有声英文阅读-决战猩球（在线收听）

Plant of the Apes

Fans of the original are ready to go ape over this summer's movie offering from Fox. Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes is said to be neither a remake of the 1968 classic of the same name nor a sequel to the series. Rather, it is a reimagining, complete with more ape races, better ape faces, and a sexy ape heroine a la Rick Baker, veteran Hollywood ape maker. The movie stars Mark "Marky Mark" Wahlberg as its main human character, and has Charleton Heston, star of the original, in a special cameo--his time as an ape.

The premise is similar to that of the original, but the details are different. An ape that has been genetically altered for long-distance space travel is sent into the cosmos where its ship loses contact with Earth. Astronaut Leo Davidson (Wahlberg) goes after the ape, following it through a portal that transports him to an unknown time and place. He crashes on a backward, primal planet where apes rule and humans are reviled as animals and slaves. The simian he was chasing seems to have arrived long before, and is revered there as a planetary forefather.

An outsider to the place, and not socialized into its oppressive regime, Davidson inspires a revolt. Events propel him into the planet's forbidden zone, where his discoveries lead him to a deeply personal revelation about the significance of his presence in this strange world.

Performer Mark Wahlberg began his public life as a small-time thug, even doing time at one point for the savage beatings of two Vietnamese men. Though he denies racist intentions in the incident, Wahlberg had been censured in the past for using racial epithets at school.

Wahlberg credits his prison time for turning him around. It didn't hurt, though, that his older brother Donnie was a member of the boy group sensation New Kids on the Block. Donnie wrote some material for Mark and got him a recording contract. "Marky Mark"'s first rap album was a tremendous hit. His bad-boy attitude, along with the buff physique he was ever-willing to flaunt at concerts, caught the attention of fans, as well as of Calvin Klein, who signed him to a modeling contract.

Marky's gig was up, however, when new allegations of racism and homophobia hit the press at the same time as Wahlberg was tried for the unprovoked assault of a security guard. Wahlberg agreed to make amends by recording antibias advertisements, but the damage had already been done, and he had fallen from music and modeling grace.

When Wahlberg then ventured into acting, it was amid major skepticism. In role after role, however, a more mature Wahlberg has managed to impress critics. From The Basketball Diaries to The Perfect Storm, Wahlberg has come through with flying colors. Just as surprisingly, perhaps, he has also managed to stay out of trouble.

决战猩球

喜欢原作的影迷们会为今年夏天福克斯电影公司推出的影片疯狂一阵子。据称，由蒂姆·伯顿执导的新片《决战猩球》既非翻拍1968年的同名影集，亦不属该系列的续集。而是一个重新虚构的故事，故事中有更多的猿类，更细致逼真的人猿面孔，还有一位性感的母猿英雄──这些造型均由好莱坞人猿化妆大师拉·里克·贝克一手包办。本片由马克·华伯格领衔出演“人类”男主角，原著主角查尔顿赫·斯顿则特别客串演出──这一次他扮演人猿。

故事背景与原著雷同，细节则大相径庭。一只为长途太空航行而做了基因改造的人猿在被送入太空之后，座舱便与地球失去联系。华伯格饰演的太空人利奥·戴维森尾随人猿 穿过一道闸门后，发现自己身处一个未知的时空。他闯进一个落后、原始的星球。猿类主宰万物，人类则被视为动物和 奴隶饱受凌辱。他追逐的那只人猿似乎已久居该处，摇身一变，竟成了星球的开朝元老。

身为局外人的戴维森无法忍受其高压统治，遂鼓动人类叛变。一连串事件使他进入星球的禁区，在那的一系列发现向他揭示了他的出现对这个陌生星球的重要意义。

演员马克·华伯格以小瘪三的姿态开始了他的社会生活，他甚至曾因野蛮殴打两名越南人而锒铛入狱。虽然他否认这件事与种族歧视有关，他还是因在学校时使用污辱种族的称谓而备受指责。

华伯格深信狱中日子是他的人生转折点。他的大哥唐尼是轰动一时的男孩组合“新街边仔”的一员，这对他还是有好处的。唐尼给马克写了一些歌，替他挣来一份唱片合约。马克的首张说唱专辑《马基·马克》是一个巨大的成功。他的坏男孩形象，加上不时刻意在演唱会中炫耀外露的体格，让歌迷为之疯狂，也吸引了卡尔文·克莱因公司与他签下模特儿的合约。

然而，不久他的短期歌唱表演生涯就结束了。他的种族歧视及反同性恋主张同时遭到媒体的挞伐，同时他也涉嫌 无故攻击一名保安人员。华伯格同意录制反偏见广告来改正错误，但伤害已经造成，他在乐坛和模特儿界的魅力也就荡然无存了。

当华伯格大胆涉足表演界时，众人均投以怀疑的眼光。然而经过一次又一次表演的锤炼，日渐成熟的华伯格给影评界的印象也越发深刻。从《篮球日记》到《完美风暴》, 华伯格皆颇获好评。或许，总是出人意料的他，已经摆脱了麻烦缠身的岁月。