The devil wears Prada 《时尚女魔头》（视频精讲之一）

影片对白

Emily: Okay, so I was Miranda's second assistant... but her first assistant recently got promoted, and so now I'm the first.

Andy: Oh, and you're replacing yourself.

Emily: Well, I am trying. Miranda sacked the last two girls after only a few weeks. We need to find someone who can survive here. Do you understand?

Andy: Yeah. Of course. Who's Miranda?

Emily: Oh, my God. I will pretend you did not just ask me that. She's the editor in chief of Runway, not to mention a legend. You work a year for her, and you can get a job at any magazine you want. A million girls would kill for this job.

Andy: It sounds like a great opportunity. I'd love to be considered.

Emily: Andrea, Runway is a fashion magazine... so an interest in fashion is crucial.

Andy: What makes you think I'm not interested in fashion?

Emily: Oh, my God. No! No! No!

Andy: What's wrong?

Emily: She's on her way. Tell everyone!

Nigel: She's not supposed to be here until 9:00.

Emily: Her driver just text messaged, and her facialist ruptured 1 a disk. God, these people!

Nigel: Who's that?

Emily: That I can't even talk about.

Nigel: All right, everyone! Gird your loins! Did somebody eat an onion bagel?

Woman: Sorry, Miranda.

Emily: Move it! Ooh!

Miranda: I don't understand why it's so difficult to confirm an appointment.

Emily: I know. I'm so sorry, Miranda. I actually did confirm last night.

Miranda: Details of your incompetence 3 do not interest me. Tell Simone I'm not going to approve that girl that she sent me for the Brazilian layout. I asked for clean, athletic 4, smiling. She sent me dirty, tired and paunchy. And R.S.V.P. yes to the Michael Kor's party. I want the driver to drop me off at 9:30 and pick me up at 9:45 sharp.

Emily: 9:45 sharp.

Miranda: And call Natalie at Glorious Foods, tell her no for the 40th time. No, I don't want dacquoise. I want tortes filled with warm rhubarb compote. Then call my ex-husband and remind him the parent-teacher conference is at Dalton tonight. Then call my husband, ask him to please to meet me for dinner at that place I went to with Massimo. Also tell Richard I saw all the pictures that he sent for that feature on the female paratroopers…and they're all so deeply unattractive. Is it impossible to find a lovely, slender female paratrooper?

Emily: Yeah.

Miranda: Am I reaching for the stars here? Not really. Also, I need to see all the things that Nigel has pulled for Gwyneth's second cover try. I wonder if she's lost any of that weight yet. Who's that?

妙语佳句，活学活用

1. Sack

俚语，意思是“解雇，开除”，既可以做动词也可以做名词用，例如：
If you are late again the boss will give you the sack. 如果你再迟到，老板就会把你解雇。
He got sacked yesterday. 他昨天被解雇了。

2. Text message

如果你的手机是英文语言提示，你对这个表达一定不陌生，没错，它就是“短信息”的意思，例如：I just got your text message. 我刚收到你的短信。那要表示“发短信”该怎么说呢？除了用send a text message外，text message也可以做动词用，表示“发短信”，例如片断中的例句：Her driver just text messaged. 他的司机刚发了短信。

3. Gird one's loins

这个片语也写作gird up one's loins，意思是“Prepare oneself for action准备好（行动）”，例如：I'm girding up my loins for that crucial interview.

4. R.S.V.P.

Reply to an invitation，既可以做动词也可以做名词，例如：
Don't forget to RSVP before Thursday.
He sent a lovely bouquet 5 of flowers with his RSVP.

此外，当送出请柬的时候，也常在上面写上R.S.V.P.，意思是“要求回复（会不会来）”。

文化面面观

The Devil Wears Prada: 电影与畅销书的结合

The Devil Wears Prada is a comedy-drama film, the screen adaptation of Lauren Weisberger's 2003 novel of the same name. It stars Anne Hathaway as Andrea Sachs, a recent university graduate who gets a job as a co-assistant to powerful fashion magazine editor Miranda Priestly, played by Meryl Streep. The film co-stars Emily Blunt as Priestly's first-assistant, Adrian Grenier as Sachs' boyfriend, and Stanley Tucci as a male co-worker of Priestly's. Tracie Thoms plays Lily, a close friend of Sachs' and Simon Baker 6 has the role of a writer who assists her with some difficult tasks assigned by Priestly.

