(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
I'm Shirley Griffith. And I'm Ray Freeman with the VOA Special English program, PEOPLE IN AMERICA.
Every week we tell about a person who was important in the history of the United States. Today, we tell about Walt Disney and the movie company he created.
That was the song "When You Wish Upon a Star." It is from Walt Disney's animated movie "Pinocchio." For many people, it is the song most often linked with Walt Disney and his work. The song is about dreams -- and making dreams come true. That is what the Walt Disney Company tries to do. It produces movies that capture the imagination of children and adults all over the world.
Millions of people have seen Disney films and television programs. They have made friends with all the Disney heroes: Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Snow White, Pinocchio, Peter Pan. Millions more have visited the company's major entertainment parks. There is Disneyland in California. Disney World in Florida. Tokyo Disneyland in Japan. Euro Disney in France.
Probably no other company has pleased so many children. It is not surprising that it has been called a dream factory.
Walter Elias Disney was born in Chicago, Illinois in nineteen-oh-one. His family moved to the state of Missouri. He grew up on a farm there. At the age of sixteen, Disney began to study art in Chicago. Four years later, he joined the Kansas City Film Ad Company. He helped make cartoon advertisements to be shown in movie theaters. Advertisements help sell products.
In nineteen twenty-three, Walt Disney moved to Hollywood, California to join his brother Roy. He wanted to be a movie producer or director. But he failed to find a job. So he decided to make animated movies. In them, drawings are made to move in a lifelike way. We call them cartoons. Disney the artist wanted to bring his pictures to life.
A cartoon is a series of pictures on film. Each picture is a little different from the one before. Each shows a tiny change in movement. When we see the movie, the pictures seem to be alive. The cartoon people and animals move. They speak with voices recorded by real actors.
Disney opened his first movie company in the back of an office. For several years, he struggled to earn enough money to pay his expenses. He believed that cartoon movies could be as popular as movies made with actors. To do this, he decided he needed a cartoon hero. Help for his idea came from an unexpected place.
Disney worked with Ub Iwerks, another young artist. They often saw mice running in and out of the old building where they worked. So they drew a cartoon mouse. It was not exactly like a real mouse. For one thing, it stood on two legs like a human.
It had big eyes and ears. And it wore white gloves on its hands. The artists called him "Mickey." Earlier filmmakers had found that animals were easier to use in cartoons than people. Mickey Mouse was drawn with a series of circles. He was perfect for animation.
The public first saw Mickey Mouse in a movie called "Steamboat Willie." Walt Disney himself provided the voice for Mickey Mouse. The film was produced in nineteen twenty-eight. It was a huge success.
Mickey Mouse appeared in hundreds of cartoons during the years that followed. He became known all over the world. In Japan, he was called "Miki Kuchi." In Italy, he was "Topolino." In Latin America, he was "Raton Miquelito." Mickey soon was joined by several other cartoon creatures. One was the female mouse called "Minnie." Another was the duck named "Donald," with his sailor clothes and funny voice. And there was the dog called Pluto.
Mickey Mouse cartoons were extremely popular. But Walt Disney wanted to make other kinds of animated movies, too. In the middle nineteen thirties, he was working on his first long movie.
It was about a lovely young girl, her cruel stepmother, and the handsome prince who saves her. It was "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." "Snow White" was completed in nineteen thirty-seven after three years of work. It was the first full-length animated movie to be produced by a studio. It became one of Hollywood's most successful movies.
Movie experts say Walt Disney was responsible for the development of the art of animation. Disney's artists tried to put life into every drawing. That meant they had to feel all the emotions of the cartoon creatures. Happiness. Sadness. Anger. Fear. The artists looked in a mirror and expressed each emotion. A smile. Tears. A red face. Wide eyes. Then they drew that look on the face of each cartoon creature.
Many movie experts say Disney's art of animation reached its highest point in nineteen forty with the movie "Pinocchio." The story is about a wooden toy that comes to life as a little boy.
Disney's artists drew two-and-one-half million pictures to make "Pinocchio." The artists drew flat pictures. Yet they created a look of space and solid objects. "Pinocchio" was an imaginary world. Yet it looked very real. Disney made other extremely popular animated movies in the nineteen forties and nineteen fifties. They include "Fantasia," "Dumbo," "Bambi," "Cinderella," "Alice in Wonderland," "Peter Pan," "Lady and the Tramp," and "Sleeping Beauty." These movies are still popular today.
In addition to cartoons, Walt Disney produced many movies and television programs with real actors. He also produced movies about wild animals in their natural surroundings. Real or imaginary, all his programs had similar ideas. In most of them, innocence, loyalty and family love were threatened by evil forces. Sad things sometimes happened. But there were always funny incidents and creatures. In the end, good always won over evil. Disney won thirty-two Academy Awards for his movies and for scientific and technical inventions in filmmaking.
