大千世界:所向無敵的"星際爭霸戰(zhàn)"

Less a bid to measure up against other movies at the box office, Star Trek may actually be more in competition with itself, and its many incarnations preceding this latest voyage of the USS Enterprise into theaters everywhere. But what does distinguish Star Trek from the cookie cutter crop of futuristic fantasies, and what led to its legendary status, is its humor and the personality of its characters, who can knock off the self-serious posturing from time to time, to laugh at themselves and each other. Focusing on an intricate web of enduring family feuds, Star Trek traces James Tiberius Kirk (Chris Pine) back to his birth, during which his dad met his demise at the hands of Romulan leader Captain Nero (Eric Bana). And Nero has long harbored his own festering grudge against the Enterprise, after the death of his wife. The occasional surprises materialize when all the noisy sci-fi machinery takes a break and allows the characters some quiet time to breathe through, especially comic relief provided by Anton Yelchin as the Russian accented know-it-all teen pilot Chekov, and Tyler Perry doing an admiral cameo in judicial punitive mode, as he cuts the cocky Kirk down to size. "Star Trek" was fashioned with obvious affection for the source material, but still offers something new.

incarnation (n.) 化身;典型

She's the very incarnation of goodness. 她是美德的化身.

cookie cutter 千篇一律的;了無新意的

to knock off 停止;中止

All the workers knocked off for lunch at twelve o'clock.

所有的工人都在12點鐘停止工作去吃午飯。

What time do you knock off?

你們什么時候下班?

posturing (n.) 故作姿態(tài)，裝模作樣

intricate (adj.) 錯綜復雜的;復雜精細的

The intricate machine requires a skilled operator.

這種復雜精細的機器須由技能熟練的人操作。

demise (n.) 死亡;終止

the demise of a newspaper

報紙的停刊

festering (adj.) 惡化的

know-it-all 假裝或自稱無所不知的人

My brother-in-law is an obnoxious know-it-all.

我的姐夫是個討人厭的自以為是萬事通的家伙。

punitive (adj.) 給予懲罰的，非常嚴厲

punitive taxation 重稅

punitive increases in the cost of living 生活費用之急劇增加

cocky (adj.) 自高自大的; 趾高氣揚