(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
I'm Sarah Long. And I'm Steve Ember with PEOPLE IN AMERICA in VOA Special English. Today we tell about three people who helped make Hollywood the center of the movie industry. When you hear the name Hollywood, you probably think of excitement, lights, cameras and movie stars. Famous actors are not the only important people in the entertainment business. Directors and producers are important, too. Today, Hollywood is full of producers and directors. However, very few are as famous and successful as Hollywood's first motion picture businessmen, Cecil B. DeMille, Samuel Goldwyn and Louis Mayer.
Cecil Blount DeMille was born in Ashfield, Massachusetts in eighteen eighty-one. Both his parents were writers of plays. His father died when he was twelve years old. His mother kept the family together by establishing a theater company. Cecil joined the company as an actor. He continued working in his mother's theater company as an actor and a manager until nineteen thirteen. That year, he joined Jesse L. Lasky and Samuel Goldfish to form the Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company. Goldfish later changed his name to Samuel Goldwyn. The three men started making motion pictures immediately. They loved working in the movie business.
They were deeply interested in its creative and financial possibilities. DeMille, Lasky and Goldfish began working on a movie version of the popular American western play, "Squaw Man." DeMille urged that the movie be made in the real American West. He chose Flagstaff, Arizona. DeMille and the company traveled to Flagstaff by train. When they arrived, DeMille thought the area looked too modern. They got back on the train and keep going until they reached the end of the line. They were in a quiet little town in southern California. The town was called Hollywood. DeMille decided this was the perfect place to film the movie.
"Squaw Man" was one of the first full-length movies produced in Hollywood. It was released in nineteen thirteen and was an immediate success. DeMille is considered the man who helped Hollywood become the center of the motion picture business. He quickly became a creative force in the new movie industry. His success continued with "Brewster's Millions," "The Call of the North" and "The Trail of the Lonesome Pine." Cecil B. DeMille was among the very few filmmakers in Hollywood whose name appeared above the title of his movie. His name was more important to movie-goers than the names of the stars in the movie. DeMille's movies were known to be big productions. He combined a lot of action, realistic storytelling and hundreds of actors to make some of Hollywood's best movies. He made many kinds of movies including westerns, comedies, romances and ones dealing with moral issues.
A movie poster for DeMille gained a great deal of fame with the kind of movie known as an epic. An epic tells a story of events that are important in history. DeMille's epic movies were based on the settling of the American West, Roman history or stories from the Bible. His first version of the historic film "The Ten Commandments" was a huge success among silent films in nineteen twenty-three. In nineteen fifty-six, he released a new version of "The Ten Commandments" to include sound. It is broadcast still on American television during the Christian observance of Easter.
Cecil B. DeMille produced and directed seventy movies. In nineteen forty-nine he received a special Academy Award for "thirty-seven years of brilliant showmanship." He died of heart failure in nineteen fifty-nine. One of DeMille's last films was "The Greatest Show on Earth." It won the Academy Award for best picture in nineteen fifty-two. It was about people who performed in the circus. Some people say it was a fitting subject because Cecil B. DeMille often was called the greatest showman in Hollywood. In eighteen ninety-five, a thirteen year old boy from Warsaw, Poland found his way to the United States. Samuel Goldfish was alone. He had no money. He found work as a glove maker. He continued working in the glove-making industry until he was almost thirty years old.
In nineteen thirteen, Samuel and his wife's brother, Jesse L. Lasky, and Cecil B. DeMille formed the Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company. It produced the movie "Squaw Man." In nineteen sixteen, Goldfish started a business with Edgar Selwyn. They combined their names Goldfish and Selwyn and called the new company Goldwyn. Samuel Goldfish liked the name and changed his to Samuel Goldwyn in nineteen eighteen. The Goldwyn Company made many successful motion pictures. Yet, the company was not a financial success. In nineteen twenty-two, Samuel Goldwyn was forced to leave the company. The Goldwyn Company then joined with Metro Pictures and Louis B. Mayer Productions to form Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, known as MGM. Samuel Goldwyn was not part of the deal. He promised never to be a joint owner of another company. He formed his own company Samuel Goldwyn Productions.
Samuel Goldwyn was one of the great independent producers during the "Golden Age" of Hollywood. Most of his films were successful financially and popular with critics. He insisted that his films be well made and of high quality. This became known as the "Goldwyn Touch." Goldwyn usually paid for his films himself. He bought the best stories and plays to be made into movies. He employed the best writers, directors and actors. And he discovered new actors including Lucille Ball, Gary Cooper, Susan Hayward and Will Rogers. Goldwyn was extremely independent. He had a strong desire to control every element of the production and marketing of his films. He made all decisions concerning his films including choosing directors, actors and writers. His best films include "The Little Foxes," "The Best Years of Our Lives" and "Porgy and Bess." His movies received many Academy Awards. Samuel Goldwyn was known also for his sense of humor. He created funny expressions. In Hollywood they are known as Goldwynisms. One of his most famous expressions was "Include me out."