In nineteen fifty-five, Walt Disney opened an entertainment park not far from Hollywood, California. He called it "Disneyland." He wanted it to be the happiest place on Earth. Disneyland recreated imaginary places from Disney movies. It also recreated real places -- as Disney imagined them. For example, one area looked like a nineteenth century town in the American West. Another looked like the world of the future.
Disneyland also had exciting rides. Children could fly on an elephant. Or spin in a teacup. Or climb a mountain. Or float on a jungle river. And -- best of all -- children got to meet Mickey Mouse himself. Actors dressed as Mickey and all the Disney cartoon creatures walked around the park shaking hands.
Some critics said Disneyland was just a huge money machine. They said it cost so much money that many families could not go. And they said it did not represent the best of American culture. But most visitors loved it. They came from near and far to see it. Presidents of the United States. Leaders of other countries. And families from around the world.
Disneyland was so successful that Disney developed plans for a second entertainment and educational park to be built in Florida. The project, Walt Disney World, opened in Florida in nineteen seventy-one, after Disney's death.
The man who started it all, Walt Disney, died in nineteen sixty-six. But the company he began continues to help people escape the problems of life through its movies and entertainment parks.
重点解析
1.capture the imagination of 激发...的想象力
Few creations of big technology capture the imagination like giant dams.
在重大技术所创造的东西中很少能有像大型水坝这样让人痴迷的。
2.make friends with 与...交友
I tried to make friends with my classmates.
我努力和同学们交朋友。
3.please 使高兴
More than anything, I want to please you.
最重要的是，我想让你高兴。
4.Disney the artist wanted to bring his pictures to life.
bring to life 使生气勃勃
A description or two that sharpens the personalities of your personas can help bring them to life.
一个或者两个对人物角色的人格特征的精确描述，就能将人物比较生动形象地刻画出来。
5.Disney's art of animation reached its highest point in nineteen forty with the movie "Pinocchio."
reach its highest point 达到最高
The technological development of wine production reaches perhaps its highest point in our wine-making bodega.
在我们的酒厂里葡萄酒酿造的技术发展突破其高峰。
6.The story is about a wooden toy that comes to life as a little boy.
come to life 活灵活现
At this point, your personas should be starting to come to life.
从这时开始，你创建的人物角色们应该开始变得生动逼真起来。
