(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Now, the VOA Learning English program, Words and Their Stories.
On this program, we tell about common expressions in American English and explain how to use them.
Today we talk about expressions involving Los Angeles, California. Los Angeles is the biggest city in the western United States. It is the second largest U.S. city in terms of population, after New York City.
So, Los Angeles is a huge city with people from many different walks of life. But for today's show we are going to focus on the dream–like, or ethereal, part of Los Angeles.
Los Angeles -- or simply "L.A." for short -- can be an unreal place, a place like no other. For some it is a city where big dreams come true; for others it is where their dreams die in cloud of smog.
L.A is home to the U.S. motion picture and television industries. Some Americans like to call it The Entertainment Capital of the World.
The L.A. neighborhood best known for films and movie stars is Hollywood. Millions of people visit Hollywood each year. No trip to Los Angeles is complete without seeing the word "Hollywood" spelled out in huge letters on a hillside.
And many actors dream of having their name added to Hollywood's Walk of Fame.
This brings us to a nickname for Los Angeles, one that is also commonly-used as an expression: la-la land.
La-la land can be any place that is fun, far from serious, and out of touch with reality. You can use the expression when talking about the mental state of someone who does not understand what is really happening. You might say that person is "in la-la land."
"La La Land" is also the name of a 2016 movie. It tells the story of a man who wants to be a musician and a woman who wants to be an actress. They meet and fall in love in Los Angeles. The name of the movie suggests both the city's nickname and the state of being out of touch with reality.
Now, there are many types of industries: automobile industry, farming industry, computer industry, and so on, and so on. However, when people in L.A. say they work in the "Industry," they only mean one thing – making movies. Like any industry, the movie industry has its own set of terms and expressions. Some are useful outside of La La Land.
Not only actors, many screenwriters dream of making it big in Hollywood. They write one screenplay after another, hoping for a big break – the opportunity of seeing their story made into a film and played out on the silver screen.
To get money to make that happen, these writers need to pitch their stories. A pitch is a short description of a project you've been working on or an idea you have. You pitch your idea to someone who can help you with money or provide contacts to make it happen.
Writers usually form a partnership with someone in the Industry such as a producer or director. These partnerships then pitch the project to investors.
So, in Hollywood, the pitch is about scripts and making a movie. But you can pitch anything that needs financial backing. You can even say you are pitching yourself if you are looking for a job.
But back to the movies -- let's say your pitch is successful. The first person you talk to likes your idea. So, you move up the line. You get to talk "Bigs." In Hollywood, these are the people with all the influence and money.
In other work situations, you might call them big wigs, decision makers or simply the "money people."
No matter what you call them, if investors like your pitch, they may green light your project.
This would be the best news. In traffic, a green light gives the driver permission to move forward. In movies and in all other industries, getting the green light for a project or having your project green lighted means you have permission and support to make it happen.
After you get the green light, you make your script into a movie. You've made the big time! Again, you can make the "big time" or make it big in any industry, not just in the movies.
And that's the end of this Words and Their Stories.
I'm Anna Matteo.
重点解析
1.green light 准许;许可;绿灯
The European Parliament has given the green light for member states to cut persistent file-sharers off from the net.
欧洲议会准许其成员国去除网上宿存的文件共享者。
2.make it big 取得成功; 出名
I never thought that he would make it big, but I guess I was wrong about Michael jordan.
我从来没想过麦克尔·乔丹会成功，但我想我对他的看法是错的。
3.big wigs 重要人物
All the local big wigs were present at the closing ceremony.
当地所有的重要人物都出席了这个闭幕仪式。
参考译文
这里是VOA学英语《词汇掌故》节目。
我们会向大家介绍美式英语里的常用表达以及使用方法。
今天，我们的表达涉及洛杉矶和加利福尼亚。洛杉矶是美国西部最大的城市。就人口而言，洛杉矶是次于纽约的美国人口第二大城市。
所以，洛杉矶是一个充满形形色色生活的大城市。但在今天的节目中，我们将把重点放在梦幻般的，或者说是缥缈的部分洛杉矶的样子。
洛杉矶——或者简称“L.A”，真的是一个仙境，独一无二。对于一些人来说，这里是梦想实现的地方；对于其他人来说，
洛杉矶是美国电影和电视产业的发源地。一些美国人喜欢称呼这个地方为世界的娱乐之都。
洛杉矶以电影和电影明星出名的街区就是好莱坞。每年洛杉矶的游客就上百万。没有去洛杉矶看山坡上拼写的“好莱坞”的旅行是不完整的。
许多演员梦想着能在好莱坞的星光大道拥有自己的姓名。
这引出了洛杉矶的昵称，也是一个常见表达：la-la land（梦幻之都）。
梦幻之都可以指任何一个充满乐趣，远离庄重，脱离现实的地方。你也可以用这个短语来表达某人不明白发生了什么的精神状态。你可以说这个人正处于“梦幻之境”。
“La La Land”也是2016年的一个电影名称。电影主角是一个想成为音乐家的男人和一个想成为演员的女人。他们在洛杉矶相遇并相爱。电影名称表明了洛杉矶的昵称和脱离现实的状态。
现在有很多产业类型：汽车工业、农业、计算机产业等等。但是，当洛杉矶的人说他们在“Industry”工作，他们只有一个意思——制作电影。和其他任何产业一样，电影产业也有自己的一套术语和表达。有些在洛杉矶之外也有很用。
不仅仅是演员，许多编剧梦想在好莱坞大放异彩。他们一个剧本接一个剧本地写，希望能有大突破——他们的剧本能被拍成电影并在银幕上播放出来的机会。
为了能拿到资金实现梦想，这些编剧需要用广告语来推销他们的剧本。这里的广告语说的是对自己所做项目的简短描述或是自己的想法。你可以把自己的想法推销给那些能在资金上帮助你或者能提供帮助你实现梦想的人脉关系的人。
编剧们通常与业内人士结成伙伴关系，比如制片人或者导演。这些合伙人然后向投资人推荐剧本。
所以，在好莱坞，广告语是关于剧本和电影制作的。但你可以用广告语推销需要资金支持的任何事物。如果你在找工作，你甚至可以说你在自荐。
说回电影方面——假设你的推销很成功。你谈的第一个人很喜欢你的想法。所以，你提高了标准。你开始和大人物谈。在好莱坞，这些大人物有钱，有影响力。
在其他工作场合，你也许可以称呼他们“重要人物（big wigs）”，最后拍板的人或者就称为“有钱人”。
不论你怎么称呼他们，如果投资人喜欢你的剧本，他们也许会投资你的项目。
这会是最好的结果。在交通方面，绿灯时，司机方可行驶。在电影业和其他所有产业，获得一个项目的“许可”或者项目通过了（getting the green light for a project or having your project green lighted）意思是你得到了项目得以实施的许可或者支持。
在获得许可后，你把剧本拍成了电影。你获得了巨大成功（make the big time）！同样，你可以在任何产业，而不仅仅在电影业使用“成功”一词。
这就是今天的《词汇掌故》节目。
我是安娜·马特奥。
