环球英语 — 297：Slumdog Millionaire

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Hello and welcome to Spotlight 1. I'm Marina Santee.

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And I'm Ryan Geertsma. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.

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The television studio is full of excited people. Suddenly, a large sign lights up. It says, ‘silence'. All noise stops immediately. Then, music fills the studio. Large, bright lights shine. The studio sign changes to ‘applause'. And people start to clap their hands loudly.

There are two tall chairs at the centre of the space. A young man sits in one of them. A television presenter 3 sits in the other. The presenter turns to face a large camera and smiles. "Hello and welcome to the programme! Today we will see if someone can win lots of money! Let's play ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire?'"

Everyone starts to cheer and clap at his words. Then, all the lights go off, except for one bright spotlight. It shines on the two men sitting in the centre. The noise quietens. The world's most popular quiz show is about to begin...

Voice 2

Maybe you recognize this programme! Versions 5 of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" exist in over 100 countries around the world. The idea is simple. Thousands of people write, asking to appear on the show. The show's producers enter all the names into a computer. The computer then chooses some names. These are the people who will appear on the show - the contestants 7.

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The contestants appear on the show one at a time. The presenter then asks the contestant 6 a series of 13 questions. The contestant has to choose correctly from four possible answers. If he does, then he wins an amount of money. This amount increases as the questions become more difficult. If a contestant answers a question wrongly, then he cannot continue. He can take home any money he has won. But he has lost the right to aim for the main prize - one million pounds in the UK, a million dollars in the US, and so on!

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Why is "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" so popular? Well, many people want the chance to win a large amount of money in a short time. They believe that money would help to make their lives a lot easier! For example, suppose a contestant on the US show wins 250,000 dollars. She can now buy her own house. She can provide more for her family's needs. And she can invest 8 for their future. She has achieved things that normally 9 need a lot of time and effort. Surely that can only be a good thing?

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But not everyone would agree. Many people believe that there is only one way to know the true worth of something. You have to work for it. Only then can you truly understand its full value. Danny Boyle is one of these people. He is a film maker 10. And in 2008, he produced a film about the TV show. It is called "Slumdog Millionaire". The main character is an 18 year-old boy. he lives in Mumbai, India. He grew up in the very poor area of the city - the slums 11. Danny Boyle explains more:

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"The film is about a boy called Jamel... He becomes a contestant on the Indian version 4 of "Who wants to be a Millionaire?" He does not seem educated or qualified 12 in any way. But he wins it. He goes all the way to the top prize... so everyone thinks that he has cheated - the show, the public, the police...Finally, they arrest him and start to torture 13 him."

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But Jamel tells police that he is innocent 14! Danny Boyle continues:

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"We find out through the film how Jamel knows all the answers. It is because of his life experience. By chance they ask him questions that he knows about from events in his life."

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Jamel manages to prove that he did not cheat. And, he receives the prize money. But money is not his main desire. He is on the show for another reason. Danny Boyle explains what it is:

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"Some time before, Jamel lost the girl he loves in the busy city of Mumbai. The only thing he knows is that she watches ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire?' So, he thinks that if he can stay on the show long enough, she will see him. Then they can be re-united with each other."

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So does Jamel's plan work? Does the girl he loves see him on the TV show? Are they re-united? Well, we will not ruin the story for you! But all through the film, Jamel believes that all his suffering is worth it. Not because he wants to get rich. But because he wants to find love.

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The idea for the film, "Slumdog Millionaire" first came from a book. It is called, "Q and A" - Question and Answer. It is about a young man, Ram 2, from Mumbai. Ram also lived in the slums. And, he became a contestant on a TV show. He wanted to win money for a special reason. Ram was in love with a girl named Nita. However, she was very sick. She needed costly 15 hospital treatment. Ram hoped to win the money on the show. Ram began to answer all the questions correctly. But people believed he must be cheating... Ram needed to convince 16 everyone he is not cheating. Nita's life depended on it. But would he succeed?

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The person who wrote the book is Vikas Swarup. Vikas was working in London for the Indian Foreign Service. But he loved to write in his free time. It took Vikas two months to write "Q and A". It was his first published story. And it was a great success.

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"Q and A" is now published in 33 languages. A radio play has been made about it - and now a film. So, why is it so popular? Vikas Swarup says:

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"I imagine that the reason for the novel's global appeal is this. Even though the story happens in India, the issues it deals with relate to every culture and community - love, loss, friendship, humanity 17."

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The music stops. The lights go down. People leave the studio. The programme is over for another week. And as a US news writer once said:

"It is good to have money and the things that money can buy. But it is also good sometimes to make sure that we have not lost the things that money cannot buy."