Part I
Professor: Okay, we’ve been discussing film in the 1920s and 30s, and how back then film categories, as we know them today, had not yet been established. We said that by today’s standards, many of the films of the 20s and 30s would be considered hybrids, that is, a mixture of styles that wouldn’t exactly fit into any of today’s categories, and in that context, today we are going to talk about a film-maker who began making very unique films in the late 1920s. He was French, and his name was Jean Painlevé.
Jean Painlevé was born in 1902. He made his first film in 1928. Now in a way, Painlevé’s films conform to norms of the 20s and 30s, that is, they don’t fit very neatly into the categories we use to classify films today.That said, even by the standards of the 20s and 30s, Painlevé’s films were unique, hybrid of styles.
好吧，我们最近一直在讨论 1920 年代和 30 年代的电影，以及在那时候我们今天所熟知的电影类别尚未形成。
在某种程度上，Painlevé 的电影符合 20 年代和 30 年代的规范，也就是说，它们不太适合我们今天用来对电影进行分类的类别。
1. hybrid |ˈhaɪbrɪd|
noun. something that is the product of mixing two or more different things （不同事物的）混合物，合成物
E.g.: The music was a hybrid of Western pop and traditional folk song.
这种音乐融合了西方流行音乐和传统民歌。
2. context |ˈkɒntekst|
noun. the situation in which sth happens and that helps you to understand it （事情发生的）背景，环境，来龙去脉
E.g.: This speech needs to be set in the context of Britain in the 1960s.
这篇演说需要放到20世纪60年代的英国这一背景之下来看待。
3. conform|kənˈfɔ:m|
verb. to obey a rule, law, etc. 遵守，遵从，服从（规则、法律等）
E.g.: The building does not conform with safety regulations.
这座建筑物不符合安全条例。
4. norm |nɔ:m|
noun. standards of behaviour that are typical of or accepted within a particular group or society 规范；行为标准
E.g.: the commonly accepted norms of democracy
被人们普遍接受的民主准则
5. that said
used to introduce an opinion that makes what you have just said seem less strong = having said that （用以缓和语气）话虽如此
E.g.: I sometimes get worried in this job. That said (having said that), I enjoy doing it, it's a challenge.
我有时会为这份工作而感到忧虑。话虽如此，我还是蛮喜欢干的，因为这是一个挑战。
Part II
He had a special way of fusing, or some people might say confusing science and fiction. His films begin with facts, but then they become more and more fictional. They gradually add more and more fictional elements. In fact, Painlevé was known for saying that science is fiction.
Painlevé was a pioneer in underwater film-making, and a lot of his short films focused on the aquatic animal world. He liked to show small underwater creatures, displaying what seemed like familiar human characteristics – what we think of as unique to humans. He might take a clip of a mollusk going up and down in the water and set it to music. You know, to make it look like the mollusk were dancing to the music like a human being – that sort of thing. But then he suddenly changed the image or narration to remind us how different the animals are, how unlike humans. He confused his audience in the way he portrayed the animals he filmed, mixing up on notions of the categories - humans and animals.
他喜欢展现那些小的水下生物，展现它们身上看似熟悉的人类特征——那些我们认为的人类所独有的特征。
他对自己拍摄的动物的描绘方式让观众感到困惑，他这种描绘方式混淆了人类和动物的类别概念。
1. fuse |fju:z|
verb. when one thing fuses with another, or two things fuse or are fused , they are joined together to form a single thing （使）融合，熔接，结合
E.g.: Atoms of hydrogen are fused to make helium.
氢原子可熔合成氦。
2. confuse |kənˈfju:z|
verb. to think wrongly that sb/sth is sb/sth else （将…）混淆，混同
E.g.: Be careful not to confuse quantity with quality.
注意不要把数量与质量混淆了。
3. fictional|ˈfɪkʃənl|
adj.not real or true; existing only in stories; connected with fiction 虚构的；小说（中）的
E.g.: a fictional account of life on a desert island
对荒岛生活的虚构描述
4. mollusk|'mɒləsk|
adj. any one of a large group of animals (such as snails and clams) that have a soft body without a backbone and that usually live in a shell 软体动物
E.g.: A soft body, with or without a head, a muscular foot - that's the mollusk.
柔软的身体, 有头或没头,强健的脚,这就是软体动物。
5. set |set|
verb. to write music to go with words 为…谱曲；给…配乐
E.g.: Schubert set many poems to music.
舒伯特为许多诗歌谱了曲。
6. narration |nəˈreɪʃn|
noun. a description of events that is spoken during a film/movie, a play, etc. or with music （电影、戏剧等中对情节的）解说；旁白
E.g.: He has recorded the narration for the production.
