节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2012-12-29
难易度:High
关键字:credential, intent, on the horizon, in store, BAFTA [British Acadamy of
Film and Television Arts]
Hi, everybody.
Welcome to Studio Classroom Worldwide.
My name is Steve.
As always, I'm so happy that you've joined us today.
Let's get started. In the world of TV and movies,
a breakout role or a breakthrough role is a role that significantly increases an
actor's widespread success and recognition.
It's a role that moves actors away from playing minor characters towards getting
lead roles.
A breakout role could be an actor's film debut, but more often, like with
today's PROFILE personality veteran British actor Martin Freeman, it's not.
Freeman's breakout role - most definitely Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit.
Let's turn to page 49 and learn more.
Martin Freeman: The Hobbit's Leading Star.
In the U.K., Freeman may be best known for his role as Tim Canterbury in BBC's
TV comedy The Office.
However, he's equally comfortable in serious roles.
Freeman made headlines as Dr. John Watson in BBC's Sherlock,
a modern-day adaptation of the Sherlock Holmes detective stories, for which he
won a BAFTA award.
In spite of these impressive acting credentials, he's been relatively unknown
outside of the U.K.
All of that is changing this month.
According to Peter Jackson, Freeman is the perfect fit for the roll of Bilbo
Baggins: "intelligent, funny, surprising and brave - exactly like Bilbo.".
Hello, friends.
Thank you so much for joining us here in the studio.
My name is Kaylah.
And I'm here with Ryan today.
We're talking about a really special actor named Martin Freeman.
That's right.
Martin Freeman, as we began learning, started learning about acting at the age
of 17 when he decided, well, to become an actor.
That's right.
He went through a lot in his younger years.
He was not very healthy.
But he pushed through that, and despite his physical limitations, had a very
active life, which then led him into a more active career, into acting.
Now friends, we know him this month from the new movie that's coming out The
Hobbit.
But he's actually gotten a different start in the U.K.
That's right.
U.K. means the United Kingdom.
Now he... you might not know him.
But if you ever watch BBC, you might have seen him because he is best known for
his role as Tim Canterbury on BBC's TV comedy The Office.
OK. Now The Office is a funny show (that means it's a comedy) about people who
work in an office.
OK. Yes, it's about a comedy about working in the office.
You might have seen the American The Office.
Now he's not in the one; he's in the British one.
And he's famous for that role.
However, that's not where he stopped in BBC... in entertainment.
That's right.
In The Office, he plays a comedian, he's very funny.
But he's equally comfortable in serious roles as well.
That's right, "equally" meaning it doesn't matter, he is... they're the same.
"Equal" means the same.
So he's equally comfortable; he's... he can do whatever.
It's easy for him.
That's right.
Now Kaylah, we do know he's from a certain serious role.
What is that?
Well, he's... Oh, I actually know him not from The Office but from his serious
role in... it's called Sherlock.
Now you might recognize the name Sherlock as in Sherlock Holmes; and that's what
it's based off of.
And he headlines as Dr. John Watson.
That's right.
If someone headlines, that means they make the news headlines.
People know who they are and, well, they're well-known for what they do.
And here he plays John Watson in Sherlock, which is a modern-day adaptation of
Sherlock Holmes.
That's right.
Now it's the Sherlock Holmes detective stories.
Sherlock Holmes is probably the most famous detective.
We all know him from literature.
And there're so many stories.
So what this... this company has done is they take Sherlock Holmes stories and
put them in modern times.
And in this, he plays Dr. Watson.
Now we all know "Elementary, Mr. Watson!" It's a very famous line.
And that's who he gets to play.
Exactly. This is a pretty big character, and it is a serious role.
And now this show, Kaylah, which is an adaptation, which means it's a version of
Sherlock Holmes, it's about detective stories.
That's right.
We talked about solving mysteries.
That's what he does with Sherlock Holmes.
And he's so good at it that he actually won a BAFTA award.
Now I love this TV show.
I actually watch it, and I'm a big fan of it.
I recommend it.
It's extremely well done.
We've talked about BBC last month.
We know that they're a great company, and they're... This show is one of their
best.
OK, yes.
And he actually won an award in the show.
It's called a BAFTA award.
So it's "BAFTA," and that stands for British Academy of Film and TV Arts.
That's right.
And this is kind of like the Acadamy Awards in the United States.
They're kind of the same.
It's... they're one of those high awards for your acting ability in film and in
television.
OK. Now friends, in spite of his impressive acting credentials, he's been, well,
relatively unknown outside of Britain.
That's right.
Outside of the U.K., people don't really know him.
To be relatively unknown, that means, well, we do know who he is, some do.
But "relatively" means mostly or most commonly.
Right. And he does... he's not really well-known, but he does have very good
credentials.
Now what does the word "credentials" mean?
Oh, "credential" is a great word.
"Credential" is your ability, your experiences that make you suitable or good
for a certain job or position.
So your credentials would be maybe your schooling, your job experiences.
When you are interviewing for a job, you want to talk about your credentials.
Now his credentials are acting credentials because that's what he does.
Yeah. And he has good credentials.
He's won awards, he's been on these very popular TV shows.
But until recently, he hasn't really been known outside of the U.K.
But that is not going to last for long.
Soon the whole world will know and recognize his face because this month we're
changing that.
That's right.
According to Peter Jackson, Freeman is the perfect fit for the role of Bilbo
Baggins.
Now Bilbo Baggins is an intelligent, funny, surprising and brave kind of guy.
And well, so is Martin Freeman.
Exactly. He actually fits the role.
And if you fit a role, that means that you actually have what it takes, you have
exactly what it takes to do that job.
Now he still has to act.
He's not going to just play himself acting like he's Bilbo Baggins.
But he has a lot of the same characteristics.
He's smart, he's funny and he's brave.
Exactly. Bilbo is a fun character.
And here it... well, it looks like Martin Freeman is a fun guy.
That's right.
We're looking forward to seeing him in this... in this role and in this part.
We're going to be excited for it.
We're going to talk about what people are talking about and how he got this part
after we visit the Chat Room.
(Music).
Hey, Bryan.
I'd like to check this book out, please.
OK.
Wow! Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories.
Ken, these are classics!
I know.
I've heard so much about them that I decided I should read them.
Well, great idea.
These stories have inspired many other detective stories as well as TV shows and
even movies.
Yes. I've seen some of the Sherlock Holmes movies that have come out in the past
few years.
When people want to give an example of a really smart person, they'll frequently
use "Sherlock Holmes." In fact,
people will even say things like "He's no Sherlock Holmes" to mean that someone
isn't especially smart.
OK. I know Americans sometimes quote famous lines from books and movies.
Are there any famous quotes from the Sherlock Holmes stories?
Yep. The main one is: Elementary, my dear Watson.
"Elementary" here means simple.
Holmes would say this whenever his friend Watson asked him how he knew something
that Holmes thought was obvious.
So now people will say this when something is easy to figure out.
Cool. That's good to know.
I noticed that that book says the author is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Is "Sir" a title like Mr.?
Kind of.
Sometimes kings or queens of England will honor men by knighting them.
That is declaring them to be knights.
These men can then use the title Sir.
Aren't knights soldiers from the Middle Ages?
That is what they were originally.
But now knights are people who've been recognized for their contributions in a
certain area.
Women can receive this honor too, but they use the title dame, not sir.
Ah, interesting.
Well, I can't wait to start reading that book.
Here you go!
Thank you.