第二段简洁凝练地总结电影的主题。

Nobuhiro Doi’s film, known in some territories as I Fell in Love Like A Flower Bouquet, poses the old question “Is it better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all?” with its portrayal of a fledgling foray into an adult relationship, where the excitement of true love is eclipsed by the practicalities of personal and professional obligations.

土井裕泰导演的这部电影(在一些地区也称《像花束一样的恋爱》)讨论了一个经典的问题:爱过后失去是否比从未爱过更好?电影描绘了两个年轻人初尝成年人亲密关系的滋味——真爱在个人生活和职业发展的惨淡现实面前不堪一击。

territory [ˈterɪtəri] 为名词,这里指「地区」。

pose a question 是一个词组,指「提出问题」,尤其是指需要仔细考虑的问题。这个问题究竟是什么,我们可以直接用引号引出来。再举个例子:

In her book she poses the question ‘How much do we need to be happy?’.

她在书里提出了这样一个问题﹕“我们要拥有多少才能快乐?”

portrayal [pɔːˈtreɪəl] 为名词,表示「描述,描写,刻画」。

动词形式为portray,短语portray ... as... 表示「将...描写成...样子」。

很多离婚的夫妻为了争夺孩子抚养权,都会把对方描述得很不堪,我们就可以用到portray ...as ...这个词,举个电影《婚姻故事》里的例子:

花束般的恋爱影评

Look, you need to be prepared for the fact that Nora is going to

展开全文

portray

you

as

a neglectful, absent father.

fledgling [ˈfledʒ.lɪŋ] 作名词时,指「刚长羽毛的小鸟,刚学会飞的小鸟」,如下图:

花束般的恋爱影评

因此作形容词时,

fledgling 喻指「新手的,没有经验的,新形成的」,很形象的一个词。

反义词

full-fledged 羽翼已丰满,便表示「全面发展的;经过全面训练的;成熟的」。

foray [ˈfɒr.eɪ] 为名词,指「初次尝试,涉足」,常搭配介词into。

foray 尤其用于指对新领域的尝试。

举个例子:Apple’s forays into newer markets face stiff competition.苹果在进军新市场时面临激烈竞争。

惯用搭配为

make a foray into sth。举个《经济学人》里的例子:

Bill Clinton is to

make a foray into

fiction by writing a novel with the help of James Patterson, a bestselling author. 在畅销书作者詹姆斯·帕特森的帮助下,比尔·克林顿尝试着写了一本小说。

[写作推荐]

恰好美剧《绝命律师》有一幕也用到了foray和fledgling这两个词,来看看这个例句:

花束般的恋爱影评

practicalities是一个复数名词,表示「实际的情况,实际的事情」。文中the practicalities of personal and professional obligations 指「个人义务和职业责任的现实情况」。

eclipse sth

[写作推荐]

eclipse作名词指「日食,月食」,它也可以作动词,引申为「使...黯然失色,使相形见绌」。比如:He has been eclipsed by several younger actors. 几名较年轻演员的崛起使他黯然失色。

我们再来看一些外刊例句。

《金融时报》一篇关于中国清洁能源技术的文章有这样一句话:

Electric vehicles will eclipse conventional cars in cost-efficiency terms as early as 2021, according to industry experts. 行业专家表示,电动汽车的成本效益最早将在2021年超过传统汽车。

《经济学人》一篇关于新冠肺炎的文章有这样一句话:Yet Lee Hsien Loong, the prime minister, still worried in February that the costs would eclipse those of SARS.但是二月份,新加坡总理李显龙依然担心新冠肺炎带来的损失远远超过非典疫情。

顺便给同学们扩展一些同样表示「让...相形见绌」的地道表达:

① dwarf sth

dwarf 这个小词非常形象,作名词指「小矮人」,童话故事白雪公主与七个小矮人就叫Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs。

很多同学可能不知道dwarf还可以作动词,指「使…显得矮小」,喻指「使…相形见绌」,十分形象。

《老友记》里Phoebe就曾这样对比她和Ross的音乐才能:I just feel so dwarfed by your musical gift.