他录制了这部作品的解说词。
Part III
The films make us a little uncomfortable at times because we are uncertain about what we are seeing. It gives his films an uncanny feature: the familiar made unfamiliar, the normal made suspicious. He liked twists, he liked the unusual. In fact, one of his favorite sea animals was the seahorse because with seahorses, it’s the male that carries the eggs, and he thought that was great. His first and most celebrated underwater film is about the seahorse. Susan, you have a question?
Student: But underwater film-making wasn’t that unusual, was it? I mean, weren’t there other people making movies underwater?
Professor: Well, actually, it was pretty rare at that time. I mean, we are talking the early 1930s.
Student: But what about Jacques Cousteau? Wasn't he like an innovator, you know, with underwater photography too?
这给了他的电影一个不可思议的特点：熟悉的让人陌生，正常的让人怀疑。他喜欢曲折突变，他喜欢不寻常。
1. uncanny |ʌnˈkæni|
adj. strange and difficult to explain 异常的；难以解释的
E.g.: I had an uncanny feeling I was being watched.
我有种被人监视的奇怪感觉。
2. twist |twɪst|
noun. an unexpected change or development in a story or situation （故事或情况的）转折，转变，突然变化
E.g.: By a curious twist of fate we met again only a week or so later.
由于命运巧妙的安排，大约只过了一周我们又相逢了。
3. celebrated|ˈselɪbreɪtɪd|
adj. famous for having good qualities 著名的；闻名的；驰名的
E.g.: Dean died three days before the opening of Rebel Without Cause, his most celebrated film.
迪恩在他最知名的电影《无因的反叛》首映的3天之前去世。
4. be talking sth
(informal) used to emphasize an amount of money, how serious sth is, etc.（用以强调款额、情况严重程度等）讲的是，指的是
E.g.: We're talking £500 for three hours' work.
咱们讲的可是工作三个小时酬金500英镑。
Part IV
Professor: Ah, Jacques Cousteau. Well, Painlevé and Cousteau did both film underwater, and they were both innovators, so you are right in that sense. But that’s pretty much where the similarities end.
First of all, Painlevé was about 20 years ahead of Cousteau. And Cousteau’s adventures were high-tech, with lots of fancy equipment, whereas Painlevé kind of patched equipment together as he needed it. Cousteau usually filmed large animals, usually in the open sea, whereas Painlevé generally filmed smaller animals, and he liked to film in shallow water.
Uh, what else, well, the main difference was that Cousteau simply investigated and presented the facts – he didn’t mix in fiction. He was a strict documentarist. He set the standard really for the nature documentary. Painlevé, on the other hand, as we said before, mixed in elements of fiction. And his films are much more artistic, incorporating music as an important element. John, you have a question?
呃，还有什么不同呢，哦，其实主要区别在于Cousteau只是调查并呈现了事实——他没有在里面混入虚构的假想。
1. patch together
to make sth from several different parts, especially in a quick careless way 拼凑；草草拼合
E.g.: They hope to be able to patch together a temporary settlement.
他们希望能草草搭成一个临时安置区。
2. incorporate |ɪnˈkɔ:pəreɪt|
verb. to include sth so that it forms a part of sth 将…包括在内；包含；吸收；使并入
E.g.: The new car design incorporates all the latest safety features.
新的汽车设计包括了所有最新的安全配备。
Part V
Student: Well, maybe I shouldn’t be asking this, but if Painlevé’s films are so special, so good, why haven’t we ever heard of them? I mean, everyone’s heard of Jacques Cousteau.
Professor: Well, that’s a fair question. Uh, the short answer is that Painlevé’s style just never caught on with the general public. I mean, it probably goes back at least in part to what we mentioned earlier, that people didn’t know what to makeof his films – that they were confused by them, whereas Cousteau’s documentaries were very straightforward, met people’s expectations more than Painlevé’s films did. But you are true: film history buffs know about them. And Painlevé's still highly respected in many circles.
我的意思是，这在某种程度上可以追溯到我们刚才提到的那个原因，人们不知道如何理解他的电影——人们觉得他的电影很难懂，反之Cousteau拍的纪录片则非常直截了当，比Painlevé的电影更符合人们的期望。
1. catch on
to become popular or fashionable 受欢迎；流行起来；变得时髦
E.g.: He invented a new game, but it never really caught on.
他发明了一种新的游戏，但从未真正流行起来。
2. in part
partly; to some extent 部分地；在某种程度上
E.g.: Her success was due in part to luck..
她的成功在某种程度上是由于运气好。
3. make of
to understand the meaning or character of sb/sth 领会；理解；懂得
E.g.: I can't make anything of this note.
我根本不懂这封短信的意思。
4. buff |bʌf|
noun. a person who is very interested in a particular subject or activity and knows a lot about it 爱好者；行家里手
E.g.: Any competent computer buff should be able to do it for you in a few minutes.
任何一个有点儿水平的电脑行家都能在几分钟内为你解决这个问题。
