2017考研英语阅读精选：奥斯卡小金人的十个真相

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　　Oscar statuettes: 10 facts you may not know

　　奥斯卡小金人：你可能不知道的十个真相

　　The Oscar statuette is the symbol of the Academy Awards. Here are some facts about the trophy itself.

　　奥斯卡小金人是奥斯卡金像奖的象征。这里有一些关于奖杯本身的事实。

　　1. The original design of “Oscar” was by MGM art director Cedric Gibbons. He came up with a statuette of a knight standing on a reel of film gripping a crusader’s sword. The Academy commissioned the Los Angeles sculptor George Stanley to create the design in three dimensions.

　　1.“奥斯卡”的原始设计师是米高梅公司艺术总监塞德里克·吉奔斯。他构想出了一个骑士站在一个电影胶片卷轴上，手里紧握十字军之剑的雕像。学院委托洛杉矶雕塑家乔治·斯坦利来做三维设计。

　　2. It was presented for the first time at the initial awards banquet on May 16, 1929 to Emil Jannings, named Best Actor for his performances in “The Last Command” and “The Way of All Flesh”.

　　2.小金人在1929年5月16日的颁奖晚会上首次亮相，第一座小金人授予艾米尔·杰宁斯，他凭借在《最后的命令》和《众生之路》中的表演获选奥斯卡最佳男演员。

　　3. Since then, 2,701 statuettes have been presented.

　　3.自那时起，已经有2701座小金人被颁发出去。

　　4. The new golden statuettes are cast, moulded, polished and buffed each January by RS Owens & Company, the Chicago-based awards manufacturer retained by the Academy since 1982.

　　4.每年一月新的黄金雕像将由RS欧文公司进行浇铸和抛光，自1982年以来美国电影艺术与科学院就一直授权这家芝加哥奖杯制造商制造奖杯。

　　5. Oscar stands 13? inches tall and weighs 8? lbs.

　　5.奥斯卡小金人身高13?英寸，重8?磅。

　　6. The film reel features five spokes, signifying the five original branches of the Academy: actors, directors, producers, technicians and writers. Although the statuette remains true to its original design, the size of the base varied until 1945, when the current standard was adopted.

　　6.这个电影胶片卷轴上有五个辐条，标志着学院的五个原始分支：演员、导演、制片人、技术人员和作家。在1945年前，虽然雕像一直忠于原始设计，但底座大小不一。直到1945年，目前的标准才被采纳。

　　7. Officially named the Academy Award of Merit, the statuette is better known by its nickname, Oscar. While the origins of the moniker are not clear, a popular story has it that upon seeing the trophy for the first time, Academy librarian (and eventual executive director) Margaret Herrick remarked that it resembled her Uncle Oscar. The Academy didn’t adopt the nickname officially until 1939.

　　7.奥斯卡的官方名称是学院成就奖，但是小金人的昵称“奥斯卡”更广为人知。虽然该昵称的起源不明，但是有个广为流传的故事提到，当学院图书馆员(后成为执行董事)玛格丽特·赫里克第一次看到小金人时，她评论说小金人长得就像她的叔叔奥斯卡。学院一直到1939年才正式起用这一绰号。

　　8. The statuettes presented at the initial ceremonies were gold-plated solid bronze. Within a few years the bronze was abandoned in favour of Britannia metal, a pewter-like alloy which is then plated in copper, nickel silver, and finally, 24-carat gold.

　　8.最初在奥斯卡颁奖礼上颁发的小金人都是镀金实心铜像。几年后小金人的原料被换成不列颠合金，这是一种类锡合金，然后镀上铜、镍银，最后再镀上一层24K黄金。

　　9. Due to a metal shortage during the Second World War, Oscars were made of painted plaster for three years. Following the war, the Academy invited recipients to redeem the plaster figures for gold-plated metal ones.

　　由于在第二次世界大战期间金属资源短缺，有三年的奥斯卡小金人是用石膏制成的。战争结束后，学院请这些获奖者拿石膏雕像来换镀金金属雕像。

　　10. The Academy is not certain know how many statuettes it will hand out until the envelopes are opened on the night of the ceremony. Although the number of categories are known in advance, the possibility of ties and of multiple recipients sharing the prize in some categories makes it impossible to predict the exact number of statuettes to be awarded. Any surplus awards are housed in the Academy’s vault until the following year’s event.

　　直到奥斯卡颁奖礼当晚信封被打开，学院并不清楚将颁发多少个小金人奖杯。尽管各奖项类别的数目已经提前知晓，但仍有可能在某些奖项产生多人获得同一个奖的情况，因此无法预知要颁发出去的小金人的准确数量。多出的小金人将放在学院的地窖里，等待来年奥斯卡再颁发出去。

　　来源:双语新闻

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