VOA标准英语2010年-'Iron Man 2' Kicks Off 'Summer' Movie

The 'summer' movie season is starting with a bang: the sequel to a 2008 blockbuster that brings back Robert Downey, Jr. in the dual¹ roles of billionaire playboy and rocket-powered super-hero leaping from the pages of Marvel² Comics; and there are new faces and figures including Mickey Rourke as the next nemesis³ and Scarlett Johansson playing a sidekick with dangerous curves in "Iron Man 2."

In the first "Iron Man," weapons manufacturer Tony Stark⁴ has an epiphany when he winds up on the wrong end of some of his deadly products. With his money and scientific genius, he creates an almost indestructible, flying, metal suit of armor. With it he enforces peace agreements around the world; but the suit becomes a political football.

But while Stark tries to fend⁵ off the politicians and rival arms manufacturers, he comes face-to-face with a new menace: a super-hero with a suit of his own, armed with deadly plasma⁶ whips. For this character - Russian physicist⁷ Ivan Vanko - the battle is about honor and respect.

Mickey Rourke plays Ivan Vanko in “Iron Man 2.” ? 2010 MVLFFLLC. TM & ? 2010 Marvel. All Rights Reserved.

 

Mickey Rourke is Ivan Vanko (alias "Whiplash"); and Robert Downey Jr. is, once again, both "Iron Man" and Tony Stark in the sequel that Downey hopes audiences will like as much as they did the original.

"We just labored⁸ really hard to say, okay, we're audience members who made the first 'Iron Man' successful and we're smart, which is kind of why we were drawn⁹ to it; so what do we expect? So we kept putting ourselves in audience seats [and] for me the mental and emotional aspects and development of Tony were, to me, a lot more …it's strange to say 'personal,' because it is not necessarily relating to my life; but just the mythology¹⁰ of saying you are something and being that something are entirely¹¹ different," he said.

Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), and Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) in “Iron Man 2.” ? 2010 MVLFFLLC. TM & ? 2010 Marvel. All Rights Reserved.

 

While Tony and his ever-loyal assistant Pepper Potts (played again by Gwyneth Paltrow) continue to banter¹² with barely-concealed romantic tension, enter Natalie - a lovely company lawyer who has a secret identity of her own: the slinky Black Widow, dazzling in a skin-tight cat-suit and deadly in her determination to protect her boss.

 

She's played by Scarlett Johansson.

Natalie Rushman (Scarlett Johansson), aka Black Widow, in “Iron Man 2” ? 2010 MVLFFLLC. TM & ? 2010 Marvel. All Rights Reserved.

 

"I've never really seen a film of this genre¹³ where the sex appeal of the female characters came second," she said. "Of course, they are sexy characters. When you have a sexy secretary or a girl swinging around by her ankles in a cat-suit, that is innately¹⁴ sexy; but the fact is they are intelligent, ambitious, motivated  …and to be just a pawn¹⁵ in the story of a whole bunch of men fighting it out, rolling around and getting down-and-dirty, while there you are just a vision in a tight cat-suit is just a boring thing."

 

"I think it is a smart thing to have women who are capable and intelligent because it appeals to women," said Gwyneth Paltrow, who believes the strong female characters make "Iron Man 2" an action film for both sexes.

"So it is not only a film for 15-year-old boys. It can relate to a lot of people on a lot of levels and a lot of my girlfriends like it because of the romance," she said. "My character is quick and she is articulate; and I think it makes it so that when you take your kid, if you're a mom, it's really fun for to you to watch as well. So it's nice to see women who have aspirations¹⁶ and are smart and sexy all at the same time."

Jon Favreau plays Happy Hogan in “Iron Man 2” ? 2010 MVLFFLLC. TM & ? 2010 Marvel. All Rights Reserved.

 

Jon Favreau is back as director (and also plays the onscreen role of Stark's bodyguard¹⁷ 'Happy' Hogan). A fan of the original Marvel comics, Favreau says the sequel faces the dual challenges of meeting the expectations of fellow fans as well as winning over audiences who just want a good action movie.

 

"We really tried to keep narrative¹⁸ flows going so it didn't get too convoluted¹⁹, because I lose track of that stuff," he said. "Especially in sequels as the franchises²⁰ get more complex, I don't always remember what happened in the last movie. Not for nothing, I like to watch the stuff blow up; but I'm not going to do homework before I go see a sequel to be up on everything; so we tried to keep that simple."

Screenwriter Justin Theroux adapted "Iron Man 2" from the comic books. The cast also features Don Cheadle as Air Force colonel "Rhodey" Rhodes - taking on the role played by Terence Howard in the first film. Sam Rockwell plays a rival, and far less scrupulous²¹, weapons manufacturer; and Samuel L. Jackson makes an appearance as Nick Fury, teasing a future "Avengers" project that will match several other Marvel super-heroes with "Iron Man."
 

