2006年VOA标准英语-"Crash", "Brokeback Mountain" Earn Top Hon

By Mike O'Sullivan
Los Angeles
06 March 2006

"Crash," a film about racial tensions, and the cowboy romance "Brokeback Mountain" earned top honors at the Academy Awards, or Oscars, Sunday night. Winners say this year's leading films are about tolerance¹.

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Jack² Nicholson's announcement for best picture drew a gasp³ of surprise, as a small-budget film about racial strife⁴ in Los Angeles earned the Oscar for best picture.

"And the Oscar goes to… Crash."

The film overtook the favored Brokeback Mountain.  Crash also won Oscars for its original screenplay and film editing.

As expected, Taiwan-born filmmaker Ang Lee was named best director for Brokeback Mountain, a tale of unexpected love between two cowboys. Lee said the film's characters taught him something.

"They taught all of us who made Brokeback Mountain so much about not just all the gay men and gay women whose love is denied by society, but just as important, the greatness of love itself," said Lee.

Brokeback Mountain was also honored for its adapted screenplay and original score.

George Clooney   
  
George Clooney was named best supporting actor for the espionage⁵ thriller⁶ Syriana. In a year with films that tackled controversial issues, Clooney said Hollywood and the movie academy, which presents the Oscars, are at times outside the mainstream⁷. He says that is not a bad thing.

"We're the ones who talked about AIDS when it was just being whispered, and we talked about civil rights when it wasn't really popular. This academy, this group of people gave Hattie McDaniel an Oscar in 1939 when blacks were still sitting in the backs of theaters," said Clooney. "I'm proud to be part of this academy."

 

 
Reese Witherspoon, right, poses with Oscar she won for Best Actress for her work in Walk the Line, alongside British actress Rachel Weisz with her Oscar for her work in The Constant Gardener 
  
A film about country music legend Johnny Cash and his wife, singer June Carter, earned best actress honors for Reese Witherspoon. She played Carter in the film.

The actress said two women, Carter and her own grandmother, inspired her performance.

"You know, I'm just trying to matter and live a good life and make work that means something to somebody, and you have all made me feel that I have accomplished⁸ that tonight," said Witherspoon. "So thank you so much for this honor." 

Philip Seymour Hoffman  
  
Philip Seymour Hoffman was named best actor for portraying⁹ writer Truman Capote in the film Capote.

Rachel Weisz earned the Oscar for best supporting actress for her role as the activist¹⁰ wife of diplomat¹¹ in Kenya in The Constant Gardener. Another film set in Africa, the South African entry Tsotsi, was named best foreign language film.

Backstage, Crash director Paul Haggis said this year's nominated films are telling "risky¹² human stories."

"And, we're so proud to be listed among them," he said. "This is a hell of a year to be nominated."

The Japanese-themed Memoirs¹³ of a Geisha earned Oscars for costume design, art direction and cinematography, and the fantasy King Kong was honored for visual effects, sound mixing and sound editing.

1 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。

2 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。

3 gasp   

n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说

参考例句：

• She gave a gasp of surprise.她吃惊得大口喘气。
• The enemy are at their last gasp.敌人在做垂死的挣扎。

4 strife   

n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争

参考例句：

• We do not intend to be drawn into the internal strife.我们不想卷入内乱之中。
• Money is a major cause of strife in many marriages.金钱是造成很多婚姻不和的一个主要原因。

5 espionage   

n.间谍行为，谍报活动

参考例句：

• The authorities have arrested several people suspected of espionage.官方已经逮捕了几个涉嫌从事间谍活动的人。
• Neither was there any hint of espionage in Hanley's early life.汉利的早期生活也毫无进行间谍活动的迹象。

6 thriller   

n.惊险片，恐怖片

参考例句：

• He began by writing a thriller.That book sold a million copies.他是写惊险小说起家的。那本书卖了一百万册。
• I always take a thriller to read on the train.我乘火车时，总带一本惊险小说看。

7 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

8 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

9 portraying   

v.画像( portray的现在分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• The artist has succeeded in portraying my father to the life. 那位画家把我的父亲画得惟妙惟肖。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ding Ling was good at portraying figures through careful and refined description of human psychology. 《莎菲女士的日记》是丁玲的成名作，曾引起强烈的社会反响。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

10 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

11 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

12 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

13 memoirs   

n.回忆录；回忆录传( mem,自oir的名词复数)

参考例句：

• Her memoirs were ghostwritten. 她的回忆录是由别人代写的。
• I watched a trailer for the screenplay of his memoirs. 我看过以他的回忆录改编成电影的预告片。 来自《简明英汉词典》