Hoping to work her way to the The New Yorker or Vanity Fair, Andrea "Andy" Sachs, fresh out of college, lands a plum magazine job: personal assistant to Miranda, who dominates the fashion world from her perch 7 atop Runway magazine. She puts up with the eccentric and humiliating requests of her boss because, she is told, if she lasts a year in the position she will get her pick of other jobs, perhaps even the journalistic position she truly craves 8.

Gradually, though, Andrea adjusts to the position and its many perks 9, including free designer clothing and other choice accessories. She also comes to prize chance encounters with hot young writer Christian 10 (Baker), who earns her eternal gratitude 11 when he helps her with one of her more impossible assignments. However, her family and, especially, friends are feeling neglected. Ultimately Andrea realizes she must make a choice between them and her job lest she become more like the woman she despises working for.

Differences between film and novel

1. In the movie, Andrea is a graduate of Northwestern instead of Brown, and is from Ohio instead of Connecticut. Her career aspirations 12 have been changed from literature to journalism 13, and she is a brunette rather than a blonde.

2. Lily's role is the most significant change between the novel and the film. In the former, she is a graduate student in Russian literature at Columbia rather than working at an art gallery as she does in the film. Her role in the novel is much larger, and the narrative 14 goes into lengthy 15 detail about her past with Andrea, depicting 16 her as more free-spirited in contrast to her. In both the film and the novel she comes to enjoy the free designer gifts Andrea's job provides. Lily encourages Andrea to pursue Christian in the novel, while in the film she is angry when she sees the two close together. She's also Andrea's roommate instead of Nate and, over the course of the novel, starts to pick up men in bars and develops a drinking problem as a result of stress from her studies. A car accident she suffers while Andrea is in Paris triggers the climax 17 of the novel.

3. Nate is named Alex in the novel and is teaching fourth graders in the South Bronx through Teach for America rather than being a chef as in the movie. He and Andrea do not live together as they do in the film, and have broken up at the end, although they remain friends.

4. Emily is seen much more often in the novel, and is more cynical 18 in her attitude toward Miranda, sometimes not doing things she has told Miranda she has done. Overall, she is a more sympathetic character in the novel. In the film, it is Emily, not Lily, who is injured in a traffic accident.

5. In both the novel and the film, Andrea is required to deliver the Book and Miranda's dry cleaning to her home. In the novel, Andrea walks in while Miranda, "B-DAD", Cassidy and Caroline are having dinner and starts to talk without cue, obviously humiliating herself. In the film, this scene is simplified by having her listen to the daughters tricking her into heading upstairs where she walks in on Miranda and her husband arguing.

6. Generally, Miranda is extensively much more cold, abusive, and distant to Andy in the novel. The film offered the two a much more colorful connection and sense of understanding.

7. The Doug character does not exist in the novel.

8. Christian's last name is Collinsworth in the novel. He and Andrea do not sleep together as they do in the film. However, by the end of the book, he and Andrea still maintain their flirtatious 19 friendship.

9. Miranda's explanation of how Andrea's cable knit sweater was ultimately influenced by the couture in the magazine's pages, and Nigel's lecture about how important Runway truly is and what it represents to so many people, are not in the novel and were written for the film.

10. Andrea's effort to get the new Harry 20 Potter books (not copies of the unpublished manuscript) is less successful in the novel. While she is aware that the twins want separate copies, only one is actually delivered (to Paris, not the train) and Miranda again berates 21 Andrea over it. Also, in the novel she is asked to get the fourth book in the series, not the seventh, as is shown in the film. (A closeup of the manuscript the twins read says "Harry Potter: Book Seven".)

11. In the novel, the twins attend the Horace Mann School in The Bronx, New York, while in the movie, they attend The Dalton School in New York, New York.

12. There is less confusion in the novel on Andrea's part over where to put the Book and the dry cleaning at Miranda's home (in the novel, a Fifth Avenue penthouse rather than a townhouse as it is in the film).