参考译文
我是雪莉·格里菲斯。我是雷·弗里曼。这里是VOA慢速英语栏目《美国人物志》。每周我们都会介绍美国历史上的一名重要人士。今天，我们将讲述的是华特·迪士尼以及他创造的电影公司。
这首歌是《When You Wish Upon a Star》，来自于迪斯尼动画电影《木偶奇遇记》。对很多人而言，这首歌最多的是与沃特·迪斯尼以及他的作品相联系。这首歌描述的是梦想—以及美梦成真。这正是华特迪士尼公司努力去做的。该公司创作的电影激起了全世界的孩子和成年人的想象力。数百万人都看过迪士尼的影视节目。他们和所有迪士尼的英雄交朋友：米老鼠、唐老鸭、白雪公主、匹诺曹和彼得·潘。数百万人都游览过该公司的游乐园。加利福尼亚的迪士尼乐园、佛罗里达的迪士尼世界、日本的东京迪士尼乐园以及法国的欧洲迪斯尼。或许没有一家公司能像迪士尼这样为这么多人送去欢乐。迪士尼被称为梦工厂也就不奇怪了。
1901年，华特·迪士尼出生于伊利诺斯州芝加哥市。他们家搬到了密苏里州。他成长于那里的一个农场里。16岁的时候，迪士尼开始在芝加哥学习艺术。4年后，他加入堪萨斯城电影广告公司。他帮助制作影院播放的卡通广告。广告帮助售卖商品。
1923年，华特·迪士尼搬到加利福尼亚的好莱坞并加入他的哥哥罗伊。他想成为一名电影制片人或导演。但是他却没能找到工作。因此，他决定制作动画片。动画片里的绘画栩栩如生还能移动，我们称之为卡通。迪士尼希望加他的图画鲜活起来。卡通是电影中的一系列图画。每个图画都和之前的有些不同。每个都在动作上有细微的改变。当我们看电影时，图画似乎如此真实。卡通人物和动物可以移动，并且真正的演员还为卡通人物配音。迪士尼在一间办公室的后边开了他的第一家电影公司。几年来，他一直努力赚钱支付开支。他相信卡通电影能像真人电影一样受欢迎。为了做到这一点，他认为他需要一个卡通英雄。而他的这个想法来自于一个意外的地方。迪士尼和另一位年轻的艺术家乌布·伊沃克斯合作。在工作的地方，他们常看到老鼠在这幢旧楼房里跑进跑出。所以他们画了一只卡通老鼠。它和真的老鼠并不完全一样。它能像人类一样两腿站立。它有着大眼睛而大耳朵，还带着白色的手套。艺术师们称它为“米奇”。早前，电影制作人们发现动物比人类更容易用于卡通之中。米老鼠就是几个圆画在一起，他是完美的动画人物。公众首次在电影《汽船威利》中看到米老鼠。由华特·迪士尼本人配音。这部电影制作于1928年并取得巨大成功。
在接下来的几年中，米老鼠出现在上百部卡通之中，他成为家喻户晓的人物。在日本，他被称为“Miki Kuchi”；在意大利，他是“Topolino”；在拉丁美洲，他是“Raton Miquelito”。很快其他几个卡通生物加入了米奇。其中一位是一只雌性老鼠“米妮”。另一个是鸭子“唐纳德”，他穿着水手服，声音超级搞笑，此外还有一只叫做布鲁托的狗狗。米老鼠卡通非常受欢迎。但是华特·迪士尼也希望创作其他几部卡通电影。
1930年代中期，他正在创作自己的第一部长篇电影。电影是关于一个可爱的年轻女孩，她残忍的继母以及拯救了她的帅王子的故事。这部电影是《白雪公主和七个小矮人》。历经三年，《白雪公主》终于在1937年完成了。这是首部由电影工作室制作的大型卡通电影，并成为好莱坞最成功的电影之一。电影专家表示，华特·迪士尼促成了动画艺术的发展。迪士尼的艺术大师们将每幅画赋予生命。这意味着他们不得不感受卡通人物的所有情感，快乐、悲伤、气愤和恐惧。艺术大师们看着镜子表达每个情绪，一个微笑、眼泪、尴尬的面孔以及吃惊。然后他们将每个表情画在卡通人物上。许多电影专家表示，1940年，电影《木偶奇遇记》让迪士尼的卡通艺术达到巅峰。这个故事讲述的是一个变成真人的木偶男孩的故事。迪士尼的艺术大师们画了25万幅画才完成《木偶奇遇记》的制作。他们画的是二维画，但他们创作出了空间和固体物品的样子。虽然《木偶奇遇记》是一个想象的世界，但它看起来非常真实。1940年代和50年代，迪士尼创作了其他非常受欢迎的卡通电影。包括《幻想曲》、《小飞象》、《小鹿斑比》、《灰姑娘》、《爱丽丝奇境记》、《彼得·潘》、《小姐与流浪汉》以及《睡美人》。这些电影至今仍广受欢迎。
除了卡通外，华特·迪士尼还制作了真人出演的电影电视节目。他还在野生动物的自然生存地拍摄关于它们的电影。不论真实还是想象，他的所有作品都有着相似的想法。多数作品中，天真、忠诚和亲情都受到了邪恶力量的威胁。有时悲伤时刻真的发生了。但是其中总有欢乐的事情和搞笑的人物。最终，好人总能战胜坏人。因其在电影和电影制作行业的科学技术创新，他总共获得了32座奥斯卡奖。
1955年，华特·迪士尼在离加利福尼亚好莱坞不远的地方开了一家游乐场。他称之为“迪士尼乐园”。他想让这里成为地球上最欢乐的地方。迪士尼乐园创造出了迪士尼电影中的梦幻之地。还创造了真实的地方—正如迪士尼所想像的那样。例如，一块像是19世纪美国西部小镇的区域。另一个则像是未来世界。迪士尼还有刺激的乘骑项目。孩子们可以坐在大象上飞行或是坐在茶杯里旋转或是爬山，在丛林河流中漂浮。最棒的是，孩子们可以见到米老鼠本鼠。演员们穿上服装扮成米奇和所有迪士尼卡通人物，他们在游乐园里晃悠和人们招手。
一些评论家表示，迪士尼乐园就像是一棵巨大的摇钱树，票价昂贵，很多家庭都买不起票。他们说，这并不能代表美国最好的文化，但是大多游客都很喜欢。他们从各地而来，美国总统们、其他国家的领导人们，以及世界各地的家庭。迪士尼乐园非常的成功，所以迪士尼计划在佛罗里达建第二家乐园以及一座教育性乐园。该项目即为迪士尼世界，1971年，迪士尼去世后，在佛罗里达开放。一手创立这一切的人—华特·迪士尼，死于1966年。但是他创立的公司继续通过电影和游乐园帮助人们逃离生活中的困难。
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