Take Away English-The World of Animation 动画世界
时间：2019-01-02 作者：英语课 分类：Take Away English
Wallace and Gromit: a smash hit on both sides of the Atlantic
British films are rarely successful in the United States. However, the animated 1 adventures of a cheese-loving, eccentric inventor and his canine 2 companion are proving to be a surprise hit in America, having taken the number one position in the US box office on the weekend of its release.
In a year which has seen poor ticket sales for big-budget, action movies it seems that the gentle, quirky humour of ‘Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit’ has captured the American public’s imagination.
Although Wallace and Gromit have been stars in the UK for a number of years, they are less well-known abroad. For those who don’t know, Wallace is a hare-brained inventor with a passion for Wensleydale cheese. Gromit is his wily dog. Both are clay models brought to life through the painstaking 3 process of stop-motion animation 4.
Their creator, Nick Park, dreamed them up whilst still a student at the National Film and Television School in the 1980s. Their first film ‘A Grand Day Out’ began as his graduation film and was completed whilst working for his first employers, Aardman Animations 5.
Since then their rise has been steady but slow. Because the technique of stop-motion animation is so labour intensive, typically producing two seconds of film per day’s work, Wallace and Gromit films are few and far between. They have appeared in only three half-hour films for television and ten one-minute films specially 6 made for the Internet.
Nevertheless, they have received a great deal of critical acclaim 7. Their first film was nominated for an Oscar whilst their second and third outings ‘The Wrong Trousers’ and ‘A Close Shave’ both won Oscars.
Hollywood came calling in 2000 when Aardman Animations made a five-movie deal with Steven Spielberg’s film studio Dreamworks. ‘The Curse of the Were-Rabbit’ has taken four years and a reported $30 million to make, and features the voices of international stars Helena Bonham-Carter and Ralph Fiennes.
Despite hitting the big time, one thing hasn’t changed since their earliest days. Wallace’s voice remains 8 that of veteran, sit-com actor Peter Sallis. Sallis first agreed to take the role after receiving a letter from then student Nick Park and an offer of a £50 donation to the charity of his choice.
GLOSSARY 词汇表
eccentric inventor
怪异（异想天开）的发明者
quirky humour
风格独特的戏剧
clay models
粘土偶
stop-motion animation
定格动画
labour intensive
劳动力密集的
critical acclaim
高度评价
came calling
主动找上门来的
then student
当时做学生的
canine companion
小狗伙伴
wily
诡计多端的
painstaking
艰苦的
dreamed them up
构思
few and far between
少见的
outings
形象
hitting the big time
一举成名
- 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。
- The fox is a canine animal.狐狸是犬科动物。
- Herbivorous animals have very small canine teeth,or none.食草动物的犬牙很小或者没有。
- She is not very clever but she is painstaking.她并不很聪明，但肯下苦功夫。
- Through years of our painstaking efforts,we have at last achieved what we have today.大家经过多少年的努力，才取得今天的成绩。
- They are full of animation as they talked about their childhood.当他们谈及童年的往事时都非常兴奋。
- The animation of China made a great progress.中国的卡通片制作取得很大发展。
- You'll see your team cheerleaders and mascot performing new animations as well. 你会看到啦啦队队长跟吉祥物也都会有全新的动作。 来自互联网
- Ability to create simple movie and animations using graphic & multimedia software. 能够用平面和多媒体软件制作简单的电影及动画。 来自互联网
- They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
- The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。
- He was welcomed with great acclaim.他受到十分热烈的欢迎。
- His achievements earned him the acclaim of the scientific community.他的成就赢得了科学界的赞誉。