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VOA慢速英语2013 AS IT IS 2013-06-29 Man of Steel Still Going Strong

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AS IT IS 2013-06-29 Man of Steel Still Going Strong

 

Hello again, and welcome. I’m June Simms in Washington.

Today on As It Is, we celebrate the life and times of one of world’s most beloved superheroes. We’ll hear the story of how Superman came to be and why the “Man of Steel” has lasted so long. We will also take a trip to a town that played a role in the new Superman movie.

“Man of Steel” Still Going Strong

Seventy-five years ago, on June first, 1938, the American superhero “Superman” first appeared in a comic book.

The book told the story of Superman's birth on his home planet, Krypton. His father, a scientist, sent the boy to Earth in a rocket to save his life when Krypton exploded. On Earth, Superman was able to fly. He had super-strength and X-ray eyesight. He was untouchable.

“Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound! 'Look, up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! - it's Superman!' Yes, it's Superman…”  

Over the years, Superman has become as much a part of Americana as many real-life folk heroes. A multi-billion-dollar industry has been built on sales and promotion1 of the character. With the release of the latest film, the “Man of Steel” is still going strong.

“You just have to decide what kind of man you want to grow up to be, Clark. Whoever that man is, he's going to change the world.” 

No one could have imagined just how much he would change the world. Certainly not Superman’s creators. Writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster were just a couple of kids with an interest in reading. So says Marc Tyler Nobleman, a long-time Superman fan and author of the book “Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman.” His book tells the story of how Superman came to life.

“Well it was two young guys. They were in high school at the time in Cleveland Ohio. The writer was Jerry Siegel. The artist was Joe Shuster. And they were best friends. And they were -- I hate to use a label -- but they were geeks before the word existed and they would have been the first to say that. They were very, very interested in science fiction and adventure stories. They were not athletic2. They were not extroverted3. But it was when they got the chance to read and tell stories that they came alive and they really felt that they were in their element. And it’s hard for us to understand how radical4 and how original Superman was when he debuted5. But it really was something new and he is considered the world’s first superhero.”

Superman was born Kal-El on the planet Krypton, which was destroyed right after his parents launched him to earth.

“He'll be an outcast. They'll kill him.”

“No. He'll be a God to them.”

Some people have found religious connections in the story. For example, like Jesus, Superman was 33 years old when he set out to save the world.

Again, Marc Tyler Nobleman.

“Certainly with this most recent movie, with 'Man of Steel,' there is some very explicit6 Christ imagery. But Jerry and Joe, the creators, were both Jewish and there is also some Jewish allegory, in particular Moses. Both Superman and Moses were put in a vessel7 as a baby and sent away from their parents. Both were found by another family that didn’t know where this baby came from. And in both cases the baby grew up to become a savior.”

By the 1950s, Superman had become a household name with George Reeves further defining the character in a TV series. The series helped shaped the baby boomer generation, those born after World War Two.

“We were the first ones to have TV as furniture full time in the living room. Then there would be a quick shot of him like -- boom! -- punching a villain8 in the face, he's knocked out. Just one quick tap and then he goes to the next guy. It was pretty exciting! You had to be there.”

That is the voice of Howard Marshall, manager of AfterTime Comics, a well-known comic book store in the Washington area.

He also notes connections between the story of Superman and the Bible, but he does not think those similarities were intentional9. Instead, he believes the comic book hero who was born in the 1930s in the middle of the Great Depression, was meant to represent the superhero in all of us.

Movie Puts Plano on the Map of the Superman Universe

The release of the latest movie in the Superman saga10 is helping11 one small town in Illinois cash in on its connection to one of the most beloved comic book heroes of all time. Jim Tedder12 reports.

Plano, Illinois, has a population of just under 11,000 people. American flags fly along its downtown streets.

Plano's mayor is Bob Hausler. He recalls when a Hollywood production company came to town in 2011.

“There was a lot of secrecy13 about the storyline, and even who the main character was.”

But in a town as small as this, it’s hard to keep a secret. Once the trucks, lights and movie cameras moved onto Main Street, news quickly spread. This was not just any Hollywood movie, but the big-budget “Superman: Man of Steel.”

For several weeks in the summer of 2011, film director Zach Snyder and hundreds of cast and crew members turned Plano, Illinois, into Smallville, Kansas. Smallville is the imaginary hometown of Superman’s adopted parents, Jonathan and Martha Kent. The location plays an important part in several key scenes in the new film.

Resident Jim Martens is the chairman of the Smallville Superfest, a three-day-long, citywide party in honor of the fictional14 character.

