【英语时差8,16】影评：终结者T4（下）

But like all technology, computer graphics¹ are dated the instant you pay for them. Take a dispassionate second look at “T2″ some time. The morphing metal man now looks quaint². Not so when he freezes and shatters, done via a model (Stan Winston again). But in terms of ideas, the series seems to be on a fatal slide. The first “Terminator” delighted in the intricacies of its time travel plot (maybe a little too much; SF writer Harlan Ellison sued, successfully proving that the film ripped off an earlier story by him). “T2″, while it layered excitement upon excitement like cheese upon bacon upon salt upon oil upon French fries, was awfully³ short on real feeling. The third “Terminator” we can skip. But you knew that. The new chapter works for a while, coasting on Christian⁴ Bale’s murderous focus. If this is your first “T” film, that performance will seem bizarre. But consider that Bale is playing John Connor, who grew up an orphan⁵, thinking his mother was psychotic, telling him Armageddon was coming in a year or two and human-looking killer⁶ robots would stalk him without end. Bale’s choice, to bring all his intensity⁷ to the surface was I supposed one way to make sense of this crazy character, but it’s overkill and a waste of Bale's energy. As much watched on YouTube, it also caused him to explode on set, revealing what a toll⁸ it takes on him for this to be his method of choice. Time to broaden out. So “T4″ works best in its opening and middle acts, when there’s very little dialog (”After all,it's better to close your mouth and be thought an idiot than to open it and remove all doubt”). If it had stayed lean to the end, maybe we would have given the film the benefit of the doubt. But in the third act, it all funnels⁹ down to a very traditional climax¹⁰ smothered¹¹ in nostalgia¹²; and when “Terminator – Salvation” opens its mouth to tell you what it’s about, its lack of ideas reveals it as so much less than the sum of its parts.

1 graphics   

n.制图法，制图学；图形显示

参考例句：

• You've leveraged your graphics experience into the video area.你们把图形设计业务的经验运用到录像业务中去。
• Improved graphics took computer games into a new era.经改进的制图技术将电脑游戏带进了一个新时代。

2 quaint   

adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的

参考例句：

• There were many small lanes in the quaint village.在这古香古色的村庄里，有很多小巷。
• They still keep some quaint old customs.他们仍然保留着一些稀奇古怪的旧风俗。

3 awfully   

adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地

参考例句：

• Agriculture was awfully neglected in the past.过去农业遭到严重忽视。
• I've been feeling awfully bad about it.对这我一直感到很难受。

4 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。

5 orphan   

n.孤儿；adj.无父母的

参考例句：

• He brought up the orphan and passed onto him his knowledge of medicine.他把一个孤儿养大，并且把自己的医术传给了他。
• The orphan had been reared in a convent by some good sisters.这个孤儿在一所修道院里被几个好心的修女带大。

6 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

7 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

8 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

9 funnels   

漏斗( funnel的名词复数 )； （轮船，火车等的）烟囱

参考例句：

• Conventional equipment such as mixing funnels, pumps, solids eductors and the like can be employed. 常用的设备，例如混合漏斗、泵、固体引射器等，都可使用。
• A jet of smoke sprang out of the funnels. 喷射的烟雾从烟囱里冒了出来。

10 climax   

n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点

参考例句：

• The fifth scene was the climax of the play.第五场是全剧的高潮。
• His quarrel with his father brought matters to a climax.他与他父亲的争吵使得事态发展到了顶点。

11 smothered   

（使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制

参考例句：

• He smothered the baby with a pillow. 他用枕头把婴儿闷死了。
• The fire is smothered by ashes. 火被灰闷熄了。

12 nostalgia   

n.怀乡病，留恋过去，怀旧

参考例句：

• He might be influenced by nostalgia for his happy youth.也许是对年轻时幸福时光的怀恋影响了他。
• I was filled with nostalgia by hearing my favourite old song.我听到这首喜爱的旧歌，心中充满了怀旧之情。