英語趣味課堂：電影回顧-Movie Review

Todd: Howard, you said you saw the movie The Aviator.

Howard: Ah, yes, with Leonardo DiCaprio.

Todd: OK. What is the movie about?

Howard: Well, "The Aviator" refers to the character, Howard Hughes.

Todd: OK, who was Howard Hughes?

Howard: Well, Howard Hughes is a very famous person in the United States. He was a flyer, first of all, and he was a producer of movies and he was a little crazy. The interesting part of his character, although he was a very brilliant thinker, and a great aviator, he had a kind of obsession with cleanliness, which actually drove him crazy in his later life.

Todd: Really, so he always wanted to be super clean.

Howard: Super clean! He hated germs and he went to extraordinary lengths to keep himself and all his surrounding clean. If anybody touched him, he had to wash many times to get all the germs off of him, and he was just, it became such an obsession that it interfered with his entire personal life.

Todd: Wow! What about you? Are you very clean? Do you worry about germs?

Howard: No not really. I don't think so.

Todd: OK, actually, if you're eating M&M's and one falls off your hand and hits the floor, would you pick it up real quick and still eat it, or would you not eat it?

Howard: It depends if I had cleaned the floor lately.

Todd: OK, but overall, back to the movie, was it a good movie?

Howard: Ah, yes. In fact, it's been nominated for a number of Academy Awards, and I think this year, it will do quite well. It's entertaining and it's well performed by Leonardo DiCaprio, although I think that Leonardo DiCaprio is a little young for the part but he did a very good job in his acting.

Todd: Hmm, OK, thanks. Maybe I'll see it.

Howard: Try!

學(xué)習(xí)內(nèi)容：

obsession

He had a kind of obsession with cleanliness, which actually drove him crazy.

An 'obsession' with something is an intense focus on that thing. A person who is obsessed with cleanliness wants everything to be very clean. Notice the following:

We have developed an obsession with Japanese food.

His obsession with history can be interesting, but sometimes it's a little annoying.

went to extraordinary lengths

He went to extraordinary lengths to keep himself and all his surrounding clean.

If a person 'goes to extraordinary lengths' to do something it means that a lot of effort is made to accomplish a particular goal. Notice the following:

His parents went to extraordinary lengths to make this a special day for him.

She went to extraordinary lengths to get the kids to like her at her new school.

off of him

If anybody touched him, he'd wash many times to get all the germs off of him.

To 'get something off' of yourself is to remove it from your body. Notice the following:

It took a week for him to get all the paint off of himself.

After a trip to the beach it is really hard to get all the sand off of you.

interfered with

It became such an obsession that it interfered with his entire personal life.

If something or someone 'interferes' with your life it causes problems or prevents you from doing something that you wanted or had planned to do. Notice the following:

He is always interfering with other people's problems.

She gets frustrated when her parents interfere with her personal life.

pick it up real quick and still eat it

If a candy falls off your hand and hits the floor, would you pick it up real quick and still eat it?

When you 'pick something real quick and still eat it' you take it quickly from where it has fallen and put it in your mouth even though it is dirty from being on the ground. Notice the following:

The fish fell in the sand, but the bird picked it up real quick and still ate it.

When his ice cream fell on the floor, my son tried to pick it up real quick and still eat it.