Desperate Housewives 1《绝望主妇》1（视频精讲十二）

影片对白

Mary Alice: Martha Huber waited her whole life for something to happen to her, something exciting. As a child, she hoped to be kidnapped by a band of pirates. As a teenager, she dreamt of being discovered by a Hollywood talent scout 1. As a young woman, she fantasized that a handsome millionaire would sweep her off her feet . But the years had flown by, and still, nothing exciting had ever happened to Martha Huber. Until the night she was murdered.

Paul: Hello, Mrs. Huber.

Martha: Paul!

Paul: Let me give you a hand.

Martha: That's really not necessary. 

Paul: I insist.

Mary Alice: In those last moments, it occurred to her, in addition to being boring, life could also be very cruel. Luckily for Mrs. Huber, death was far more merciful.

Officer Jackson: What do you think?

Police chief: That's our missing woman, all right.

Police Chief: Aw, geez, it didn't take the media long to get wind of this. Make sure no one contaminates my crime scene.

Officer Jackson: Hey, little lady. A lot of people are looking for you, you know that? Your face is gonna be on the front page of every paper in this state. How's that for exciting?

Mary Alice: Officer Jackson couldn't be sure, but for a brief moment, he thought he saw the corpse 2 of Martha Huber, smile.

Mary Alice: Word of the tragedy would soon spread throughout the neighborhood. But for now, people went about their lives as they always did, blissfully unaware 3.

Susan: Hello, anybody home?

Mike's voice: In the kitchen.

Susan: Good news. I finished my book, so I thought to celebrate, you could take me out to lunch.

Edie: Hey, Susan.

Mike: Uh, could we do a rain check? Edie and I are just looking over the plans to rebuild her house.

Edie: My insurance company is finally cutting my check next week, and there's only one plumber 4 I want. So don't expect to see this guy for a few months. I'm gonna be riding him hard.

Susan: Well, if anyone can go the distance , he can. I should know.

Edie: Uh, Mike? Mike? We're on the clock . Hey Felicia, what's up?

Mike: Edie?

Edie: They found Martha.

妙语佳句，活学活用

1. talent scout

本意是“发觉天才的人”，这里意为“（好莱坞）的星探”，例如：I wish that someday a Hollywood scout would discover me.

2. Sweep somebody off his/her feet

意思是“Overwhelm someone emotionally”，例如：With his little gifts and gallant 5 behavior, he swept her off her feet. 同样意思的表达还有：carry / knock off someone's feet.

3. Geez

Jesus 的缩略形式，用来表示“惊讶，高兴，不满或者脑怒”。

4. Get wind of

“得到……的风声”，和汉语非常相似。例如：I don't want my boss to get wind of the fact that I'm leaving so I'm not telling many people.

5. Cut one's check

这里的意思是sign one's check，Edie是说保险公司终于要赔偿她的损失了。

6. Go the distance

这个片语起源于拳击比赛，本意是“打完所有计划的每一轮比赛”，这里的意思是“to work long and hard and do well”，例如：He said he's willing to go the distance with this project.

7. On the clock

意思是“（支付了钱财的）工作时间”。 Edie 对 Mike 和Susan 的卿卿我我非常受不了，故而提醒Mike：现在是工作时间，我付了你钱的。例如：Stop playing that silly game, we're on the clock.

文化面面观

Police in U.S. 美国的警务

Police agencies in the United States are oriented toward local control. Their counterparts in other industrialized countries, by contrast, are usually part of a centralized national police force. As a result of the focus on independent local control, there are some 20,000 different police agencies in the U.S. (not including the wide variety of specialized 6 federal forces), financed and managed by states, counties, and municipalities. The lack of a centralized national system has led to problems of jurisdiction 7, information sharing, and even basic ideology 8. But the overriding 9 fear of a national force and the abuse of its power has long been a hallmark of the American system of law.

Metropolitan 10 police agencies in the U.S. were originally organized on a military model, and their development in the second half of the nineteenth century was strongly influenced by Robert Peel's Metropolitan Police Force of London, founded in 1829. The British system used an organization of constables 11 and watchmen who patrolled the streets and often charged fees for their services. Early law enforcement efforts in the U.S. were loosely organized, as there was no perceived need for full-time 12, professional forces, and watchmen were usually volunteers. By the middle of the eighteenth century, however, large metropolitan areas such as New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Chicago had created permanent fulltime police forces. Professional, fulltime state police forces were not commonplace in the U.S. until the twentieth century.

Because most U.S. police agencies have been created and funded by the local communities, and because they were created at different times, there are many variations in how the agencies are organized and financed. In general, city police are funded by the municipality and headed by a police chief, either appointed by the mayor or elected. Counties employ patrolmen and sheriffs, who usually answer to an elected county official. State police agencies, which have broader jurisdiction, assist in statewide investigations 14 and are responsible for traffic law enforcement in areas outside municipalities. Local law enforcement agencies also have a variety of specialized units, including those for transit 15, parks, ports, housing, and schools.

