卓别林家庭生活:母亲和四任妻子
文章来源: 文章作者: 发布时间:2006-11-17 07:16 字体: [ ]  进入论坛
(单词翻译:双击或拖选)

        “即使美国政府诋毁他,他还拥有他的家庭,以及全世界的赞誉。”——卓别林早年父母离异,身为滑稽演员的母亲绞尽脑汁,让他们兄弟俩在温馨而快乐的环境中长大。而无果而终的青涩初恋、连续三次失败的婚姻都驱使喜剧大师全身心地投入工作,直至与第四任妻子、著名剧作家的女儿定居瑞士、生儿育女、走入幸福的后半生……

 His mother Hannah was an entertainer, a wonderful mimic1; she had a sweet, charming voice. His father was also an entertainer and although not one of the big names, he was doing very well. While they were by no means rich, the music hall provided the Chaplin with a comfortable living. Unfortunately happy life didn't last long. Father's alcoholism was slowly, but surely destroying his marriage. Finally it ended in divorce.

But Hannah was indomitable. Without her, Charlie Chaplin would have become just one more child lost in the poverty of Victorian London. Somehow she not only managed to keep Charlie and his brother Syney clean and warm, clothed and fed but she conjured2 little treats for them. She would sit at the window watching the passersby3 and guess at their characters from the way they looked and behaved, spinning tales to delight Charlie and Syney. Charlie took in her skills and went on using them all his life.

1908, Charlie was nineteen and he fell in love. Hetty Kelly was only fifteen. But her parents quashed the romance before it really begun-- but the memory of pretty Hetty stayed with Charlie all his life.

In 1914, World War I had broken out. Chaplin contributed to the war in the best way he knew how-- he made a film "Shoulder Arms". He made a comedy set in the trenches4. The returning troops enjoyed it. Being able to laugh at the insanity5 of war had been their only real defence. Two days after its release, Charlie married Mildred Harris, pretty in the same way as his first love Hetty Kelly. It was hopeless even from the very start. He had only one way to face such sorrow. He threw himself into work on a new feature-- length film called The Kid. The kid tackled another social concern that deeply upset Charlie Chaplin-- the treatment of abandoned children. The Kid was a success. But Charlie's private world continued to fall apart. In November, 1920, they were officially divorced.

In November 1924, Charlie had married his leading lady, Lita Grey. It was no wiser a marriage than his first had been. Despite the turmoil6 in his private life, Charlie went on and made a film called The Circus.

After failure of the third marriage in 1942, He had met a young woman, the daughter of the great American playwright7, Eugene O'Neill. She was only 17 years old and she and Charlie had fallen deeply in love. Her name was Oona.

And now it was 1945, after the world II, America had become affected8 by a kind of madness, an obsessive9 fear and hatred10 of Communism. Charlie become the victim of this persecution11. Against this atmosphere of persecution he set to work on a new film. The film was Limelight, the story of an aging music hall performer and the young girl he helps to success. Into it he put his memories of the London and the theatrical12 life he had known as a boy. America's anti-communist emotions had found a new and more lunatic voice. On his way to London for its premiere. The US Attorney General had forbidden Chaplin re-entry to the United States. He was an exile.

He was received warmly in London and hailed as a genius. In the US, the vicious attacks continued, Charlie couldn't go back, and the family left for Switzerland. In January 1953, they settled in the beautiful house at Corsier-sur-Vevey that was to be Charlie's home for the rest of his life.

