节目资讯
刊物:空中英語教室
日期:2012-03-26
难易度:Low
关键字:leap of faith, initially, cast, earnings, audition, celebrity
(Music).
Hi, everybody.
Welcome to Studio Classroom Worldwide.
My name is Steve.
Here's a question for you.
How do you go from living in a car one week to making a film with one of the
most famous film directors in the world the next?
Just ask Australian actor Sam Worthington.
OK, it's true that Worthington wasn't completely broke, but his super fast rise
to fame kind of fits the rags-to-riches model.
It's the kind of story we all love to hear.
Now why don't we open our Studio Classroom magazines to page 48 and learn how
the star of Avatar went from homeless to Hollywood.
Sam Worthington.
This actor went from being homeless to Hollywood.
A big break.
In 2006 Australian actor Sam Worthington was facing a crisis.
He had just turned 30, but he didn't know his purpose in life.
Worthington wanted to start over.
Taking a leap of faith, he sold his possessions and started living in his car.
About a week later, he received a call to audition for a movie.
That call changed his life.
Worthington auditioned initially without knowing anything about the movie.
It came as a surprise when he learned he was auditioning for famous Hollywood
director James Cameron.
Hello, friends.
Thank you so much for joining us right here in our studio.
Yes. Now we're looking at our PROFILE article this month where we're learning
about a man named Sam Worthington.
Now in last month's magazine, we had an article about Zhangjiajie in China.
And we learned about how some of the places there looked like the movie Avatar.
Now why is that important here, Kaylah?
Well, because Sam Worthington is the starring actor from Avatar.
And I have to say he is one good-looking man.
You can see a picture of him on page 48, and see if you agree with Kaylah here.
Now in this article, we're going to learn about how he became an actor and the
journey that he went through in life before he became famous.
Well, this actor went from being homeless to Hollywood.
Wow! That is a big jump.
Yes, it is.
Now being homeless means you have no home, you don't have anywhere to live.
And so he probably had no money as well.
And eventually, then he became obviously an actor.
So this is going to be a cool story.
That's right, from homeless to Hollywood, not a story you get to hear every day.
Well, we're going to start with a section called: A big break.
Now that does not mean something fell and broke.
What does this mean?
If someone gets a big break, that means that they have a good chance to do
something, maybe they got a little lucky.
"A big break" we often use when we talk about an artist.
So maybe an actor or a musician or a designer, their big break is their big
opportunity.
And Sam's came in 2006.
Yes. Now we see he is an Australian actor, and he was facing a crisis.
Now a crisis is when a lot of things are not going well.
You're having a bad time.
That's right.
He had just turned 30, but he didn't know what his purpose in life was.
Now 30 is still fairly young, but you do need to have some sort of direction in
to where you're going in life; and he didn't.
Yeah. Most people want a purpose, which is referring to what they are... what
they belong to or what they know they should be doing.
And so he wanted to start his life over.
He had no purpose, so he wanted a new beginning.
A new beginning.
That sounds nice.
So taking a leap of faith, he sold his possessions and started living in his
car.
What? He lived in a car?
Yes, so he took a leap of faith here.
And if you're living in a car, that is definitely a "leap of faith," which is
referring to believing in something that is not easy to believe or doing
something that's not easy to do.
And I don't think it would be easy to live in a car.
I... I completely agree.
I do not think it would be easy at all.
And he sold everything.
That was his leap of faith right there - was selling everything he owned, living
in his car so that he could make this change in his life.
Exactly. Now about a week after he did this, he received a call to audition for
a movie.
Now "audition." That is something that probably most of us will go through at
least once in our life if we're involved in any sort of music or any sort of
acting or drama.
This is something we all suffer through.
It makes you very nervous.
Yeah. Now an addition obviously, like Kaylah said, you have to perform, and so
you would be very nervous for that.
And this is a little bit strange that he would get a call for this audition
after moving into his car.
Yeah, especially since you don't get to... Usually for movie auditions, you
don't get to just show up.
You have to be called.
Now the audition, Ryan, you said, is a performance.
But more importantly, it's a performance proving that you are good enough to do
a role or a part.
So he has to go in and prove that his acting is good enough for whatever movie
has just called him.
Right, for a movie.
Now this call that he got for the audition changed his life.
Yes. Worthington auditioned initially without knowing anything about the movie,
which is a little bit odd if you ask me.
Yeah. Most people who audition, they want to know everything about the movie.
See how much money it will make, how many people will see it because maybe they
want to be famous.
They want to be a part of a big movie.
But he initially didn't know anything about this movie.
That's right. He didn't know anything.
"Initially." That means in the very beginning.
At the start, he didn't know what... this movie was about.
Well, it came as a surprise when he learned he was auditioning for famous
Hollywood director James Cameron.
And this is our Grammar on the Go tip, so let's visit Liz.
Hello, friends.
I hope you're doing well today.
My name is Liz and it's time for Grammar on the Go.
I'm in Australia today, and this is where Sam Worthington is from.
In today's article, we read:
It came as a surprise when he learned he was auditioning for famous Hollywood
director James Cameron.
That's our Grammar Tip sentence.
Notice how the sentence begins with the phrase, "it came as a surprise when..."
We use this phrase when you want to talk about an unexpected event.
Of course, looking at today's sentence we could say:
It surprised Worthington when he learned he was auditioning for famous Hollywood
director James Cameron.
Or: Worthington was surprised when he learned he was auditioning for famous
Hollywood director James Cameron.
So, now here's another phrase you can try using, "it came as a surprise when..."
Here're some examples.
It came as a surprise to everyone when Janice announced her engagement; no one
knew she had a boyfriend.
Or: Wendy needed money to pay her bills; it came as a surprise when she received
a check in the mail from an anonymous person.
If you'd like to see more example sentences, they're available in today's
Grammar Tip section in your Studio Classroom magazine.
That's all the time we have for today.
This is Liz with Grammar on the Go signing off.
Bye-bye.
So what an honor to be called to audition for James Cameron, a famous Hollywood
director.
Yes. This is a great opportunity for him especially after selling all of his
belongings and moving into a car.
This is a great... we see it was a surprise for him.
That's right. Usually you don't get called to audition for a movie if you're
living in a car.
So it makes sense that he went into this audition initially not knowing much
because he needed new opportunities and new directions.
Well, we'll see just how well his audition went with James Cameron and where it
takes him.
But first, we need to stop in with the Chat Room.
Hey, Ken.
What's with the baseball glove?
Oh. Hi, Bryan.
I'm going to go play catch with my neighbor's son after I'm done here.
Oh. That's nice of you.
Yeah. He is auditioning for the little league this weekend.
Um, Ken, you don't "audition" for a sports team.
You "try out" for a sports team.
Try out?
That's right.
Auditions are for people involved in music and the arts such as singing, playing
a musical instrument, dancing and acting.
So my neighbor's son is trying out for a baseball team?
That's right. And you can call the whole procedure a tryout.
Bryan, you mentioned acting.
If I auditioned for a part in a play, what would I have to do?
Well, Ken, you might have to do a monologue, which is a long speech.
I see. What about auditioning for a movie or a TV show, what does a person have
to do?
You'd probably have to go for a screen test, in which case,
the performer is generally given a scene and instructed to perform in front of
the camera to see if he or she is suitable for that particular role.
The video is later evaluated by the production team.
I see. Well, I should get going so that my neighbor can make the team.
I hope he makes the cut.