Federal police agencies mostly developed later, although the United States Treasury 16 established the U.S. Mint Police in 1792. The Treasury Department oversees 17 other specialized police agencies as well, including the U.S. Customs Service, the Internal Revenue Service; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms; and the Secret Service. The Justice Department law enforcement agency was established in 1870 and includes the Drug Enforcement Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation 13, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and the U.S. Marshals (in charge of guarding and transporting federal prisoners, among other duties). In addition, other federal agencies have been established for specific law enforcement. These include the U.S. Park Police, the Border Patrol, the National Security Agency, and the Federal Trade Commission. The executive branch directs most federal agencies, with oversight 18 by the legislative 19 and judicial 20 branches.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics, in 1996 there were 922,200 full-time, local police personnel, of whom 663,535 had arrest powers. Steady increases for the last two decades indicate a 2001 estimate of around 1,000,000 local law enforcement employees across the country, about a quarter of them women and minorities. Statistics from 1997 show that, on average, local police officers were required to have 1,100 hours of training (sheriffs averaged 900 hours), and, by 2000, more than thirty-seven percent of local police agencies were required to have some college education. In 2000, there were 88,496 federal officers, about thirty-one for every 100,000 people (in Washington, D.C., the ratio was 1,397 federal officers for every 100,000 residents). The majority of federal officers are in Texas; California; Washington, D.C.; New York; and Florida.

我观之我见

人们总是期待生活中能有惊喜、飞来好运等等等等。现实的生活越乏味，对这种意外事件的憧憬就更加热烈，这也能说明为什么人们对邻居视而不见而对究竟有没有外星人却更加热衷。可惜惊喜和飞来好运总是难得，厄运却总是不期而至。比如影片中这个一生都在渴望something exciting 的 Martha Huber。

生活是乏味的，也是残酷的。虽然憧憬不一定能实现，总还能让人有份念想。不过，要是人们能把眼光从天上落到地上，实现憧憬和获得惊喜的机会可能会更多一点。

考考你

将下面的句子译成英语。

1. In those last moments, it occurred to her, in addition to being boring, life could also be very cruel.
2. Uh, could we do a rain check? Edie and I are just looking over the plans to rebuild her house.

Desperate Housewives 1《绝望主妇》1（精讲十一）考考你 参考答案

1. Give it up, plumber. She's not budging 21.
别费劲了，水管工。她不会改变主意的。

2. Just tell you that the affair was one thing, I mean, I forgave you, because on some small level, I thought you were in love with her, and now I find out that you were just groping people at parties. 
我告诉你，那次婚外情，我原谅你是因为我以为你多少还是爱她的；现在我才知道你不过是在聚会上乱搞。

3. As God as my witness, it will snow on the hills of hell, before I ever feel sorry for you again!
上帝作证，要我再同情你，除非地狱里的山上下雪/地狱变冷！（因为地狱里充满了火焰，正常情况下，地狱是非常热的，而如果地狱变冷，则表示非常不正常的事情发生。）

点击收听单词发音  






1
scout

  
 


n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索


参考例句：





He was mistaken for an enemy scout and badly wounded.他被误认为是敌人的侦察兵，受了重伤。
The scout made a stealthy approach to the enemy position.侦察兵偷偷地靠近敌军阵地。












2
corpse

  
 


n.尸体，死尸


参考例句：





What she saw was just an unfeeling corpse.她见到的只是一具全无感觉的尸体。
The corpse was preserved from decay by embalming.尸体用香料涂抹以防腐烂。












3
unaware

  
 


a.不知道的，未意识到的


参考例句：





They were unaware that war was near. 他们不知道战争即将爆发。
I was unaware of the man's presence. 我没有察觉到那人在场。












4
plumber

  
 


n.(装修水管的)管子工


参考例句：





Have you asked the plumber to come and look at the leaking pipe?你叫管道工来检查漏水的管子了吗？
The plumber screwed up the tap by means of a spanner.管子工用板手把龙头旋紧。












5
gallant

  
 


adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的


参考例句：





Huang Jiguang's gallant deed is known by all men. 黄继光的英勇事迹尽人皆知。
These gallant soldiers will protect our country.这些勇敢的士兵会保卫我们的国家的。












6
specialized

  
 


adj.专门的，专业化的


参考例句：





There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。












7
jurisdiction

  
 


n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权


参考例句：





It doesn't lie within my jurisdiction to set you free.我无权将你释放。
Changzhou is under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.常州隶属江苏省。












8
ideology

  
 


n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识


参考例句：





The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。












9
overriding

  
 


a.最主要的


参考例句：





Development is of overriding importance. 发展是硬道理
My overriding concern is to raise the standards of state education. 我最关心的是提高国民教育水平。












10
metropolitan

  
 


adj.大城市的，大都会的


参考例句：





Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。












11
constables

  
 


n.警察( constable的名词复数 )


参考例句：





The constables made a desultory attempt to keep them away from the barn. 警察漫不经心地拦着不让他们靠近谷仓。 来自辞典例句
There were also constables appointed to keep the peace. 城里也有被派来维持治安的基层警员。 来自互联网












12
full-time

  
 


adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的


参考例句：





A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。












13
investigation

  
 


n.调查，调查研究


参考例句：





In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。












14
investigations

  
 


（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究


参考例句：





His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。












15
transit

  
 


n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过


参考例句：





His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。












16
treasury

  
 


n.宝库；国库，金库；文库


参考例句：





The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。












17
oversees

  
 


v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )


参考例句：





She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网












18
oversight

  
 


n.勘漏，失察，疏忽


参考例句：





I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。












19
legislative

  
 


n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的


参考例句：





Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。












20
judicial

  
 


adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的


参考例句：





He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。












21
budging

  
 


v.（使）稍微移动( budge的现在分词 )；（使）改变主意，（使）让步


参考例句：





Give it up, plumber. She's not budging. 别费劲了，水管工。她不会改变主意的。 来自互联网
I wondered how Albert who showed no intention of budging, felt about Leopold's desertion. 对于从未有迁徙打算的艾伯特来说，我不知道它会怎样看待利奥波德这样弃它而去呢。 来自互联网