Jim Martens says even before its release, the movie drew fans from far and wide.

“Everybody had to get a piece of the action and see what was going on.”

Mayor Bob Hausler says the increase in tourists has brought new life to Plano’s Main Street.

Businesses welcomed the connection to the “Man of Steel.” Some of them hung artwork created for the movie sets on their storefronts. Mayor Hausler says preserving the look of the fictional Smallville helped Plano get through the recent economic downturn.

“From 2011 we’ve actually seen our sales tax revenue grow just about every month since then. We’ve had that much economic growth.”

If you visit Plano, you may not meet the superhero known for travelling faster than a speeding bullet. But soon you will able to visit a Smallville museum in the town’s historic train station. There you will find movie set props15 and other items related to the filming of “Superman: Man of Steel.” I’m Jim Tedder.

And I’m June Simms. Thanks for listening to As It Is. VOA world news is coming up at the top of the hour, Universal Time.

Have a great weekend!

 


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 promotion eRLxn     
n.提升,晋级;促销,宣传
参考例句:
  • The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
  • The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级,加了薪。
2 athletic sOPy8     
adj.擅长运动的,强健的;活跃的,体格健壮的
参考例句:
  • This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
  • He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。
3 extroverted FtQzAK     
a.性格外向的
参考例句:
  • Do you think you are introverted or extroverted? 你认为你性格内向还是外向?
  • Are you introverted or extroverted? 你个性内向还是外向? 来自轻松英语会话---联想2000词(上)
4 radical hA8zu     
n.激进份子,原子团,根号;adj.根本的,激进的,彻底的
参考例句:
  • The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
  • She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。
5 debuted b3e2d85131439fe8678f6628fda0ec90     
初次表演,初次登台(debut的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • In late 2003 a full-size SUV, the Pathfinder Armada, debuted. 2003年末,全尺寸SUV的探路者无敌舰队,推出。
  • The album debuted at number two and quickly went platinum. 专辑一亮相就荣登排行榜第二名,很快就取得了白金销量。
6 explicit IhFzc     
adj.详述的,明确的;坦率的;显然的
参考例句:
  • She was quite explicit about why she left.她对自己离去的原因直言不讳。
  • He avoids the explicit answer to us.他避免给我们明确的回答。
7 vessel 4L1zi     
n.船舶;容器,器皿;管,导管,血管
参考例句:
  • The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
  • You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。
8 villain ZL1zA     
n.反派演员,反面人物;恶棍;问题的起因
参考例句:
  • He was cast as the villain in the play.他在戏里扮演反面角色。
  • The man who played the villain acted very well.扮演恶棍的那个男演员演得很好。
9 intentional 65Axb     
adj.故意的,有意(识)的
参考例句:
  • Let me assure you that it was not intentional.我向你保证那不是故意的。
  • His insult was intentional.他的侮辱是有意的。
10 saga aCez4     
n.(尤指中世纪北欧海盗的)故事,英雄传奇
参考例句:
  • The saga of Flight 19 is probably the most repeated story about the Bermuda Triangle.飞行19中队的传说或许是有关百慕大三角最重复的故事。
  • The novel depicts the saga of a family.小说描绘了一个家族的传奇故事。
11 helping 2rGzDc     
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的
参考例句:
  • The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
  • By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。
12 tedder 2833afc4f8252d8dc9f8cd73b24db55d     
n.(干草)翻晒者,翻晒机
参考例句:
  • Jim Tedder has more. 吉姆?特德将给我们做更多的介绍。 来自互联网
  • Jim Tedder tells us more. 吉姆?泰德给我们带来更详细的报道。 来自互联网
13 secrecy NZbxH     
n.秘密,保密,隐蔽
参考例句:
  • All the researchers on the project are sworn to secrecy.该项目的所有研究人员都按要求起誓保守秘密。
  • Complete secrecy surrounded the meeting.会议在绝对机密的环境中进行。
14 fictional ckEx0     
adj.小说的,虚构的
参考例句:
  • The names of the shops are entirely fictional.那些商店的名字完全是虚构的。
  • The two authors represent the opposite poles of fictional genius.这两位作者代表了天才小说家两个极端。
15 props 50fe03ab7bf37089a7e88da9b31ffb3b     
小道具; 支柱( prop的名词复数 ); 支持者; 道具; (橄榄球中的)支柱前锋
参考例句:
  • Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
  • The government props up the prices of farm products to support farmers' incomes. 政府保持农产品价格不变以保障农民们的收入。

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