1 dual   

adj.双的；二重的，二元的

参考例句：

• The people's Republic of China does not recognize dual nationality for any Chinese national.中华人民共和国不承认中国公民具有双重国籍。
• He has dual role as composer and conductor.他兼作曲家及指挥的双重身分。

2 marvel   

vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事

参考例句：

• The robot is a marvel of modern engineering.机器人是现代工程技术的奇迹。
• The operation was a marvel of medical skill.这次手术是医术上的一个奇迹。

3 nemesis   

n.给以报应者，复仇者，难以对付的敌手

参考例句：

• Uncritical trust is my nemesis.盲目的相信一切害了我自己。
• Inward suffering is the worst of Nemesis.内心的痛苦是最厉害的惩罚。

4 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

5 fend   

v.照料（自己），（自己）谋生，挡开，避开

参考例句：

• I've had to fend for myself since I was 14.我从十四岁时起就不得不照料自己。
• He raised his arm up to fend branches from his eyes.他举手将树枝从他眼前挡开。

6 plasma   

n.血浆，细胞质，乳清

参考例句：

• Keep some blood plasma back for the serious cases.留一些血浆给重病号。
• The plasma is the liquid portion of blood that is free of cells .血浆是血液的液体部分，不包含各种细胞。

7 physicist   

n.物理学家，研究物理学的人

参考例句：

• He is a physicist of the first rank.他是一流的物理学家。
• The successful physicist never puts on airs.这位卓有成就的物理学家从不摆架子。

8 labored   

adj.吃力的，谨慎的v.努力争取(for)( labor的过去式和过去分词 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转

参考例句：

• I was close enough to the elk to hear its labored breathing. 我离那头麋鹿非常近，能听见它吃力的呼吸声。 来自辞典例句
• They have labored to complete the job. 他们努力完成这一工作。 来自辞典例句

9 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

10 mythology   

n.神话，神话学，神话集

参考例句：

• In Greek mythology,Zeus was the ruler of Gods and men.在希腊神话中，宙斯是众神和人类的统治者。
• He is the hero of Greek mythology.他是希腊民间传说中的英雄。

11 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

12 banter   

n.嘲弄，戏谑；v.取笑，逗弄，开玩笑

参考例句：

• The actress exchanged banter with reporters.女演员与记者相互开玩笑。
• She engages in friendly banter with her customers.她常和顾客逗乐。

13 genre   

n.(文学、艺术等的)类型，体裁，风格

参考例句：

• My favorite music genre is blues.我最喜欢的音乐种类是布鲁斯音乐。
• Superficially,this Shakespeare's work seems to fit into the same genre.从表面上看， 莎士比亚的这个剧本似乎属于同一类型。

14 innately   

adv.天赋地；内在地，固有地

参考例句：

• Innately conservative, Confucius was fascinated by the last of these disciplines. 由于生性保守，孔子特别推崇“礼”。 来自英汉非文学 - 文明史
• Different individuals are innately fitted for different kinds of employment. 不同的人适合不同的职业，这是天生的。 来自互联网

15 pawn   

n.典当，抵押，小人物，走卒；v.典当，抵押

参考例句：

• He is contemplating pawning his watch.他正在考虑抵押他的手表。
• It looks as though he is being used as a political pawn by the President.看起来他似乎被总统当作了政治卒子。

16 aspirations   

强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音

参考例句：

• I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。

17 bodyguard   

n.护卫，保镖

参考例句：

• She has to have an armed bodyguard wherever she goes.她不管到哪儿都得有带武器的保镖跟从。
• The big guy standing at his side may be his bodyguard.站在他身旁的那个大个子可能是他的保镖。

18 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

19 convoluted   

adj.旋绕的；复杂的

参考例句：

• The snake slithered through a convoluted path.蛇在羊肠小道上爬行。
• The policy is so convoluted even college presidents are confused.这项政策太令人费解，甚至连大学校长们也是一头雾水。

20 franchises   

n.（尤指选举议员的）选举权( franchise的名词复数 )；参政权；获特许权的商业机构（或服务）；（公司授予的）特许经销权v.给…以特许权，出售特许权( franchise的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• TV franchises will be auctioned to the highest bidder. 电视特许经营权将拍卖给出价最高的投标人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ford dealerships operated as independent franchises. 福特汽车公司的代销商都是独立的联营商。 来自辞典例句

21 scrupulous   

adj.审慎的，小心翼翼的，完全的，纯粹的

参考例句：

• She is scrupulous to a degree.她非常谨慎。
• Poets are not so scrupulous as you are.诗人并不像你那样顾虑多。