英语听力精选进阶版 6202
时间：2019-02-13 作者：英语课 分类：英语听力精选进阶版
An Alien Language 外星人的语言
The blockbuster film Avatar has been a smash hit at the box office in the UK and around the world, becoming the fastest film ever to earn $1bn (7bn yuan) in ticket sales.
But as well as being an entertaining feast for the eyes, the sci-fi epic 1 also introduces movie-goers to a brand new language invented especially for the film.
The movie is set on an alien planet called Pandora which is inhabited by many strange species. The most humanoid of the planet's inhabitants are the Na'vi, and it is the struggle between the Na'vi and human interlopers that forms the core narrative 2 of the film.
In order to add authenticity 3 to his vision of an alien race the film’s director James Cameron asked a professor of linguistics 4 from the University of Southern California to invent a language for the Na'vi.
Professor Paul Frommer worked with James Cameron for four years to build upon the original 30 words or so that the director had already come up with for the language.
According to Professor Frommer, the most important aspect of the Na'vi language was that it could be articulated.
"This is an alien language but obviously it has to be spoken by human actors," Professor Frommer told the BBC, "it has to be sounds that human beings are comfortable producing."
The language currently has a lexicon 5 of around 1000 words but Professor Frommer hopes to expand it in possible sequels to the film and in video games.
The professor hopes that one day his creation will become as sophisticated as the Klingon alien language from the Star Trek 6 films.
"There's a translation of Hamlet into Klingon," says Professor Frommer.
"If anything happened like this with Na'vi I'd be delighted."
Glossary 词汇表
blockbuster 热门电影
smash hit 非常受欢迎的
feast for the eyes 视觉大餐
sci-fi epic 科幻史诗
inhabited 居住
species 种类，种族
humanoid 具有人类特点的
interlopers 入侵者
core narrative 主要故事
add authenticity 增加真实性
alien race 外星人
linguistics 语言学
come up with 想出
articulated 发音
lexicon 词汇
sequels 续集
sophisticated 高水平的
Klingon 克林贡帝国 （星际迷航中虚构的一个好战外星种族）
Star Trek 星际大战
Hamlet 哈姆雷特
- I gave up my epic and wrote this little tale instead.我放弃了写叙事诗，而写了这个小故事。
- They held a banquet of epic proportions.他们举行了盛大的宴会。
- 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。
- There has been some debate over the authenticity of his will. 对于他的遗嘱的真实性一直有争论。
- The museum is seeking an expert opinion on the authenticity of the painting. 博物馆在请专家鉴定那幅画的真伪。
- She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
- Linguistics is a scientific study of the property of language.语言学是指对语言的性质所作的系统研究。
- Chocolate equals sin in most people's lexicon.巧克力在大多数人的字典里等同于罪恶。
- Silent earthquakes are only just beginning to enter the public lexicon.无声地震才刚开始要成为众所周知的语汇。