020经济学家读译参考之二十现代启示录-美前总统拍电影.doc

TEXT 20 Apocalypse Now?1 现代启示录？ May 4th 2006 | LOS ANGELES From The Economist print edition U NLIKE many recent political documentaries, “An Inconvenient Truth” does not a_________① its fiercest fire at George Bush. （1）Surprising this, especially as the film stars Al Gore, the man whom President Bush ★narrowly [1] beat to the White House in 2000. Instead, Davis Guggenheim, the films director, tries to rise above American politics, addressing his film, which is to be shown at the Cannes film festival 2 later this month, to the whole of the human race. 《难以忽视的真相》并不像许多政治题材的纪录片那样，将最猛烈的炮火对准乔治·布什。尤为令人感到意外的是，这部电影的领衔主演竟然是曾在2000年惜败于布什总统的阿尔·戈尔。导演戴维斯·古根汉姆力图超越美国政治，将这部即将于本月下旬在戛纳电影节上映的影片视角定位到整个人类。 （2）Mr Guggenheims film is a fascinating and alarming ★polemic[2] that does, indeed, set out to speak to everyone. It was inspired by the lectures and slide-show on global warming that Mr Gore has d__________② more than 1,000 times since he failed to become president. The former vice-president is shown talking about what he calls “our planetary emergency” to groups of concerned Americans, displaying the relaxed charm and sense of humour that he notably lacked as a political campaigner. 古根汉姆的影片就像一场精彩、惊人的辩论，而且其开场白的确也是说给每个人听的。戈尔竞选总统失败后，不止1000次发表过关于全球气候变暖的演说，该片正是从中受到启发。片中，这位前任美国副总统对许许多多忧虑的美国人谈到了他所谓的“我们星球的突发事件”，展现出过去身为一名参加竞选的政治家所不具有的得体仪态和幽默感。 The powers of cinema are used to extend his teaching techniques: ★before-and-after[3] photography from around the world, footage of ice-shelves collapsing, animated maps and graphs, even an ★interlude[4] starring “The Simpsons” 3. These parts of the film, which r_________③ the entertaining science documentaries that Frank Capra4 made in the 1950s, （3）probably communicate as much information as an audience in a cinema can be expected to digest in one sitting. 应用电影制作为戈尔的说教赋予了更加多彩的形式，比如前后对照鲜明的世界各地摄影、冰架坍塌的组拍镜头、动画地图和图表，甚至还插入了《辛普森一家》的一个片段。影片这些组成部分所传递的讯息量也许快赶上一名观众在电影院看一次电影所能理解接受的讯息量了，（译者按：译文的确很蹩脚，但句子的结构应该是清楚的，主语是these parts of the film，谓语是communicate（传达，传递），宾语是