our freedom.”

For a time, when he was young, Marlon Brando was 7)hailed as one of the best actors in America. He had a presence, a raw power that filled the stage and screen.  He 8)rose to fame in a part that was a lot like him, Stanley Kowalski, the beer-drinking mechanic in the Broadway and film versions of Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire. He delivered some of the most quoted and imitated lines in the history of the movies. Brando was one of the first “method Actors,” who took emotions and experiences from their own lives to make their characters believable. He won the Oscar for Best Actor in 1954 for his performance in On the Waterfront. 

In this scene from The Godfather, he put an orange peel in his mouth to get a reaction from the little boy playing his grandson. Brando won the Oscar for that performance too. But, at the time, he was taken with the cause of American Indians.  He sent a representative to decline the award as a protest 9)in their behalf.

Marlon Brando went to New York to act after he was 10)kicked out of military school. He was undisciplined, a 11)perpetual rebel, even as an actor.

While shooting Mutiny on the Bounty⁸ in Tahiti, he met the woman who would be his first wife. He also fell in love with Tahiti and bought his own island.

Brando once said, “I have no respect for acting⁹. It’s a 12)bum¹⁰’s life.” Sometimes he acted like it, taking roles that were beneath his talent.

His later life was marked with family tragedies. His son Christian¹¹ went to prison for killing¹² his daughter Cheyene’s boyfriend. Cheyene later committed suicide. Brando became 13)reclusive. He worked occasionally for the money. But, in his prime, Marlon Brando was an actor other actors could only hope to become.

注释：
1) unparalleled [Qn5pArEleld] a. 空前的，无比的
2) enigma [i5ni^mE] n. 谜，不可思议的事情（人物）
3) stardom [5stB:dEm] n. 演员的地位（或身份）
4) trickle³ [5trikl] v. 滴，流
5) turmoil [5tE:mCil] n. 混乱，骚动
6) Jack Nicholson: 杰克·尼科尔森，美国著名演员，曾凭《飞越疯人院》（One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, 1975）和《猫屎先生》 （As Good As It Gets, 1997）分别获得第48、70届奥斯卡最佳男主角奖。
7) hail [heil] v. 热情赞扬
8) rise to 达到（高水平、高职位等）
9) in one’s behalf 代表某人的利益
10) kick out 开除，解雇
11) perpetual [pE5petjuEl] a. 永久的
12) bum [bQm] n. 游民，懒鬼
13) reclusive [ri5klU:siv] a. 隐居的，独处的

一代巨星马龙·白兰度

今晚我们从马龙·白兰度开始。昨天他因为肺功能衰竭于洛杉矶逝世，终年八十岁。作为一名演员，白兰度的才华无与伦比；作为一个普通人，他像谜一般难以捉摸。
白兰度的一位公关人员曾经这样描述他：“冷酷，忧郁，高贵。”尽管晚年他很抗拒自己的明星身份，并否认自己的表演才能，但在二十世纪五十年代，他是好莱坞片酬最高的演员。“我呆在好莱坞的唯一原因，”他说，“就在于我没有道德勇气去拒绝金钱。”
一部有关他生平的新书声称，他去世时债务缠身，靠社会保障养老金以及从他的老电影中得到的微薄分红过活。混乱、悲剧和辉煌萦绕他一生。曾与他合作的影星杰克·尼科尔森说过，“他给我们带来自身的自由。”
年轻时的马龙·白兰度曾一度被赞誉为美国最优秀的演员之一。他在舞台和银幕上有着一股自然而然的风采和魅力。在田纳西·威廉斯的《欲望号街车》百老汇舞台剧和电影版中，他饰演一个酗酒的修理工斯坦利·科瓦尔斯基，一个与他本人很相似的角色；这个角色使他声名鹊起。他在剧中的一些台词是电影史上引用及仿效率最高的。白兰度是最早的“方法派演员”之一，这派演员从他们自己的生活中汲取情感和经验，使他们的角色变得可信。1954年，凭借他在影片《码头风云》中的演出，他赢得奥斯卡最佳男主角奖。
《教父》中有这样一个场景：他往嘴里放一片桔皮，以此得到小男孩——也就是影片中他的孙子——的回应。因为那一部电影，白兰度再次赢得奥斯卡奖。不过，当时他沉浸于美国印第安人的民权事业；他派出一位代表去宣布拒绝领奖，藉此为印第安人的利益进行抗议。
马龙·白兰度是在被军校开除后去纽约做演员的。即使成为一名演员，他也狂野不羁，反叛不断。
在塔希提拍摄《叛舰喋血记》时，他遇到后来成为他第一任妻子的女人。他还爱上了塔希提这个地方，并在当地买下属于自己的小岛。
白兰度曾说，“我对演艺事业毫无尊敬。那是懒汉的生活。”有时他确实表现得与懒汉无异，饰演一些与他的才华毫不相称的角色。
他的晚年生活与一连串家庭悲剧连在一起。他儿子克里斯蒂安由于杀害妹妹切耶娜的男友而进了监狱。切耶娜后来自杀。白兰度遁世隐居。他偶尔为挣钱出来工作。但是在他的全盛时期，马龙·白兰度是一个其他演员可望不可及的演员。

1 enigma   

n.谜，谜一样的人或事

参考例句：

• I've known him for many years,but he remains something of an enigma to me.我与他相识多年，他仍然难以捉摸。
• Even after all the testimonies,the murder remained a enigma.即使听完了所有的证词，这件谋杀案仍然是一个谜。

2 moody   

adj.心情不稳的，易怒的，喜怒无常的

参考例句：

• He relapsed into a moody silence.他又重新陷于忧郁的沉默中。
• I'd never marry that girl.She's so moody.我决不会和那女孩结婚的。她太易怒了。

3 trickle   

vi.淌，滴，流出，慢慢移动，逐渐消散

参考例句：

• The stream has thinned down to a mere trickle.这条小河变成细流了。
• The flood of cars has now slowed to a trickle.汹涌的车流现在已经变得稀稀拉拉。

4 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

5 brilliance   

n.光辉，辉煌，壮丽，（卓越的）才华，才智

参考例句：

• I was totally amazed by the brilliance of her paintings.她的绘画才能令我惊歎不已。
• The gorgeous costume added to the brilliance of the dance.华丽的服装使舞蹈更加光彩夺目。

6 swirled   

v.旋转，打旋( swirl的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The waves swirled and eddied around the rocks. 波浪翻滚着在岩石周围打旋。
• The water swirled down the drain. 水打着旋流进了下水道。

7 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。

8 bounty   

n.慷慨的赠予物，奖金；慷慨，大方；施与

参考例句：

• He is famous for his bounty to the poor.他因对穷人慷慨相助而出名。
• We received a bounty from the government.我们收到政府给予的一笔补助金。

9 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。

10 bum   

n.臀部；流浪汉，乞丐；vt.乞求，乞讨

参考例句：

• A man pinched her bum on the train so she hit him.在火车上有人捏她屁股，她打了那人。
• The penniless man had to bum a ride home.那个身无分文的人只好乞求搭车回家。

11 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

12 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。