Monalisa Smile《蒙娜丽莎的微笑》视频精讲之六

影片对白

Mrs. Warren: Elizabeth, I don't see Spencer.

Betty: Excuse me, Mother. Miss Watson, can you help me get in touch with a friend of yours in Greenwich Village?

Mrs. Warren: What do you need in Greenwich Village?

Betty: An apartment. I filed for a divorce this morning. And since we know I'm not welcome at your house. You remember Giselle Levy 1? What did you call her? A New York kike. That's it. Well, we're going to be roommates.

Giselle: Hi. You ready?

Betty: Yeah.

Katherine: Greenwich Village?

Betty: Yeah. For a while. Then, who knows? Maybe law school. Yale, even.

Katherine: Well, I wouldn't want to come up against you in any court anywhere.

Betty: Maybe I can drop by next year? Keep you on your toes. You will be here? Miss Watson?

Katherine: Dear Betty, I came to Wellesley because I wanted to make a difference. But to change for others...

Betty: ...is to lie to yourself. My teacher Katherine Watson lived by her own definition and would not compromise that, not even for Wellesley. I dedicate this, my last editorial to an extraordinary woman who lived by example and compelled us all to see the world through new eyes. By the time you read this, she'll be sailing to Europe, where I know she'll find new walls to break down, and new ideas to replace them with.

Photographer: Hold it, everybody.

Betty: I've heard her called a quitter for leaving, an aimless wanderer. But not all who wander are aimless. Especially not those who seek truth beyond tradition, beyond definition, beyond the image.

Cab driver: Get the hell out of the way!

Betty: I'll never forget you.

妙词佳句，活学活用

1 come up against

“遭遇，碰到”。这是一个固定词组，影片中的这句台词的意思是：我将来可不希望在任何一个法庭上碰到你。我们来看几个例子：
1) We have come up against an unexpected problem. 我们碰到了一个意想不到的问题。
2) When we come up against difficulties, we should cross a river in the same boat. 遇到困难，我们应该同舟共济。

2. Keep you on your toes.
使人警觉，准备行动

If you say that someone or something keeps you on your toes, you mean that they cause you to remain alert and ready for anything that might happen.
e.g. His experience in this field has kept all the rivals on their toes. 他在这个领域里的经验让他的对手们都十分警觉。

Toe 还有一些其它的习语：
Dig one's toe in 坚持自己的立场；坚决不肯让步
From top to toe 从头到脚，完完全全
Turn up one's toes / turn one's toes up (俚语)死

3. Compel
强迫；驱使，驱策

这是个常用词，但是作者在上课的过程中发现这个词经常成为大部分同学的听力障碍，换言之，这个词不是那么多人熟悉它，所以在这里把它单拎出来解释一下。
1) Can they compel obedience 2 from us? 他们能迫使我们听从命令吗?
2) I should assign you your share of labor 3, and compel you to accomplish it. 我要把属于你的那份劳动分配给你，并且强迫你完成它。
3）He had a presence that inspired and a voice that compelled. 他的神态令人敬畏，他的声音令人敬从。

文化面面观

Greenwich Village （美国纽约市作家等聚居的）格林威治村

Sunrise over West Greenwich Village & the New Jersey 4 Hudson River Palisades
by Hubert J Steed

A residential 5 section of the borough 6 of Manhattan, New York City, usually regarded as comprising the area within West 14th Street on the north, Broadway on the east, West Houston Street on the south, and the Hudson River on the west. Although modern apartment buildings have been constructed, many of the district's 19th-century buildings remain, lining 7 its narrow, winding 8 streets. The hub of Greenwich Village is Washington Square Park, which contains Washington Arch. The New School for Social Research and the main campus of New York University are located here. Greenwich Village was settled in colonial times by residents of New York City, which was then confined to the region south of Wall Street. By the mid-19th century, the Village had become an integral part of New York. In the 1880s immigrants moved into the area in increasing numbers. Shortly after 1900, Greenwich Village began to attract artists, writers, actors, and political theorists from all parts of the U.S. In the 1970s Greenwich Village began to lose its dominance of new artistic 9 and cultural trends in New York to SoHo, a neighborhood to the south.

思想火花

1953年的美国，时代正处于转变之中，妇女解放运动进行得如火如荼。虽然女性的地位渐渐收到重视，但在上层社会保守思想依然非常严重，在韦尔斯利这所著名的女子学校，学院对学生的教育并不是教他们如何获得自己感兴趣的学科知识，也不是重视心理教育，而是常以女学生的结婚对象作为衡量其地位的标准，把学生的成功与否定义为以后的婚姻。她们学习的目的就是嫁个好丈夫。标榜着女性独立自主的茱莉亚·罗伯茨成为保守校院里的怪女人，不过在她的引领下，一票女生却受到她的影响和启发，大胆选择更宽广的人生道路。

这个片段是影片的结尾，我们能看到这些受凯瑟琳影响的女生对她依依不舍的样子，尤其是过去最保守的贝蒂，而影片结尾处的这个段落的语言写得也非常漂亮，经常被一些英语学习节目拿来做范本，希望大家在欣赏影片的同时也能欣赏这段台词。

考考你

请大家模仿跟读台词中有颜色的段落，仔细体会这段语言的魅力。

Monalisa Smile《蒙娜丽莎的微笑》精讲之五 考考你 参考答案

1. 每次一碰到这个家伙，我就会被他的喋喋不休困住。
Every time I met this guy I was definitely trapped by his blabber mouth.

2. 星期六的晚会你来吗？
Are you in the party Saturday night?

3. 不好意思，我给你的材料中有一处笔误。
Excuse me, but there is one slip of pen in the material I gave you.

点击收听单词发音  






1
levy

  
 


n.征收税或其他款项，征收额


参考例句：





They levy a tax on him.他们向他征税。
A direct food levy was imposed by the local government.地方政府征收了食品税。












2
obedience

  
 


n.服从，顺从


参考例句：





Society has a right to expect obedience of the law.社会有权要求人人遵守法律。
Soldiers act in obedience to the orders of their superior officers.士兵们遵照上级军官的命令行动。












3
labor

  
 


n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦


参考例句：





We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。












4
jersey

  
 


n.运动衫


参考例句：





He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。












5
residential

  
 


adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的


参考例句：





The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。












6
borough

  
 


n.享有自治权的市镇；(英)自治市镇


参考例句：





He was slated for borough president.他被提名做自治区主席。
That's what happened to Harry Barritt of London's Bromley borough.住在伦敦的布罗姆利自治市的哈里.巴里特就经历了此事。












7
lining

  
 


n.衬里，衬料


参考例句：





The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。












8
winding

  
 


n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈


参考例句：





A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。












9
artistic

  
 


adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的


参考例句：





The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。