13. Irv Ravitz, played by Tibor Feldman and seen in several scenes throughout the movie, is only referred to in the novel.

14. In the novel Nigel is very tall, British, black and enough of a celebrity 22 that even Andrea recognizes him; whereas the film's Nigel (Stanley Tucci) is white, of normal height and from Rhode Island. Also, he is not so nice in the book and in fact most of his niceness is arranged by Emily in the book.

15. He, and the other male Runway staffers in the novel, are also openly, even flamboyantly 23, gay. But while his character in the film could be gay, there are no references to it in the script, the other men were cut from the story and this aspect of the novel is largely absent from the film.

16. Nigel is never offered a new job in the novel, and Christian is never offered a job at Runway.

17. Both Andrea and Miranda are described in the book as coming from Jewish families (Miranda had even changed her name to something less Jewish). In the film, no reference is made to either character's religious or ethnic 24 background.

18. Emily is English. The novel made no reference to her nationality.

19. Conversely, Miranda is English in the novel, but Streep plays her as an American.

20. In the novel, Emily cannot go to Paris due to a bout 2 with mononucleosis. In the film, Miranda decides Andrea is more capable when Andrea remembers who an oncoming guest is at a museum benefit after the cold-stricken Emily fails. She puts Andrea up to telling Emily she's going with her instead, and the film implies Emily is also fired. However, before Andrea can tell Emily this, she gets hit by the car.

21. In the book Andy has been told by Miranda that she has to babysit her friend's son at this party. The son ends up being Christian. None of this happens in the film

22. Andy has a sister who gives birth to a baby boy which Andy is unable to meet for the first few months of his life because of Miranda's tight noose 25 on Andy.

23. Miranda's husband does not leave her in the novel. The two have a stable and happy marriage.

24. Miranda's job is not in danger at the end of the novel, as it is in the film.

25. In the novel, Andrea ends her time with Miranda by telling her, very publicly, "Fuck you, Miranda. Fuck you." instead of simply throwing her cell phone into a nearby fountain. This happened, in the novel, after Miranda blamed her for not realizing that her daughters' passports had expired a week earlier and that she needed to get them new passports and on a plane to Paris by that very night. She immediately returns to New York to attend to the comatose 26 Lily. Miranda actually does not make much more of an appearance in the novel after that moment. She doesn't help with any connections. The major connection that Andrea was able to make was enhanced by a loathing 27 for Miranda that she had in common with the woman at Seventeen.

26. The novel ends with Andrea, finally having launched a more serious writing career with a somewhat autobiographical short story in Seventeen, returning to Elias-Clark to discuss writing assignments with another of the company's magazines. In the film, she gets the reporting position she always wanted with the New York Mirror (a fictionalized Village Voice) instead.

27. The film gives the impression that Miranda has a very high regard for Andrea at the end, despite her cold, unfeeling exterior 28, and that even Andrea has come to like Miranda. In the novel, how Miranda truly feels about Andrea is not known, although she does offer to let Andrea write short pieces for the magazine and pull strings 29 at The New Yorker. Andrea does show some appreciation 30 for Miranda and what she does at some points in the novel, but not as much as she does in the movie.

28. At the end of the novel, it is implied that Emily is likely to pretend she does not know Andrea because of the controversy 31 surrounding her confrontation 32 with Miranda. In the movie, however, it is made clear by Emily to the new assistant that she greatly respects and likes Andrea, and believes she did a honorable job as second assistant.

29. In the film, Andrea kindly 33 offers Emily the clothing she received from Paris. In the book, Andrea sells the clothing to a second-hand 34 shop for $38,000 and finances her writer's life for the next year.

30. In the Book we can read that Miranda and Andrea are both staying at the Hotel Ritz Paris. In the movie it's the Plaza 35 Athénée.

