VOA慢速英语2014 索尼因为取消电影《采访》而受批评

 

AS IT IS 2014-12-20 Sony Criticized for Cancelling 'The Interview' 索尼因为取消电影《采访》而受批评 

“The Interview” is probably the most famous movie you might never be able to see. The dark comedy had been set to open in theaters across America next Thursday. But this week, Sony Pictures Entertainment cancelled the release of the film following threats from a group of computer hackers².

“The Interview” stars American actors James Franco and Seth Rogen, who was also one of the film’s directors. The two men play television reporters who win an interview with the leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Un.

Before the reporters leave for North Korea, U.S. officials ask them to kill President Kim during their visit. They agree.

Film angers North Korea and hackers group

North Korea was not pleased with the movie. It began to publicly object in June. The government called the film, “an act of war” that it would never accept. It said there would be “merciless retaliation” if it was released.

Then, in November, hackers attacked Sony Pictures Entertainment. A group calling itself “Guardians³ of Peace” broke into Sony’s computers. It stole and released tens of thousands of e-mails as well as employee information and other sensitive company material. It also leaked several Sony movies before their release dates.

The hackers released a number of e-mails among Sony Pictures officials about President Barack Obama and major Hollywood stars. These seriously embarrassed the company and led to public apologies.

Online threats against movie theaters

On December 16, the Guardians of Peace followed the hack¹ job with online threats against theaters that planned to show “The Interview.” It warned people to stay away from those theaters and to remember September 11, 2001.

Seth Rogen and James Franco had already withdrawn⁴ from publicity⁵ events for the film. Early Wednesday, a large number of major theater companies said they would not show the film during the holiday season as planned. Some said they would not show it at all.

Sony decides against release; criticism follows

Hours later, Sony Pictures cancelled the release of the film. It said the safety of theater employees and moviegoers was most important. Sony also said it was “the victim of an unprecedented⁶ criminal assault against our employees, our customers, and our business.” It condemned⁷ the effort to suppress the movie and added, “We stand by our filmmakers and their right to free expression.”

There also may have been financial pressure to pull the movie. The holiday season is important to Hollywood earnings⁸. Many film studios release their biggest, costliest⁹ productions over the Christmas and New Year holiday weeks. A threat of terrorism at movie theaters could severely¹⁰ affect movie attendance and ticket sales.

Most people inside and outside of Hollywood have criticized Sony’s decision to cancel the release of “The Interview.” Actor Ben Stiller tweeted, “Really hard to believe this is the response to a threat to freedom of expression here in America.” Actor Steve Carell tweeted, “sad day for creative expression.” Comedian¹¹ and talk show host Bill Mahr tweeted, “Is that all it takes - an anonymous¹² threat and the numbers 911 - to throw free expression under the bus?” Actress Mia Farrow also commented on Twitter. “Bad guys won,” she tweeted.

US blames hack on North Korea

This week, U.S. government officials said investigators¹³ have linked North Korea to the cyberattack. American officials said they consider the incident a “serious national security matter.” And they said the Obama administration is considering a number of possible ways to answer the attack.

North Korea has repeatedly denied involvement.

The United States and its allies have already ordered economic restrictions¹⁴ on North Korea for its nuclear and missile programs. These sanctions have deeply hurt that country’s economy and left it isolated¹⁵ from the rest of the world.

However, it also means there are not many more tools of punishment.

It is hard to predict what will happen to “The Interview.” The dispute, cybercrime and resulting public anger may lead to huge ticket sales later or a major online audience if the film is streamed. The movie may have gotten the best publicity possible.

1 hack   

n.劈，砍，出租马车；v.劈，砍，干咳

参考例句：

• He made a hack at the log.他朝圆木上砍了一下。
• Early settlers had to hack out a clearing in the forest where they could grow crops.早期移民不得不在森林里劈出空地种庄稼。

2 hackers   

n.计算机迷( hacker的名词复数 )；私自存取或篡改电脑资料者，电脑“黑客”

参考例句：

• They think of viruses that infect an organization from the outside.They envision hackers breaking into their information vaults. 他们考虑来自外部的感染公司的病毒，他们设想黑客侵入到信息宝库中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Arranging a meeting with the hackers took weeks againoff-again email exchanges. 通过几星期电子邮件往来安排见面，他们最终同意了。 来自互联网

3 guardians   

监护人( guardian的名词复数 )； 保护者，维护者

参考例句：

• Farmers should be guardians of the countryside. 农民应是乡村的保卫者。
• The police are guardians of law and order. 警察是法律和秩序的护卫者。

4 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

5 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

6 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

7 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

8 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

9 costliest   

adj.昂贵的( costly的最高级 )；代价高的；引起困难的；造成损失的

参考例句：

• At 81 billion dollars, Katrina is the costliest natural disaster in American history. “卡特里娜”飓风造成了近810亿美圆的损失，是美国历史上最严重的自然灾难之一。 来自互联网
• Senator John Kerry has proposed a tax on the costliest health plans sold by insurance companies. 参议员约翰？克里(JohnKerry)已经提议对保险公司销售的高价值的保险计划征税。 来自互联网

10 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

11 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

12 anonymous   

adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的

参考例句：

• Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
• The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。

13 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

15 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。