英语听力精选进阶版 6199

London’s Most Famous Detective 伦敦最著名的侦探

Fans of the world’s most popular detective took to the streets of London on Tuesday for the world premiere of the latest cinematic take on the pipe-smoking sleuth.

British director Guy Ritchie presented his version of the Victorian detective at a red-carpet ceremony attended by the film’s stars Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law, as well as many other top-notch celebrities¹.

Ritchie will be hoping that his latest film will find favour with the viewing public following the failure of recent ‘turkeys’ such as Rocknrolla or Swept Away, which featured a much-derided performance from ex-wife Madonna.

The new film sees the character of Sherlock Holmes re-imagined as a bullet-dodging action hero rather than the more cerebral² protagonist³ of the short stories and novels by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Indeed some critics have suggested that the ‘Hollywood-isation’ of Holmes extends even to the film’s storyline.

Holmes’ cases usually focus on particular crimes, such as murder or blackmail⁴, committed by individuals; however, Ritchie’s Holmes must face a supernatural enemy who plans to return from the dead, infiltrate⁵ parliament, and take over the world.

The Hound of the Baskervilles must seem like a harmless pooch after that.

The American actor who plays Sherlock Holmes has done a remarkable⁶ job in adopting a refined English accent for the role and has spoken of his experience of handling the complexities⁷ of Holmes’ character.

"He [Holmes] is tortured by anything that is mundane," said Downey Jr.

"Then again Holmes says there is nothing more stimulating⁸ than a case where nothing goes your way, so he’s a bit of a weirdo," Downey Jr added.

So if you are a fan of the greatest fictional⁹ detective, you can track him down to a cinema soon.

Glossary 词汇表

cinematic take on 电影版的 

sleuth 侦探 

Victorian 维多利亚的 

top-notch 一流的 

turkeys 失败之作 

much-derided 大受讽刺的 

bullet-dodging 枪战 

cerebral protagonist 善于思考的戏剧主角 

Hollywood-isation 好莱坞化 

storyline 故事情节 

blackmail 敲诈，勒索 

supernatural 超自然界的 

infiltrate parliament 秘密潜入议会 

Hound of the Baskervilles 巴斯克维尔的猎犬 

harmless pooch 无恶意的狗 

handling the complexities 处理（某事）复杂性 

mundane 世俗的，单调无味的 

stimulating 刺激的 

weirdo 奇怪的人 

track him down 追捕到

1 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

2 cerebral   

adj.脑的，大脑的；有智力的，理智型的

参考例句：

• Your left cerebral hemisphere controls the right-hand side of your body.你的左半脑控制身体的右半身。
• He is a precise,methodical,cerebral man who carefully chooses his words.他是一个一丝不苟、有条理和理智的人，措辞谨慎。

3 protagonist   

n.(思想观念的)倡导者；主角，主人公

参考例句：

• The protagonist reforms in the end and avoids his proper punishment.戏剧主角最后改过自新并避免了他应受的惩罚。
• He is the model for the protagonist in the play.剧本中的主人公就是以他为模特儿创作的！

4 blackmail   

n.讹诈，敲诈，勒索，胁迫，恫吓

参考例句：

• She demanded ＄1000 blackmail from him.她向他敲诈了1000美元。
• The journalist used blackmail to make the lawyer give him the documents.记者讹诈那名律师交给他文件。

5 infiltrate   

vt./vi.渗入，透过；浸润

参考例句：

• The teacher tried to infiltrate her ideas into the children's minds.老师设法把她的思想渗透到孩子们的心中。
• It can infiltrate as much as 100 kilometers into enemy territory at night.可以在夜间深入敌领土100千米。

6 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

7 complexities   

复杂性(complexity的名词复数)； 复杂的事物

参考例句：

• The complexities of life bothered him. 生活的复杂使他困惑。
• The complexities of life bothered me. 生活的杂乱事儿使我心烦。

8 stimulating   

adj.有启发性的，能激发人思考的

参考例句：

• shower gel containing plant extracts that have a stimulating effect on the skin 含有对皮肤有益的植物精华的沐浴凝胶
• This is a drug for stimulating nerves. 这是一种兴奋剂。

9 fictional   

adj.小说的，虚构的

参考例句：

• The names of the shops are entirely fictional.那些商店的名字完全是虚构的。
• The two authors represent the opposite poles of fictional genius.这两位作者代表了天才小说家两个极端。