In nineteen forty-six, Goldwyn received the Irving Thalberg Memorial Award for his excellent movie productions during the Academy Award ceremonies that year. He died in nineteen seventy-four.
Samuel Goldwyn was in the movie business for almost sixty years. He is considered one of the most influential film producers ever. Louis B. Mayer began as a theater operator in Havermill, Massachusetts in nineteen-oh-seven. Over the next several years he bought more theaters. Soon he owned the largest group of theaters in New England. In nineteen seventeen, Mayer formed his own movie production company. In the early nineteen twenties, Louis B. Mayer Pictures joined two other companies to form Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Mayer was appointed vice president and general manager of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. He had a strong fatherly way of supervising the company and actors. The company had some of the biggest names in show business including Judy Garland, Clark Gable, Katherine Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor. A popular expression used at the time was MGM had "more stars than there are in heaven." MGM produced some of the most popular movies of all time including "The Wizard of Oz," "Gone with the Wind" and "The Philadelphia Story."
In the nineteen thirties and nineteen forties, Louis B. Mayer was the most powerful businessman in Hollywood. He earned more than one million two hundred thousand dollars a year. He was paid more than anyone else in the United States. In nineteen fifty, Mayer received a special Academy Award for "excellent service to the Motion Picture industry." He died in Hollywood, California in nineteen fifty-seven. He was seventy-two years old. Cecil B. DeMille, Samuel Goldwyn and Louis B. Mayer are remembered for their excellent movies and their continuing influence in the motion picture industry. They led the way for movie producers and directors of today and those still to come.
重点解析
1.continue vi. 继续，延续
I hope they continue to fight for equal justice after I'm gone.
我希望我走后他们继续为司法公正而奋斗。
2.form vt. 构成，组成
They tried to form a study group on human rights.
他们试图组建一个人权研究小组。
3.be interested in 对……感兴趣
I thought she might be interested in Paula's proposal
我觉得她对葆拉的提议可能会感兴趣。
4.consider vt. 考虑；认为
I had always considered myself a strong, competent woman.
我曾一直以为自己是个坚强能干的女人。
5.appear vi. 出现；显得
She did her best to appear more self-assured than she felt.
她竭力表现得比她感觉的更为自信。
6.movie-goer 电影观众
Movie-goer Fatima seems to share his view.
