The Terminator has a dream — he wants to be the“Governator1 ”of California and follow in the footsteps of another Hollywood hero who gave up acting for a greater stage — Ronald Reagan.
Action hero Arnold Schwarzenegger unexpectedly threw himself into the race for California governor on August 6, 2003 in a show-stopping2 announcement that heralded a spectacular campaign.
The surprise decision by one of the screen’s biggest stars followed weeks of speculation about whether he would try to terminate the career of California governor Gray Davis in a historic recall3 vote . The Austrian-born actor, 56 , who became a U. S. citizen in 1983, has been toying for years with the idea of flexing his muscles at the ballot box instead of the box office. But after blowing hot and cold for weeks, aides had expected the star to bow to the concerns of his wife about the effect on their four children and stay out of the October gubernatorial race.
He might have spent years playing a futuristic robot in the“Terminator”blockbusters, but Schwarzenegger has shown himself to be politically astute off screen, building a strong profile within the Republican Party and garnering grass-roots support through his work for the Special Olympics and other sports programs. In 2000, he considered, but decided against, making a run for California governor. Three years on, Schwarzenegger has more name recognition , more personal wealth — 30 million alone for the latest“Terminator” installment — and more charisma than any of the other candidates.
Thirty years ago, the 6 ft-2ins body-builder came to America looking for fame and fortune in the movies, hampered by an unpronounceable name and a thick accent. Success was hard to come by initially and he focused on body-building, winning seven Mr Olympia titles and earning himself the nickname“the Austrian Oak”. He eventually graduated
to the title role in“Conan the Barbarian”in 1982 and later the 1984 sci-fi4 action move“The Terminator”which made him into a superstar.
His marriage to one of the ( Democratic ) Kennedy clan5—TV journalist Maria Shriver — looked for a while as if it might hamper his political ambitions. Shriver was reported to be worried about the effects of a time -consuming and high-profile political campaign — let alone a possible win — on their four young children, but also told Schwarzenegger she would support him whatever his decision.“Yes, she ’s a Democrat6 , ”said Schwarzenegger“ and this is the first time she ’s going to vote for a Republican . ”
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CET4大學(xué)英語(yǔ)四級(jí)閱讀練習(xí)題：
Ⅰ. Fill in e ach blank:
1. The Terminator has a dream — he wants to be the“Governator”of California and( 追隨) another Hollywood hero Ronald Reagan , who gave up acting for a greater stage.
2. Action hero Arnold Schwarzenegger unexpectedly ( 參與競(jìng)爭(zhēng)) California governor on August 6 in ( 受人歡迎的宣言) that ( 預(yù)告) a spectacular campaign.
3. Thirty years ago, the 6 ft-2ins body-builder came to America looking for( 名利) in the movies, ( 受到阻礙) by an unpronounceable name and a thick accent.
4. The Austrian-born actor for years has ( 思慮著) flexing his muscles at the( 選票箱) instead of the box office.
?、? Question :
How does Schwarzenegger become widely supported?
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參考答案
Ⅰ. 1. follow in the footsteps of
2. threw himself into the race for / a show-stopping announcement / heralded
3. fame and fortune / hampered
4. been toying with the idea of / ballot box
?、? He worked for the Special Olympics and other sports programs.
