VOA常速英语2013--未来主义电影针砭时弊

 

Futuristic Movie 'Elysium' Underscores Today's Ills 未来主义电影针砭时弊

South African filmmaker Neil Blomkamp returns with a new sci-fi film, Elysium. Like his previous futuristic drama District 9, Elysium tackles social separation in a dystopian future.

南非导演Neil Blomkamp以科幻电影Elysium复出影坛。与他之前的电影【第九区】类似，电影Elysium以非乌托邦的未来为背景主题是解决社会分离现象。

It's the year 2154, and the world is starkly¹ divided between the haves and the have nots. The downtrodden inhabit an overpopulated polluted earth, while the rich have migrated to Elysium, an outpost in space where there is no poverty or sickness.

电影故事发生于2154年，世界上的贫富差异明显。受压迫的穷人住在人口过多污染严重的地球上，富人则移居在没有疾病没有贫穷的太空边境。

The story is centered on Max, who is played by Matt Damon. Having broken the law many times, he's trying to sort out his life - on earth. He gets a job at a factory where he's exposed to radiation. "In five days time you will die," a robot tells him. That's unless he can make it to Elysium, the place of his dreams.

故事的围绕由Matt Damon扮演的角色Max展开。Max为了活命企图离开地球，已经违法多次了。他在一家工厂工作长期暴露在射线中。一机器人告诉他“五年后你就会死掉。”除非他能成功移居Elysium。

Neil Blomkamp directed the film. “All of the things that make life worth living, everything that's been extracted from earth, all of the medical help and the technology and the wealth and standard of living and the longevity² and everything else is all there,” he said, in reference to Elysium.

这部电影是由 Neil Blomkamp导演的。“一切使活着有意义。从地球上掠夺过来的一切，医疗服务，技术和财富，生活水平，及健康长寿及其他一切好的东西都在Elysium。

But Elysium is inaccessible³ to foreigners - that is, everyone living on Earth, including Max.

但Elysium不对外人(所有住在地球上的人，包括Max)开放的。

Jodie Foster portrays⁴ the unyielding Madame Delacourt, a government official on Elysium, who will stop at nothing to enforce anti-immigration laws to protect her environment. She orders that vessels⁵ filled with women and children be shot down to prevent them from entering Elysium.

Jodie Foster扮演的是Elysium的一个坚强不曲的政府官员。她强力制止一切移民坚决落实不移民法的执行来保护她现在住的环境。她下令对承载来自地球的人的船开炮，阻止地球上的人进入Elysium。

“...Her point is that the earth that she came from, that she remembers - and don't forget she's 108 years old - was falling apart and was horrible and it was a terrible place to be. And they created this new habitat Elysium to get rid of some of the bad things that happened then, the pollution, toxicity⁶ of the planet, overpopulation, all of things that we know right now are a problem,” said Foster about the character she plays.

“她认为她已经离开了的地球，她记忆中(尽管她已经108岁了，但仍忘不了)的地球是个脏乱不堪的可怕的地方。他们开辟这个新的栖居地Elysium目的说摆脱一些不好的情况发生，如污染毒害星球，人口过多，所有我们现在所知道的地球现存问题。”Foster描述她所扮演的这个角色。

Blomkamp’s movie is an allegory about many of today’s problems: poverty and immigration, homeland security, lack of universal health care, and the destruction of our planet.

Blomkamp的电影都影射了许多当今所存在的问题：贫困，移民，家园安全，普遍健康保健的缺乏以及地球破坏。

After he agrees to go on a dangerous mission to Elysium and hack⁷ into its security system, Max turns into a human transformer, with equipment that makes him incredibly strong and turns his brain into a hard drive filled with security data. From that point on, Elysium is action packed and delivers social justice, Hollywood-style.

当Max同意继续进行进入Elysium的危险使命侵入Elysium安全系统后，Max变成了人类变压器，配备了使他无比强大的仪器设备，并把他的大脑变成了装有安全系统数据的硬盘。随着那情节的发展，Elysium成为社会正义的载体并传达社会正义，好莱坞版的结局。

1 starkly   

adj. 变硬了的,完全的 adv. 完全,实在,简直

参考例句：

• The city of Befast remains starkly divided between Catholics and Protestants. 贝尔法斯特市完全被处在天主教徒和新教徒的纷争之中。
• The black rocks stood out starkly against the sky. 那些黑色的岩石在天空衬托下十分显眼。

2 longevity   

n.长命；长寿

参考例句：

• Good habits promote longevity.良好的习惯能增长寿命。
• Human longevity runs in families.人类的长寿具有家族遗传性。

3 inaccessible   

adj.达不到的，难接近的

参考例句：

• This novel seems to me among the most inaccessible.这本书对我来说是最难懂的小说之一。
• The top of Mount Everest is the most inaccessible place in the world.珠穆朗玛峰是世界上最难到达的地方。

4 portrays   

v.画像( portray的第三人称单数 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• The museum collection vividly portrays the heritage of 200 years of canals. 博物馆的藏品让运河200 年的历史再现眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The film portrays Gandhi as a kind of superman. 这部电影把甘地描绘成一个超人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 toxicity   

n.毒性，毒力

参考例句：

• The hoarse grunt or squeal is characteristic of toxicity.嘶哑的哼声和叫声是中毒的特征。
• Dieldrin is related to aldrin,and its toxicity to earthworms is similar.狄氏剂与艾氏剂有关，对蚯蚓的毒性是相似的。

7 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。