前去观看影片的法蒂玛与他有同感。
参考译文
我是萨拉·朗。我是史蒂夫·恩贝尔。这里是VOA慢速英语栏目《美国人物志》。今天我们将讲述帮助好莱坞成为电影行业中心的三位人物。当你听到好莱坞这三个字时，你或许会想到刺激、灯光、摄像机以及电影明星。著名演员并不是娱乐业中唯一重要的人物。导演和制片人也同样重要。如今，好莱坞很有多制片人和导演。但是其中很少人能像好莱坞第一代电影人—塞西尔·德米尔、塞缪尔·戈德温以及路易·梅耶一样成功出名。
1881年，塞西尔·德米尔出生于马萨诸塞州阿什菲尔德。他的父母都是戏剧作家。他的父亲在他12岁的时候去世了。他的母亲建立了一家戏剧公司将人聚集在一起。塞西尔成为了该公司的一名演员。1913年之前，他一直在母亲的公司里当演员和经纪人。那一年，他和杰西·拉斯基以及塞缪尔·格德菲什合伙成立了杰西·拉斯基公司。后来，格德菲什改名为塞缪尔·戈德温三个人立即开始制作电影。他们喜欢从事电影行业。他们对电影中的创新性和经济可能性深感兴趣。德米尔、拉斯基和格德菲什开始制作著名美国西方戏剧《Squaw Man》的电影版。德米尔要求在美国西部拍摄真实的场景。他选择了美国亚利桑那州的拉格斯塔夫。
德米尔和公司坐火车来到拉格斯塔夫。他们到那时，德米尔认为这片地区太过现代化了。他们回到火车上一直寻找，直到他们坐到了终点站。他们来到了加利福尼亚南部的一个安静小镇。这个镇子被称为好莱坞。德米尔决定这就拍摄这部电影的最佳场地。《Squaw Man》是出自好莱坞的首部长篇电影之一。该电影于1913年上映，一上映便取得极大成功。德米尔被认为是那个帮助好莱坞成为电影行业中心的人。他迅速成为新电影行业的创造力量。他的成功延续至电影《布鲁斯特的百万横财》、《The Call of the North》以及《The Trail of the Lonesome Pine》。
塞西尔·德米尔是好莱坞少数几名，名字出现在电影名之上的制片人。对于常看电影的人来说。他的名字比电影中明星的名字更重要。德米尔的电影都是大制作。他将打斗场面、现实故事以及百名演员融合，从而制成了好莱坞最好的一些电影。他的电影类型很多，包括西部电影、喜剧片、浪漫片以及一些讨论道德问题的片子。为类似史诗的电影制作的德米尔的电影海报名声大噪。这部史诗讲述了重要历史事件。德米尔的史诗电影是基于美国西部、浪漫历史以及圣经中的故事。他的历史电影的首个版本《十诫》是1923年无声电影中的一个大成功。1956年，他公布了《十诫》的有声新版本。这个版本仍在复活节期间的美国电视上播出。塞西尔·德米尔制作并导演了70部电影。1949年，他收到了“37年辉煌演技”奥斯卡特别奖。1959年，他因心力衰竭去世。德米尔的电影包括《大马戏团》。1952年，这部电影获得了奥斯卡最佳影片奖。这部电影讲述的是在马戏团表演的人。一些人表示这部电影主题很贴切，因为德米尔常被称为是好莱坞最伟大的表演者。
1995年，一个来自波兰华沙的13岁男孩发现了去往美国的方法。塞缪尔·格德菲什独自一人。他没有钱。他找了一份做手套的工作。他继续在手套行业工作直到他快30岁。1913年，塞缪尔和他妻子的哥哥杰西·拉斯基，以及塞西尔·德米尔组建了杰西·拉斯基公司。该公司制作了电影《Squaw Man》。1916年，格德菲什和埃德加·塞尔温创业。他们将格德菲什和塞尔温两个名字相结合组成新公司戈德温。格德菲什很喜欢这个名字，于是1918年，他将自己的名字改为塞缪尔·戈德温。
戈德温公司制作了很多成功的电影，但是这个公司并没赚多少钱。1922年，塞缪尔·戈德温被迫离开公司。戈德温公司和米特罗公司和路易·梅耶制片组成了米高梅电影公司（MGM）。塞缪尔·戈德温并不在其中。他承诺永远不会成为另一家公司的联合所有者。他成立自己的公司塞缪尔·戈德温制片公司。塞缪尔·戈德温是好莱坞黄金时代的伟大独立制片人之一。他的大部分电影都在经济上取得了成功也很受影评人欢迎。他坚持电影的精良制作。这被称为“Goldwyn Touch”。戈德温通常是自费电影。他买下最好的故事和戏剧，并将这些拍成电影。他雇用做好的作家、导演和演员。并且他发现了很多新人演员，包括露西尔·鲍尔、加里·库珀、苏珊·海华以及威尔·罗杰斯。戈德温是一个极端独立主义者。他对控制电影的每个元素有着强烈欲望。关于自己电影的一切，他都是自己做决定，包括选择导演、演员和编剧。
他最好的电影包括《小狐狸》、《黄金时代》以及《波吉和贝丝》。他的电影获得过很多奥斯卡奖。塞缪尔·戈德温也以幽默感而出名。他创作出了很多喜剧式的表达。在好莱坞，它们被称为戈德温式妙语。他最著名的表达之一是“别把我算在内”。1946年，在那一年的奥斯卡典礼上，戈德温因他的电影而获得撒尔伯格纪念奖。他在1974年去世了。塞缪尔·戈德温在电影界待了将近60年。他被认为是有史以来最具影响力的电影制片人之一。
1907年，路易·梅耶是马萨诸塞州Havermill的一名戏剧运营商。在接下来的几年中，他买下了更多的剧院。很快他便拥有了新英格兰最大的剧院。1917年，梅耶建立了自己的电影制片公司。1920年代早期，路易·梅耶电影公司加入两家其他公司，共同成立米高梅电影公司。梅耶被任命为该公司的副总裁兼总经理。他用父亲般的方式监管者公司和演员。公司最出名的演员包括朱迪·嘉兰、克拉克·盖博、凯瑟琳·赫本以及伊丽莎白·泰勒。那时最流行的表达是MGM拥有的“演员比天堂里的还多”。MGM制作了很多有史以来最著名的电影，包括《绿野仙踪》、《乱世佳人》以及《费城故事》。1930年代和40年代，路易·梅耶成为了好莱坞最具权力的商人。他一年赚得120万美元。他比美国任何人都赚得多。1950年，梅耶获得奥斯卡特别奖“电影业卓越贡献奖”。1957年，在他加利福尼亚好莱坞去世，享年72岁。塞西尔·德米尔、塞缪尔·戈德温以及路易·梅耶因他们卓越的电影以及他们在电影行业的持续影响力而被世人铭记。他们为现在以及今后的电影制片人以及导演开辟了道路。
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