If America had denounced Charlie, he had his family-- and the acclaim13 of the rest of the world.


mimic  n. 模仿者,小丑                         alcoholism  n. 酗酒
Indomitable  a. 不屈不挠的,顽强的     conjure  v. (以咒文)召唤,施魔法
treat  n. 宴请,款待                              take in  注意到,吸收,理解
quash  v. 取消,制止                           insanity  n. 癫狂,神经错乱
turmoil  n. 混乱                                     trench  n. 战壕
playwright  n. 剧作家                            vicious  a. 恶意的,刻毒的
persecution  n. 迫害                            premiere  v. 初次公演
lunatic  a. 疯狂的,极端愚蠢的            exile  n. 被放逐者
acclaim  n. 喝彩,欢呼,称赞              denounce  v. 公开指责、抨击


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 mimic PD2xc     
v.模仿,戏弄;n.模仿他人言行的人
参考例句:
  • A parrot can mimic a person's voice.鹦鹉能学人的声音。
  • He used to mimic speech peculiarities of another.他过去总是模仿别人讲话的特点。
2 conjured 227df76f2d66816f8360ea2fef0349b5     
用魔术变出( conjure的过去式和过去分词 ); 祈求,恳求; 变戏法; (变魔术般地) 使…出现
参考例句:
  • He conjured them with his dying breath to look after his children. 他临终时恳求他们照顾他的孩子。
  • His very funny joke soon conjured my anger away. 他讲了个十分有趣的笑话,使得我的怒气顿消。
3 passersby HmKzQJ     
n. 过路人(行人,经过者)
参考例句:
  • He had terrorized Oxford Street,where passersby had seen only his footprints. 他曾使牛津街笼罩了一片恐怖气氛,因为那儿的行人只能看到他的脚印,看不到他的人。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学
  • A person is marceling on a street, watching passersby passing. 街边烫发者打量着匆匆行人。
4 trenches ed0fcecda36d9eed25f5db569f03502d     
深沟,地沟( trench的名词复数 ); 战壕
参考例句:
  • life in the trenches 第一次世界大战期间的战壕生活
  • The troops stormed the enemy's trenches and fanned out across the fields. 部队猛攻敌人的战壕,并在田野上呈扇形散开。
5 insanity H6xxf     
n.疯狂,精神错乱;极端的愚蠢,荒唐
参考例句:
  • In his defense he alleged temporary insanity.他伪称一时精神错乱,为自己辩解。
  • He remained in his cell,and this visit only increased the belief in his insanity.他依旧还是住在他的地牢里,这次视察只是更加使人相信他是个疯子了。
6 turmoil CKJzj     
n.骚乱,混乱,动乱
参考例句:
  • His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
  • The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。
7 playwright 8Ouxo     
n.剧作家,编写剧本的人
参考例句:
  • Gwyn Thomas was a famous playwright.格温·托马斯是著名的剧作家。
  • The playwright was slaughtered by the press.这位剧作家受到新闻界的无情批判。
8 affected TzUzg0     
adj.不自然的,假装的
参考例句:
  • She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
  • His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。
9 obsessive eIYxs     
adj. 着迷的, 强迫性的, 分神的
参考例句:
  • Some people are obsessive about cleanliness.有些人有洁癖。
  • He's becoming more and more obsessive about punctuality.他对守时要求越来越过分了。
10 hatred T5Gyg     
n.憎恶,憎恨,仇恨
参考例句:
  • He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
  • The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。
11 persecution PAnyA     
n. 迫害,烦扰
参考例句:
  • He had fled from France at the time of the persecution. 他在大迫害时期逃离了法国。
  • Their persecution only serves to arouse the opposition of the people. 他们的迫害只激起人民对他们的反抗。
12 theatrical pIRzF     
adj.剧场的,演戏的;做戏似的,做作的
参考例句:
  • The final scene was dismayingly lacking in theatrical effect.最后一场缺乏戏剧效果,叫人失望。
  • She always makes some theatrical gesture.她老在做些夸张的手势。
13 acclaim NJgyv     
v.向…欢呼,公认;n.欢呼,喝彩,称赞
参考例句:
  • He was welcomed with great acclaim.他受到十分热烈的欢迎。
  • His achievements earned him the acclaim of the scientific community.他的成就赢得了科学界的赞誉。
TAG标签:
发表评论
请自觉遵守互联网相关的政策法规,严禁发布色情、暴力、反动的言论。
评价:
表情:
验证码:点击我更换图片