過年看《決勝女王》 霸氣學7大多益字!

春節將近,如果不想宅在家,不如到外面看場電影吧!最近電影《決勝女王》不僅在台灣獲得許多好評,在國外知名影評網站Rotten Tomatoes上更是取得了85%的高分、也在IMDB上取得7.6的分數!這部電影臺詞很多,值得學習對話也不少,今天就讓我們透過電影中的經典臺詞,學習一些多益英文單字吧!

《決勝女王》電影劇照(采昌國際多媒體提供)

1. Salem 獵巫

Molly Bloom: Do you know how many witches were burnt in Salem?
Charlie’s Daughter: How many?
Molly Bloom: None. They didn’t burn witches, it’s a myth. They hanged them.

Salem是美國獵巫行動最有名的城市,所以只要講到Salem,就是「獵巫」的代稱。而對話所提到的,就是傳說中所有的女巫都是用火刑的方式處死,但實際上是吊死的。

獵巫要表達的就是受迫害的情境。因為不管是不是真的是女巫,綁上火刑柱後絕對難逃一死。但這段卻說大多不是被燒死而是被吊死的,顯示的是Molly用女巫來投射自己兩難、受迫害、且受誤解的處境。

2. Tip of the iceberg 冰山一角

Charlie Jaffey: Movie stars, athletes, billionaires, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Charlie的這句話要描述參與非法賭局的有哪些人,這裡提到的tip of the iceberg「冰山一角」,句中的tip指的不是小費,是頂端的意思,但在多益測驗中,通常在有小費的情境出現。

Don’t forget to ____ your waitress before you leave.
(A) beat
(B) tip
(C) wave
(D) pat
解析:題意為「別忘了在離開前給女服務生小費。」僅有選項(B) tip可以與後方的「女服務生」相合,(A) beat「打」、(C) wave「揮手」要加上to、(D) pat「輕拍」皆與語意不合。

3. at和against介詞連結

Molly Bloom: I was raised to be a champion. My goal was to win. At what and against whom, those were just details.

這句有兩大重點,前者是raise,除了扶養的意思,也有招募之意,像多益測驗中就會出現募款餐會fundraiser的情境。另外,Molly說的這句話後方有很棒的平行結構句型:at what(在什麼事情上面贏)、against whom(贏過誰)都只是細節(detail)。這句話强調的介詞是英文中的關鍵技能,不同的介詞會帶來不同的意思,所以一定要加強。

The committee members are working very hard for the upcoming ______. The amount gathered will be used exclusively for the earthquake-stricken victims.
(A) conference
(B) fundraiser
(C) negotiation
(D) convention
解析:題意為「委員會成員正為即將來臨的募款餐會殫精竭慮。募得數量將專用於地震受災戶。」關鍵是後方句子的amount gathered(收集到的數量)與後方的earth-stricken victims(為地震所害的災民)。(A)為會議、(C)為談判、(D)為大會,僅有選項(B)的募款會符合語意。

Who is the team fighting _____ this Sunday?
(A) to
(B) at
(C) from
(D) against
解析:題意為「本週日隊伍與誰對戰?」本題有與誰「對戰」之意,故選有「針對」的介詞against。

4. 是if I were還是if I was?

Molly Bloom: I’m Molly Bloom. Do you know about me?
Charlie Jaffey: I read your indictment (控訴) after I got your call last night, and I bought your book.
Molly Bloom: Are you taking me on as a client?
Charlie Jaffey: I don’t think I can convince my partners to take a flyer on a poker princess.
Molly Bloom: If you think a princess can do what I did, you’re incorrect. I’m getting it, you don’t think much of me, but what if every single one of your ill-informed, unsophisticated opinions about me were wrong?
Charlie Jaffey: I’d be amazed.

這段是Molly與律師Charlie第一次的對話,對話除了精彩以外,學習點更是滿滿!對話中有三句英文很值得大家學習,第一個就是為take sb. on as a client(當作為客戶)。第二個是convince(取得信任),它的用法有二種,分別是convince sb.to do sth.或是convince sb.of sth.。

第三個就是在對話中,Molly說到的what if every single one of your ill-informed, unsophisticated opinions about me were wrong? 請大家記得在英文的正式用法中,與現在事實相反的be動詞要使用were。但在流行文化中,也很常使用If I was的be動詞,例如Justin Bieber的歌曲Boyfriend就有一句if I was your boyfriend never let you go。

The manager failed to _____ the board of the solution he came up with.
(A) continue
(B) convince
(C) confront
(D) confess
解析:題意為「這位經理沒能說服董事會他想出來的解決方案。」(A)為持續、(C)為衝突、(D)為認罪、承認,皆與題意不符。後方有介詞of,故答案為(B)信服。

Tom needs to meet his _____ later in the office. He really treats his customers in the best way he can.
(A) friends
(B) guests
(C) clients
(D) colleagues
解析:題意為「Tom晚點要在辦公室見他的客戶,他客戶真的是盡心盡力。」(A)為朋友、(B)為賓客、(D)為同事,皆與語意不符,句子後方有customer的線索提醒他對待客戶的方式盡心盡力,故選擇與顧客意思最相近的選項(C)客戶。

____ it not for John’s help, the press conference would not be such a huge success.
(A) If
(B) Had
(C) Were
(D) Be
解析:題意為「要不是John的幫忙,記者會就不會這麼成功。」後方是would加上原型,為現在假設。過去假設應為should, would, could, might加上完成,未來假設則應該為未來式,故已經確定為現在假設式。前方的句子沒有Be動詞,原本的句子應該為If it were not for John’s help,假設倒裝時去掉If,於現在假設中be動詞were置於句首。過去假設中則去掉If後Had置於句首。故本題應選答案為(C)。

5. Manage to 設法

Larry Bloom: You’ve managed to build a multi-million-dollar business using not much more than your wits.
Molly Bloom: I’m about to be charged in a federal court.
Larry Bloom: Well, nobody’s perfect.

這段是Molly與父親的對話,最重要的就是第一句中說到的manage to(設法達成某事)。最後一句的nobody’s perfect (沒人是完美的)也是對話中常見的句子,用來表示「世事總難全」。

Tim has _______ to book the return tickets for us in the coming long weekend!
(A) messed
(B) managed
(C) messaged
(D) misunderstood
解析:題意為「Tim設法幫我們在接下來的週末連續假期訂到回程票了!」(A)為弄亂、(C)為寄送簡訊、(D)為誤解,故只有選項(B)設法達成符合句意。

若想要看電影學習英文,像「決勝女王」這樣的電影就是不錯的選擇。電影中的對白不僅豐富多元,而且使用的語句都是現實生活中會用到的。希望各讀者除了在這部電影中學到更多的英文外,也能學到Molly的鬥士精神!

文/李海碩

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