VOA标准英语2012--Classic Fairy Tale Gets Hollywood Makeover in 'Mirror, Mirror'

Classic Fairy Tale Gets Hollywood Makeover in 'Mirror, Mirror'

 QUEEN "Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?"

MIRROR "Snow White."

PRINCE "Snow White?"

QUEEN "Ugh."

Once upon a time, a very vain queen discovers that her fabled¹ beauty is eclipsed by her stepdaughter, the princess kept locked away in the castle. Unfortunately for the evil queen, a charming prince glimpses the young Snow White.

PRINCE "Do you know her? She has ivory skin and black hair …"

QUEEN "Her hair is not black, it's raven² and she is 18 years old and her skin has never seen the sun, so of course it's good."

The queen sends Snow White to die in the forest. But the plucky³ and lucky teenager survives, meets seven dwarves⁴ and, with their cottage as her headquarters, mounts a strategic offensive against the queen.

The fairy tale origins may be the same, but this is definitely a departure from the animated⁵ Disney version that has enchanted⁶ audiences for the past 75 years. Lily Collins, 23, daughter of British musician Phil Collins, stars as Snow White.

"I wanted to pay homage⁷ to the classic essence of that fairy tale princess and be very particular in everything from [the way I held] my hands to the way that I spoke⁸ to people," Collins explains. "But at the same time I'm wielding⁹ a sword and throwing things back at the prince, running and jumping and fighting for myself. So I never wanted to make a Snow White that was a caricature of the animated story. I wanted to make a real girl that audiences today could look at and say 'I want her to be a friend of mine.'"

PRINCE "I can't fight you."

SNOW WHITE "Why not?"

PRINCE "Because you're a girl. I don't fight girls. Perhaps I should reconsider."

Armie Hammer says he had fun playing the hapless prince.

"He just bounces around and has a good time. It's goofy, so you just have to go for it and have fun with it," Hammer says.

But perhaps Oscar-winner Julia Roberts has the most fun. She seems right at home as the conniving¹⁰ queen.

"It was fun to play this villain," Roberts says, "because there aren't any real rules of syntax or reality that apply to her. I could kind of do anything and just go off the rails in any direction at any time and it would make sense to me. You don't have to worry too much about 'would a person really do this?'"

India-born director Tarsem Singh designed Mirror, Mirror as a lark¹¹ for families to enjoy. But for those who like their fairy tales dark, an edgy¹², more violent take on the story - Snow White and the Huntsman - comes to theaters later in 2012.

1 fabled   

adj.寓言中的，虚构的

参考例句：

• For the first week he never actually saw the fabled Jack. 第一周他实际上从没见到传说中的杰克。
• Aphrodite, the Greek goddness of love, is fabled to have been born of the foam of the sea. 希腊爱神阿美罗狄蒂据说是诞生于海浪泡沫之中。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 raven   

n.渡鸟，乌鸦；adj.乌亮的

参考例句：

• We know the raven will never leave the man's room.我们知道了乌鸦再也不会离开那个男人的房间。
• Her charming face was framed with raven hair.她迷人的脸上垂落着乌亮的黑发。

3 plucky   

adj.勇敢的

参考例句：

• The plucky schoolgirl amazed doctors by hanging on to life for nearly two months.这名勇敢的女生坚持不放弃生命近两个月的精神令医生感到震惊。
• This story featured a plucky heroine.这个故事描述了一个勇敢的女英雄。

4 dwarves   

n.矮子( dwarf的名词复数 )；有魔法的小矮人

参考例句：

• Everyone will try to claim it: Men, Dwarves, wizards. 每个种族都会争取它的拥有权：人类，矮人，巫师。 来自电影对白
• Have you learned nothing of the stubbornness of Dwarves? 难道你还不了解那个矮人的倔强吗？ 来自电影对白

5 animated   

adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的

参考例句：

• His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
• We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。

6 enchanted   

adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• She was enchanted by the flowers you sent her. 她非常喜欢你送给她的花。
• He was enchanted by the idea. 他为这个主意而欣喜若狂。

7 homage   

n.尊敬，敬意，崇敬

参考例句：

• We pay homage to the genius of Shakespeare.我们对莎士比亚的天才表示敬仰。
• The soldiers swore to pay their homage to the Queen.士兵们宣誓效忠于女王陛下。

8 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

9 wielding   

手持着使用（武器、工具等）( wield的现在分词 )； 具有； 运用（权力）； 施加（影响）

参考例句：

• The rebels were wielding sticks of dynamite. 叛乱分子舞动着棒状炸药。
• He is wielding a knife. 他在挥舞着一把刀。

10 conniving   

v.密谋 ( connive的现在分词 )；搞阴谋；默许；纵容

参考例句：

• She knew that if she said nothing she would be conniving in an injustice. 她知道她如果什么也不说就是在纵容不公正的行为。
• The general is accused of conniving in a plot to topple the government. 将军被指控纵容一个颠覆政府的阴谋。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 lark   

n.云雀，百灵鸟；n.嬉戏，玩笑；vi.嬉戏

参考例句：

• He thinks it cruel to confine a lark in a cage.他认为把云雀关在笼子里太残忍了。
• She lived in the village with her grandparents as cheerful as a lark.她同祖父母一起住在乡间非常快活。

12 edgy   

adj.不安的；易怒的

参考例句：

• She's been a bit edgy lately,waiting for the exam results.她正在等待考试结果，所以最近有些焦躁不安。
• He was nervous and edgy, still chain-smoking.他紧张不安，还在一根接一根地抽着烟。