31. In the novel version, the white Hermès scarves that Miranda likes to wear are discontinued, however in the movie, when Emily gets hit by a taxi, there is a shot of white scarves flying all over the street. (answers.com)

我观之我见

随着司机的一条短信提示，整个办公室都开始进入备战状态：穿平底鞋的秘书抓起备用的高跟鞋往脚上套、高级助理飞快地把各种杂志往她桌上摆好、连带倒上矿泉水捧起日程安排表……当米兰达抵达公司时，女助理立刻跑到身边，开始记录米兰达的任务，她说话语调从来不会抑扬顿挫，两片薄薄的嘴唇在短时间内不停地轻微运动，连珠炮地把一大堆事务交代给助理去办，语句之间不需要停顿，一气呵成。完了之后一句冷冰冰的"That's all"就把人打发走，即便是没听清楚也不能问她。这就是这部电影给我们呈现的一个时尚界的"女魔头"形象。跟着这样的老板干活大约新陈代谢都要提高二十倍才能保证跟得上步伐、不会被fire掉，同时还得有强大的心理承受力，不然每天对着这样一张冰冷的脸人都会疯掉。夸张吗？不，职场中人很多都经历过这样的上司，这部电影引发了他们心中的共鸣，这也是这部小成本的电影能获得巨大成功的原因。

考考你

用今日所学将下面的句子译成英语。

1. 公司威胁说谁罢工就解雇谁，那只不过是虚张声势罢了。
2. 大家各就各位。主编来了！

Prison Break 1《越狱》1（精讲十二）考考你 参考答案

1． 这个团伙那天晚上出去搞破坏了。
The gang was out to raise hell that night.

2． 他说如果他们不还钱给他的话，他就要搞点动作。
He said he'd raise Cain if they wouldn't give him a refund 36.

3． 如果她还是那么粗鲁的话，我就离开。
If she's rude again I'm just going to take a walk.

点击收听单词发音  






1
ruptured

  
 


v.（使）破裂( rupture的过去式和过去分词 )；（使体内组织等）断裂；使（友好关系）破裂；使绝交


参考例句：





They reported that the pipeline had ruptured. 他们报告说管道已经破裂了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
The wall through Berlin was finally ruptured, prefiguring the reunification of Germany. 柏林墙终于倒塌了，预示着德国的重新统一。 来自辞典例句












2
bout

  
 


n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛


参考例句：





I was suffering with a bout of nerves.我感到一阵紧张。
That bout of pneumonia enfeebled her.那次肺炎的发作使她虚弱了。












3
incompetence

  
 


n.不胜任，不称职


参考例句：





He was dismissed for incompetence. 他因不称职而被解雇。
She felt she had been made a scapegoat for her boss's incompetence. 她觉得，本是老板无能，但她却成了替罪羊。












4
athletic

  
 


adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的


参考例句：





This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。












5
bouquet

  
 


n.花束，酒香


参考例句：





This wine has a rich bouquet.这种葡萄酒有浓郁的香气。
Her wedding bouquet consisted of roses and ivy.她的婚礼花篮包括玫瑰和长春藤。












6
baker

  
 


n.面包师


参考例句：





The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。












7
perch

  
 


n.栖木，高位，杆；v.栖息，就位，位于


参考例句：





The bird took its perch.鸟停歇在栖木上。
Little birds perch themselves on the branches.小鸟儿栖歇在树枝上。












8
craves

  
 


渴望，热望( crave的第三人称单数 )； 恳求，请求


参考例句：





The tree craves calm but the wind will not drop. 树欲静而风不止。
Victory would give him a passport to the riches he craves. 胜利将使他有机会获得自己梦寐以求的财富。












9
perks

  
 


额外津贴，附带福利，外快( perk的名词复数 )


参考例句：





Perks offered by the firm include a car and free health insurance. 公司给予的额外待遇包括一辆汽车和免费健康保险。
Are there any perks that go with your job? 你的工作有什么津贴吗？












10
Christian

  
 


adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒


参考例句：





They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。












11
gratitude

  
 


adj.感激，感谢


参考例句：





I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。












12
aspirations

  
 


强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音


参考例句：





I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。












13
journalism

  
 


n.新闻工作，报业


参考例句：





He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。












14
narrative

  
 


n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的


参考例句：





He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。












15
lengthy

  
 


adj.漫长的，冗长的


参考例句：





We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。












16
depicting

  
 