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CET4大學(xué)英語(yǔ)四級(jí)閱讀參考譯文：
施瓦辛格: 州長(zhǎng)終結(jié)者
“ 終結(jié)者”有一個(gè)夢(mèng)想——— 那就是成為美國(guó)加利福尼亞州“ 州長(zhǎng)終結(jié)者”, 步另一位好 萊塢明星羅納德· 里根的后塵, 放棄演藝事業(yè)而投身更廣闊的政治舞臺(tái)。
2003 年8 月6 日, 動(dòng)作明星阿諾德· 施瓦辛格出人意料地宣布投身競(jìng)選加利福尼亞州州長(zhǎng), 這一決定被掌聲不時(shí)打斷, 它預(yù)示著一場(chǎng)引人入勝的州長(zhǎng)競(jìng)選即將拉開(kāi)帷幕。
在銀幕巨星施瓦辛格做出這驚人決定的前幾周, 人們已在紛紛猜測(cè)他是否會(huì)在具有歷史意義的罷免投票中終結(jié)現(xiàn)任加州州長(zhǎng)格雷· 戴維斯的政治生涯。這位奧地利裔演員時(shí)年56歲, 于1983 年加入美國(guó)國(guó)籍。幾年來(lái)他一直琢磨著在票箱而不是票房上顯示一下自己的力量, 盡管他不是很認(rèn)真。但是經(jīng)過(guò)幾周的反反復(fù)復(fù), 他的助手們希望這位大明星能夠顧及妻子的擔(dān)心而放棄10 月的州長(zhǎng)競(jìng)選活動(dòng)。他妻子擔(dān)心競(jìng)選會(huì)影響到他們的四個(gè)孩子。施瓦辛格也許花了好幾年功夫扮演大片《終結(jié)者》中一個(gè)未來(lái)世界的機(jī)器人, 但他在銀屏以外的政治能力也已顯露出來(lái)。他不僅在共和黨內(nèi)非常引人注目, 而且通過(guò)在特殊奧運(yùn)會(huì)和其他體育活動(dòng)中的工作建立了良好的群眾基礎(chǔ)。2000 年, 他曾經(jīng)考慮但最終放棄了參加加州州長(zhǎng)的競(jìng)選。三年來(lái), 施瓦辛格獲得了更高的聲望、更多的個(gè)人財(cái)產(chǎn)——— 僅《終結(jié)者3》就為他帶來(lái)三千萬(wàn)美元的收入。而且他比其他任何候選人都更有魅力。
三十年前, 這位身高6 英尺2 英寸的健美運(yùn)動(dòng)員投奔美國(guó)投身電影, 以圖名利雙收, 然而他的名字叫來(lái)拗口, 英語(yǔ)又口音濃重, 曾一度阻礙了他實(shí)現(xiàn)自己的夢(mèng)想。萬(wàn)事開(kāi)頭難。他專(zhuān)注于健 身 運(yùn)動(dòng), 曾七次獲得“ 奧林匹亞健美先生”的稱號(hào), 還贏得“奧地利橡樹(shù)”的綽號(hào)。1982 年, 他終于在《野蠻人科南》中出演主角, 而1984 年的科幻動(dòng)作大片《終結(jié)者》更讓他一躍成為影壇巨星。
在電視臺(tái)當(dāng)記者的妻子瑪麗婭· 施萊芙是肯尼迪家族( 民主黨) 的成員。據(jù)報(bào)道, 施萊芙擔(dān)心這場(chǎng)曠日持久、引人注目的政治活動(dòng)會(huì)對(duì)他們的四個(gè)年幼的孩子造成影響, 但她仍舊告訴施瓦辛格, 無(wú)論他做怎樣的決定, 她都會(huì)支持他。“ 是的, 她是民主黨人, 但是這將是她第一次為共和黨人投票。”施瓦辛格說(shuō)。
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閱讀導(dǎo)評(píng)
加利福尼亞州一直都是美國(guó)新聞最多的地方, 原因不是那里的人口全美第一, 而是那里有全世界最著名的夢(mèng)工廠———好萊塢。“外來(lái)和尚”施瓦辛格追隨里根率先在加州競(jìng)選州長(zhǎng), 充實(shí)了“演而優(yōu)則仕”的美國(guó)版。一時(shí)間美國(guó)媒體為之大造聲勢(shì), 要求修改憲法, 為施瓦辛格競(jìng)選美國(guó)總統(tǒng)掃清障礙。如果這一要求得以實(shí)現(xiàn), 美國(guó)就可能第一次有一位出生異國(guó)他鄉(xiāng)的總統(tǒng)。
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閱讀講解：
1. 在詞典中查不到, 是作者將governor + terminator 兩個(gè)字合并造出來(lái)的, 可譯成“州長(zhǎng)終結(jié)者”。
2. 被長(zhǎng)時(shí)間的熱烈掌聲打斷的, 特別受人歡迎的。同本文中的time-consuming ( 耗時(shí)的) ,作形容詞用。但本文中的body-building 則是名詞( 健身, 塑身) 。
3. recall v.〔美國(guó)〕( 依據(jù)一般投票) 罷免( 官員) 。這里是名詞: 罷免( 權(quán)) 。不能理解為常見(jiàn)的“ 回憶, 想起”。
4. sci-fi = science fiction( 科幻小說(shuō)) ?，F(xiàn)代英語(yǔ)中的縮略語(yǔ)很普遍, 要注意縮寫(xiě)相同不一定原詞也相同。
5. Kennedy clan 指美國(guó)以約翰·肯尼迪總統(tǒng)為代表的著名政治望族, 家族中從政人員多,但大多以悲劇收?qǐng)觥?/p>
6 . Democrat 民主黨員, Republican 共和黨員。美國(guó)歷史上兩黨輪流執(zhí)政, 民主黨的象征是驢, 共和黨是象, 所以兩黨之爭(zhēng)也被稱為“ 驢象之爭(zhēng)”。
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