我们来看一些外刊中的例句:

路透社一篇关于中国双十一的报道曾这样写道:

Singles Day dwarfs the three other largest online retail mega-events.

光棍节碾压其他三大在线零售盛会。

这里作者将双十一和其他三个购物节相对比,突出双十一的成就。

考研英语一2016年真题里出现过dwarf这个词:

And though print ad sales still dwarf their online and mobile counterparts, revenue from print is still declining. 尽管纸质版报纸的广告销售额仍让在线和移动报纸相形见绌,但是纸质版报纸的收入仍在下滑。

我们来简单造个句:

中国的电商让美国相形见绌:

China’s ecommerce dwarfs that of the US.

② pale in comparison with / to sth

pale这个小词我们也很熟悉,作形容词指「苍白的」,比如她看起来很憔悴:She looks pale. pale也可作动词,字面义是「显得苍白」,也可喻指「相形失色,相形见绌」。

比如《纽约时报》一篇报道东北经济困境的文章曾这样写道:

Still, Innovation Street pales in comparison to the efforts in hot spots like Beijing and Hangzhou, a city in the east, which have not only higher salaries, but also entire neighborhoods of start-up centers. 但和北京、杭州等热点城市相比,创业创新大街仍然相形见绌。这些热点城市不仅工资水平更高,而且整片地区都是创业中心。

再比如《经济学人》一篇文章关于幸福感的文章提到这样一个研究结论:

Nonetheless, the differences in happiness between age groups pale in comparison with those between countries.

③ overshadow sth

overshadow [əʊvəˈʃædəʊ] 由over 和 shadow 构成,不同于overzealous,词缀over-这里指「在…之上」,overshadow 指的便是「阴影笼罩在他人之上」,表示「给...蒙上阴影」。

这篇文章后文也出现了这个词:The infectious humour of its playful first half is overshadowed by the onset of morose melodrama and tearful tragedy.欢乐动人的上半场被接下来沉闷和充满眼泪的悲剧所笼罩。

overshadow 还可引申为「使…显得逊色;使…黯然失色」(to make sb / sth seem less important, or successful)。比如:

He had always been overshadowed by his elder sister.他与他姐姐相比总是相形见绌。

④ outshine sth

A outshines B A比B更有光芒,即「A比B出色,A使B黯然失色」,这也是一个很形象的表达。

我们来看两个例子:

《经济学人》一篇关于电影《我不是药神》的文章这样写道:

花束般的恋爱影评

A low-budget movie about a sensitive social theme outshines a state-approved spectacular.

花束般的恋爱影评

Swedish firms have outshone German ones in the pandemic

非常形象、有画面感的5个表达,大家背下来,在作文里进行对比论证时可以替换使用。

最后我们来总结一下这篇文章学习的表达:

☁️话题词汇

爱情电影:romances

倒叙:a flashback

由...领衔主演:sb stars in sth. sth stars sb

选角:cast sb as ..., be cast as ...

残酷的现实:harsh realities

煽情,夸张,戏剧化:be melodramatic

☁️高频词组

渴望...:yearn for sth, yearn to do sth

对...的渴望:the yearning for sth

为...作证,证明...:bear witness to sth

同意某事,允许某事:consent to sth,consent to do sth

渴望某事,向往某事:yearn (for sb / sth) / yearn to do sth

提出问题:pose a question

将...描述成...样子:portray ... as ....

☁️实用句型

sth comes as a welcome respite from sth.

sth provides a welcome respite from sth.

以...方式:

in a ... way

in a ... manner

in a ...fashion

A使B相形见绌:

A eclipses B.

A dwarfs B.

B pales in comparison with / to A.

A outshines B.

A overshadows B.