VOA标准英语2011--Unexpected Gift Teaches Man Life Lesson

Unexpected Gift Teaches Man Life Lesson in 'Mr. Popper's Penguins¹'

Wacky comedy is a specialty² of Jim Carrey, but when his co-stars are six Gentoo penguins ...on the loose in New York City ...things really get wild. Here's a look at Carrey's new film Mr. Popper's Penguins.
BOSS: "Pull yourself together. Your house is full of penguins."
POPPER: "I know."
Tom Popper is working his way up the corporate³ ladder in a New York financial firm. But all the time it takes leaves too little for his family. Then, right in the middle of the biggest business deal of his career, Mr. Popper's own absent father - a veteran explorer - sends a gift that changes everything and is a huge hit with the kids.
Caring for the penguins and learning to cope with their antics teach Popper some lessons about what is really important in life.
"Everybody ready ...and shuffle⁴, ball, step; shuffle, ball, lunge; step, ball, change; step, ball, change ...word."
The line of dancing penguins is computer generated or CG, and there are robot penguins for some other scenes. But star Jim Carrey says he had the most fun with the real penguins cavorting⁵ on the refrigerated sound stage.
"We opted⁶ for a lot of CG stuff, but most of it is real penguins," explains Carrey. "I love working with animals. I kind of like to join their energy. Often we'd come in to the set and they wouldn't be there, but we'd hear them off in the distance in their habitat going [honking sound]. They would be interrupting the dialog anyway, so I'd say 'they might as well be here. Bring them on in.' A lot of times we did that.
"I love the dinner scene, which is supposed to be just them sitting in their dinner chairs, pecking fish off the plates," Carrey adds. "But the wranglers⁷ [the people who guide the animals through a movie scene] had broom poles separating and holding back the penguins as they are trying to get at the fish. And their heads and they're trying to get at the fish. And it's mayhem, basically, and I just had to stay in it and have fun with it. When stuff like that happens, inside I'm going 'yes, yes ...go wild!'"
Director Mark Waters says his challenge was not to tame, but to capture on film the wild menagerie and his whimsical star.
"Working with them just gave you an idea of how much fun they are," Waters says. "So even when we chose to do a CG sequence we knew we had to keep that kind of bubbly energy going and keep a little bit of instability in the shooting of it so it would match with all of the things that were live."
"You're tenacious⁸, Popper, I will give you that. Who is responsible for this?"
Mr. Popper's Penguins features Angela Lansbury as a wealthy New Yorker who Popper is trying to sign for a business deal. She says she turns down many film offers, but had reasons to accept this one.
"I found it very hard to resist the opportunity to work with such an extraordinary group of people, particularly led by the great Jim Carrey, who I've been a fan of for many, many years," explains Lansbury. "I was working in the theater and I had a chance to be in a movie after many, many years and everybody made it a very enjoyable event for me."
Mr. Popper's Penguins is loosely adapted from a Newbury Award-winning children's book by Richard and Florence Atwater that was first published almost 75 years ago. The film is set in New York City and features Manhattan landmarks⁹ including the ice rink in Central Park and the circular Guggenheim Museum - which proves irresistible¹⁰ to the irrepressible penguins.

1 penguins   

n.企鹅( penguin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Why can penguins live in cold environment? 为什么企鹅能生活在寒冷的环境中？ 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Whales, seals, penguins, and turtles have flippers. 鲸、海豹，企鹅和海龟均有鳍形肢。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 specialty   

n.(speciality)特性，特质；专业，专长

参考例句：

• Shell carvings are a specialty of the town.贝雕是该城的特产。
• His specialty is English literature.他的专业是英国文学。

3 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

4 shuffle   

n.拖著脚走，洗纸牌；v.拖曳，慢吞吞地走

参考例句：

• I wish you'd remember to shuffle before you deal.我希望在你发牌前记得洗牌。
• Don't shuffle your feet along.别拖着脚步走。

5 cavorting   

v.跳跃( cavort的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The photos showed her cavorting on the beach with her new lover. 这些照片展现了她和新情人在海滩上放荡嬉戏的情景。
• If her heart would only stop bumping and drumming and cavorting. 要是她那颗心停止冲撞、轰鸣、急跳，那该多舒服啊！ 来自飘（部分）

6 opted   

v.选择，挑选( opt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She was co-opted onto the board. 她获增选为董事会成员。
• After graduating she opted for a career in music. 毕业后她选择了从事音乐工作。

7 wranglers   

n.争执人( wrangler的名词复数 )；在争吵的人；（尤指放马的）牧人；牛仔

参考例句：

8 tenacious   

adj.顽强的，固执的，记忆力强的，粘的

参考例句：

• We must learn from the tenacious fighting spirit of Lu Xun.我们要学习鲁迅先生韧性的战斗精神。
• We should be tenacious of our rights.我们应坚决维护我们的权利。

9 landmarks   

n.陆标( landmark的名词复数 )；目标；（标志重要阶段的）里程碑 ~ (in sth)；有历史意义的建筑物（或遗址）

参考例句：

• The book stands out as one of the notable landmarks in the progress of modern science. 这部著作是现代科学发展史上著名的里程碑之一。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The baby was one of the big landmarks in our relationship. 孩子的出世是我们俩关系中的一个重要转折点。 来自辞典例句

10 irresistible   

adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的

参考例句：

• The wheel of history rolls forward with an irresistible force.历史车轮滚滚向前，势不可挡。
• She saw an irresistible skirt in the store window.她看见商店的橱窗里有一条叫人着迷的裙子。