描绘，描画( depict的现在分词 )； 描述


参考例句：





a painting depicting the Virgin and Child 一幅描绘童贞马利亚和圣子耶稣的画
The movie depicting the battles and bloodshed is bound to strike home. 这部描写战斗和流血牺牲的影片一定会取得预期效果。












17
climax

  
 


n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点


参考例句：





The fifth scene was the climax of the play.第五场是全剧的高潮。
His quarrel with his father brought matters to a climax.他与他父亲的争吵使得事态发展到了顶点。












18
cynical

  
 


adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的，不信世道向善的


参考例句：





The enormous difficulty makes him cynical about the feasibility of the idea.由于困难很大，他对这个主意是否可行持怀疑态度。
He was cynical that any good could come of democracy.他不相信民主会带来什么好处。












19
flirtatious

  
 


adj.爱调情的，调情的，卖俏的


参考例句：





a flirtatious young woman 卖弄风情的年轻女子
Her flirtatious manners are intended to attract. 她的轻浮举止是想引人注意。 来自《简明英汉词典》












20
harry

  
 


vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼


参考例句：





Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。












21
berates

  
 


v.严厉责备，痛斥( berate的第三人称单数 )


参考例句：





Cuddy berates for trying to kill himself while his patient was dying. Cuddy指责他当他的病人就要死的时候他却试图自杀。 来自互联网
The left-wing blogosphere regularly berates her for destroying true Democratic values. 左派任务经常在博客圈中斥责她破坏了民主价值。 来自互联网












22
celebrity

  
 


n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望


参考例句：





Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。












23
flamboyantly

  
 


adv.艳丽地、奢华地、绚丽地。


参考例句：





He dresses rather flamboyantly. 他衣着华丽。 来自互联网
The criticism of Mr Obama's handling of the oil spill has been especially and flamboyantly unreasonable. 对于奥巴马对漏油事件的处理，人们的批评尤其夸大得没有道理。 来自互联网












24
ethnic

  
 


adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的


参考例句：





This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。












25
noose

  
 


n.绳套，绞索（刑）；v.用套索捉；使落入圈套；处以绞刑


参考例句：





They tied a noose round her neck.他们在她脖子上系了一个活扣。
A hangman's noose had already been placed around his neck.一个绞刑的绳圈已经套在他的脖子上。












26
comatose

  
 


adj.昏睡的，昏迷不醒的


参考例句：





Those in extreme fear can be put into a comatose type state.那些极端恐惧的人可能会被安放进一种昏迷状态。
The doctors revived the comatose man.这个医生使这个昏睡的苏醒了。












27
loathing

  
 


n.厌恶，憎恨v.憎恨，厌恶( loathe的现在分词)；极不喜欢


参考例句：





She looked at her attacker with fear and loathing . 她盯着襲擊她的歹徒，既害怕又憎恨。
They looked upon the creature with a loathing undisguised. 他们流露出明显的厌恶看那动物。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》












28
exterior

  
 


adj.外部的，外在的；表面的


参考例句：





The seed has a hard exterior covering.这种子外壳很硬。
We are painting the exterior wall of the house.我们正在给房子的外墙涂漆。












29
strings

  
 


n.弦


参考例句：





He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。












30
appreciation

  
 


n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨


参考例句：





I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。












31
controversy

  
 


n.争论，辩论，争吵


参考例句：





That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。












32
confrontation

  
 


n.对抗，对峙，冲突


参考例句：





We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。












33
kindly

  
 


adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地


参考例句：





Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。












34
second-hand

  
 


adj.用过的，旧的，二手的


参考例句：





I got this book by chance at a second-hand bookshop.我赶巧在一家旧书店里买到这本书。
They will put all these second-hand goods up for sale.他们将把这些旧货全部公开出售。












35
plaza

  
 


n.广场，市场


参考例句：





They designated the new shopping centre York Plaza.他们给这个新购物中心定名为约克购物中心。
The plaza is teeming with undercover policemen.这个广场上布满了便衣警察。












36
refund

  
 


v.退还，偿还；n.归还，偿还额，退款


参考例句：





They demand a refund on unsatisfactory goods.他们对不满意的货品要求退款。
We'll refund your money if you aren't satisfied.你若不满意，我们愿意退款给你。