节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2012-11-29
难易度:Low
关键字:compete, hang on, outstanding, impress, episode, audition
Hi, everybody.
So happy you've joined us here today at Studio Classroom Worldwide.
My name is Steve.
In this month's PROFILE feature, we're looking at the life of Australian actor
Chris Hemsworth.
Last year Hemsworth, with his good looks, big muscles and deep voice,
rocketed to fame playing the lead role in a movie based on the comic book
superhero Thor.
But what was he doing before he found himself on the big screen?
Well, like so many others in the business, he started his journey on the small
screen - TV, that is.
Let's pick up Hemsworth's story of how he refined his acting abilities in a
popular Australian soap opera on page 51.
Chris Hemsworth - Hollywood's Latest Superhero.
Hemsworth played the role from 2004 to 2007.
The work was not easy.
He would shoot 20 scenes a day, five episodes a week.
He got great experience as an actor and was thankful for that period of time.
In 2006, he competed on the Australian program Dancing with the Stars.
He and his partner didn't win, but they hung on until the seventh show.
Soon after, Hemsworth decided to head for Hollywood to try his luck.
Hello, friends.
Thank you so much for joining us right here in the studio.
My name is Kaylah.
My name is Ryan.
And friends, we're back talking about the God of Thunder, Thor.
Well, actually we're talking about the actor who plays him, Chris Hemsworth.
That's right.
We're not actually talking about Thor, the Norse God of Thunder.
We're talking about Chris Hemsworth, the actor who plays him for the movie Thor
as well as the Avengers.
But Chris has not always been Thor.
We're looking at his history, where he comes from and how he got his start.
Yeah. He was born in Australia.
And he and his family spend a lot of time at a cattle station, and so they're
playing outdoors.
And then as he got older, went to college, and then decided to try his hand at
acting.
That's right. He was a very experienced young man.
He tried lots of different things.
He was a surfer.
He lived in the city.
He lived on a cattle ranch.
He was... really adventurous kind of guy so it made sense that he could play
these adventure roles.
But he didn't start with the role of Thor, he got his start on an Australian TV
show, a soap opera known as Home and Away.
Right, Home and Away.
And so he played the role on that show from 2004 to 2007, not that long ago.
That's right.
And he... for three years, it's impressive.
As I said, soap operas have a tendency to be very long.
Shows can go for years and years and years.
But to have a character on a show that lasted for three years, it's incredible.
Usually characters turn over pretty quickly.
Now Kaylah, we see here that he... played the role.
Why are we using the word "played" here?
Well, here the word "played" is also a way of saying "acted." When you play a
part, that means you are doing that part.
You are taking place.
You are... you are performing.
If you played something professionally, you're getting paid to do it and to
perform.
OK. Thank you, Kaylah.
So it just means simply he had that role, and he was acting in it.
And he did that for three years.
But the work was not easy.
It might seem easy to be acting, but it's very time-demanding.
He would shoot 20 scenes a day.
Now friends, if you've ever acted before, you might understand this.
But if you haven't, acting is actually very tiring.
And to shoot 20 scenes a day is very difficult because, you know, you don't get
to shoot it just one time.
Exactly.
Now a scene is a section of a story in TV or movies.
And so it usually is when actors have to communicate with each other or have a
conversation with each other.
And you have to rehearse.
You have to practice.
And then when you're shooting those scenes or filming those scenes, it takes a
lot of times over and over again.
And it requires you to spend a lot of time acting.
And the use of that word "shoot" here does not mean like a gun, bang.
It's more... it means like a camera, you take the reels, take the footage.
And so shooting these scenes 20 a day meant he was shooting five episodes a
week, that's very tiring.
All right.
So an "episode" is a part of a story.
Usually you might say one show.
An episode might on TV... it might last 30 minutes to an hour, maybe for a soap
opera.
And so that is a section of the story that he filmed.
And he filmed five of those a week.
That's a lot.
That's right.
Now another episode example would be Studio Classroom.
There are six episodes of Studio Classroom every week.
That's right.
So you can watch one section of the show each week... or each day.
That's right.
We have... every single day we have an episode for you.
Now he got great experience as an actor and was thankful for that period of
time.
This is great experience.
OK. So of course he'd be grateful for that.
If you are grateful for something or thankful for something, that means you are
expressing greatness that you appreciate it.
You are thanking people for... or thanking someone for giving that to you.
Then in 2006, he competed on the Australian program Dancing with the Stars.
Which... there are dancing with the Stars program in many different countries.
But he is an Australian star, so that's where he performs.
All right.
So Dancing with the Stars, people are dancing with each other, and they compete
with each other.
When you "compete" with someone or someone else, then you... that means you are
really kind of trying to win.
You're almost fighting against them during a certain type of what's called a
competition.
Unfortunately, he didn't win.
But he and his partner hung on until the seventh show.
So this show you might not know, it's a famous person with a dance teacher, and
they work all week long to get a dance down really well.
And then they all compete.
And then whoever is the worst gets eliminated and has to leave the show.
But he hung on for at least seven episodes.
That's right.
Now if you are in a competition, and you "hang on," then that means you are
still competing as long as you can.
You're really trying to win for a certain amount of time.
That's right.
Now you can't hang on forever.
"Hang on" means eventually it will end.
But they hung on for seven weeks.
That's really impressive.
Now Kaylah, "hang on" can also mean that you wait as well.
If I tell you, friends, hang on for a few minutes, that means wait for a few
minutes.
That's right.
Now if you hang on waiting, it's usually short.
But when you're competing to hang on, it means you're trying for a little bit
longer.
Well, soon afterwards, Hemsworth decided to head for Hollywood to try his luck.
And luck he did find!
We'll find out what that was after today's skit.
So Thor... I mean, Chris, what's it like acting on a soap opera?
Actually, the work is not easy.
You shoot 20 scenes a day.
Twenty scenes?
Oh, that's a lot.
Yes. There are five episodes a week.
Ooh. That is hard work.
But I'm thankful.
It was a great experience as an actor.
Did you do anything else before you became Thor?
Yes. I competed on Dancing with the Stars.
I love Dancing with the Stars!
Did you win?
No. But my partner and I hung on until the seventh show.
Not bad.
Thor must be a pretty good dancer.
Yeah. And after that, I headed for Hollywood to try my luck.
Hooray for Hollywood.
What did you do there?
Well, I knocked on a lot of doors.
Knock, knock.
Finally, I got a part in the Star Trek movie.
Yes, James T. Kirk's father.
You were outstanding.
Thanks. But it wasn't a big role.
But I did earn some fans.
I know. I'm one of them.
And after that, I landed part of Thor.
And after that, Thor landed on our planet to save us.
Hooray for me!
Well, excuse me. It's time to go save the world.
You're leaving?
Well, yes. But I'll be back.
Oh, great.
Next time, can you bring Iron Man?
IronMan?