托福听力TPO04精听讲义 | 对话1:Discuss Reviews of Play

Part I

Librarian: Can I help you?

Student: Yeah, I need to find a review. It’s for my English class. We have to find reviews of the play we are reading. But they have to be from when the play was first performed, so I need to know when that was and I suppose I should start with newspaper reviews and…

Librarian: Contemporary reviews.

Student: Sorry?

Librarian: You want contemporary reviews. What's the name of the play?

Student: It’s Happy Strangers. It was written in 1962 and we are supposed to write about its influence on American theatre and show why it’s been so important.

Librarian: Well, that certainly explains why your professor wants you to read some of those old reviews. The critiques really tore the play to pieces when it opened. It’s so controversial. Nobody had ever seen anything like it on the stage.

Student: Really? Is that a big deal?

这部剧写于 1962 年，我们需要写一下它对美国戏剧的影响，还有它为什么如此重要。

1. contemporary |kənˈtemprəri|

adj. belonging to the same time 属同时期的；同一时代的

E.g.: We have no contemporary account of the battle (= written near the time that it happened) .

       我们没有当时人们对这一战役的记载。

2. critique|krɪˈti:k|

noun. a piece of written criticism of a set of ideas, a work of art, etc. 评论；评论文章 

E.g.:a feminist critique of Freud's theories

       从女权主义的角度对弗洛伊德理论所作的批评

3. tear sb/sth apart, to shreds, to pieces, to bits, etc.

to destroy or defeat sb/sth completely or criticize them or it severely 彻底毁灭；彻底打败；严厉批评

E.g.:The critics tore his last movie to pieces.

        影评家把他最近的一部影片说得一无是处。

4. controversial|ˌkɒntrəˈvɜ:ʃl|

adj. causing a lot of angry public discussion and disagreement 引起争论的；有争议的

E.g.:Winston Churchill and Richard Nixon were both controversial figures.

       温斯顿·邱吉尔和理查德·尼克松都是有争议的人物。

Part II

Librarian: Oh, sure. Of course the critics’ reaction made some people kind of curious about it. They wanted to see what was causing all the fuss. In fact, we were on vacation in New York. Oh, I had to be, oh, around 16 or so, and my parents took me to see it. That would’ve been about 1965.

Student: So that was the year it premiered? Great! But, uh, newspapers from back then aren’t online, so, how do I…

Librarian: Well, we have copies of old newspapers in the basement and all the major papers publish reference guides to their articles, reviews, etc. You will find them in the reference stacks in the back. But I’d start with 1964, I think the play had been running for a little while when I saw it.

Student: How do you like it? I mean just two characters on the stage hanging around basically doing nothing.

Librarian: Well, I was impressed. The actors were famous, and besides it was my first time in a real theatre. But you are right. It was definitely different from many plays that we read in high school. Of course, in a small town the assignments are pretty traditional.

嗯，我们在地下室有旧报纸的副本，所有主要报纸都发布了他们文章、评论等的参考指南。

1. fuss |fʌs|

noun. unnecessary excitement, worry or activity 无谓的激动（或忧虑、活动）；大惊小怪 

E.g.: It's a very ordinary movie─I don't know what all the fuss is about (= why other people think it is so good).

       这是部很普通的电影——我不懂为什么就轰动一时。

2. premiere |ˈpremieə(r)|

verb. to perform a play or piece of music or show a film/movie to an audience for the first time; to be performed or shown to an audience for the first time 首次公演（戏剧、音乐、电影）

E.g.: His new movie premieres in New York this week.

       他的新电影本周在纽约首映。

3. stack|stæk|

noun. a pile of sth, usually neatly arranged （通常指码放整齐的）一叠，一摞，一堆 

E.g.:a stack of books

       一摞书

4. hang around

(informal) to wait or stay near a place, not doing very much （在某处附近）等待，逗留，闲荡 

E.g.:You hang around here in case he comes, and I'll go on ahead.

        你在这附近等着以防万一他来了，我继续往前走。

Part III

Student: Yeah, I’ve only read it but it doesn’t seem like it would be much fun to watch. The story doesn’t progress in any sort of logical manner, doesn’t have real ending either, just stops. Honestly, you know, I thought it was kind of slow and boring.

Librarian: Oh, well I guess you might think that. But when I saw it back then it was anything but boring. Some parts were really funny, but I remember crying too. But I’m not sure just reading it... you know, they’ve done this play at least once on campus. I’m sure there is a tape of the play in our video library. You might want to borrow it.

Student: That’s a good idea. I’ll have a better idea of what I really think of it before I read those reviews.

Librarian: I’m sure you will be surprised that anyone ever found it radical. But you will see why it is still powerful, dramatically speaking.

Student: Well, there must be something about it, or the professor wouldn’t have assigned it. I’m sure I’ll figure it out.

我相信你会惊讶于人们总认为它很激进，但是你会明白为什么从戏剧的角度来说它仍然强大。 

1. progress|ˈprəʊgres|

verb. to improve or develop over a period of time; to make progress 进步；改进；进展

E.g.: Work on the new road is progressing slowly.

       新路的修建工作在缓慢进行。

2. manner |ˈmænə(r)|

noun.  the way that sth is done or happens 方式；方法

E.g.: She was just short of her 90th birthday when she died.

       她去世时就快过90岁生日了。

3. anything but

definitely not 决不；根本不 

E.g.: It wasn't cheap. Anything but.

       它不便宜。绝对不。

4. something |ˈsʌmθɪŋ|

pron. a thing that is thought to be important or worth taking notice of 想来重要（或值得注意）的事物

E.g.: It's quite something (= a thing that you should feel happy about) to have a job at all these days.

       如今能有份工作就该知足了。