Reuters
January 12, 2014
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA — In a year widely regarded as a bountiful one for high-quality films and acting, the Golden Globes weigh in on Sunday with the first big honors of the Hollywood awards season, which culminates in seven weeks with the Oscars.
Two starkly different American stories lead nominations for the 71st Annual Golden Globe Awards with seven nods apiece - the brutal depiction of pre-Civil War slavery 12 Years a Slave and 1970s corruption caper American Hustle. They will compete for best motion picture in different categories, drama and comedy or musical, respectively.
Gravity, starring Sandra Bullock as an astronaut lost in space and life, also ranks high in experts' predictions and could give 12 Years a Slave a challenge for the night's most coveted award, best drama.
Golden Globes are also given out for television, where established dramas like Breaking Bad and Downton Abbey will compete with the likes of Netflix newcomer House of Cards.
The Golden Globes, under the purview of some 90 journalists in the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, have outsized clout in the awards race as buzz around these first honors influences members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in their voting for the Oscars, which will be handed out March 2.
"You can just see the Oscar voter who starts to hear the buzz build for '12 Years a Slave,' and has been dreading picking up the (DVD) screener to watch the movie," said Keith Simanton, managing editor for the IMDB movie site.
"But he reaches for it, and says to his wife, 'Maybe we ought to watch it.'"
Oscar nominations will be announced on Thursday, but voting has already concluded. The Globes have a mixed record when it comes to predicting the Oscar best picture, though last year's best drama winner, Argo, did go on to win the Academy Award for best movie.
The Golden Globes follow a very good year for film, both commercially and critically. North American box office receipts totaled a record .9 billion in 2013 and top performers went beyond the typical blockbuster action movies to include acclaimed films such as Gravity.
Sunday night could also boost the fortunes of smaller films that have fared well among critics, including Joel and Ethan Coen's paean to 1960s folk music Inside Llewyn Davis, Spike Jonze's quirky computer-age romance Her, and Alexander Payne's homage to the heartland Nebraska.
Oscar-winning women compete
The intense competition extends to the acting races, where Britain's Chiwetel Ejiofor will compete for best actor in a drama for his role as the free man sold into slavery in 12 Years a Slave. Matthew McConaughey is also considered a frontrunner for his portrayal of an unlikely AIDS activist in Dallas Buyers Club, for which he lost 50 pounds.
Leonardo DiCaprio will get his shot at best actor in a comedy or musical for his turn as a swindling stockbroker in Martin Scorsese's tale of American greed, The Wolf of Wall Street. He has stiff competition from veteran actor Bruce Dern as a cantankerous and delusional father in Nebraska.
For best actress in a drama, it's a battle between Oscar winners, with Bullock going up against Cate Blanchett for her riches-to-rags role in Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine and Judi Dench for her turn as a mother looking for a long-lost son in adoption drama Philomena.
The HFPA will also honor Woody Allen with the Cecil B DeMille award recognizing outstanding contribution to the entertainment field. Allen, famously averse to awards shows, is not expected to collect the honor, but one of his favorite actresses, Diane Keaton, will reportedly stand in for him.
While considered a warm-up for the Academy Awards, the Golden Globes live telecast on Comcast Corp's NBC network offers many of the same ingredients, such as the glamor of the red carpet for Hollywood's leading ladies and the dense concentration of Tinseltown's top talent in one room.
But the Globes serve up cocktails and an air of whimsy and unpredictability in contrast to the more tightly scripted Academy Awards.
Comedians Tina Fey and Amy Poehler will return to host the Golden Globes for the second consecutive year.
Language Notes 
bountiful (a) 豐富的
weigh in (v phr) 加入、參與 (討論或爭執中)XXXX *後面可加介詞 with， 表示「以 . . . 來加入、介入」，例：The chairman then weighed in with his views.
culminate (v) 達到最高點XXXXX*後常接 in 或 with，表示「在...達到最高潮」，見新聞中用法 (. . .with the Oscars) 
apiece (adv) 各自地
caper (n) 嬉鬧劇，犯罪喜劇 (以犯罪為主要內容的電影，但用幽默、輕鬆的方式表現)
本屆金球獎普遍認為是電影界成果豐碩的 (bountiful ) 一年，有眾多高品質電影與精湛演出。金球獎於周日頒發首批大獎，加入 (weigh in) 好萊塢的頒獎高峰季 (awards season)。七周後的奧斯卡獎將達到頒獎季的最高潮 (culminate in . . .)。
第71屆金球獎得最多提名的兩部電影是《自由之心》(12 Years a Slave) 與《瞞天大佈局》 (American Hustle) ，分別 (apiece ) 得到七項的提名認可 (nod)，講述的是兩個截然不同的 (starkly different) 美國故事。《自由之心》血淋淋的描述 (brutal depiction) 美國內戰前的奴隸制度，而《瞞天大佈局》則是美國1970年間發生的政府貪污案的犯罪喜劇 (caper)。(編按：nod 本指「點頭」，衍生有「同意、認可、許可」的意思，片語 give somebody the nod 就是「同意某人去做某事」的意思。金球獎的提名是透過評審團投票產生，所以獲得提名就等於影片得到了評審團的「認同、認可」，因此本新聞中直接用 nod 一字來表示「提名」。跟頒獎、提名有關的新聞中，已常見用 nod 表示「獲評審肯定、提名」的意思。)
coveted (a) 渴望得到的
like (n) 同樣(或同類)的人(或事物)
under the purview of (prep phr) 在 . . .的權限、管轄範圍之下 XXXXX* 除了 under，搭配 within 也可以表達「權限內」的概念：within the purview of someone/something；「在...的權限外」則能用 outside the purview of someone/something
outsized (a) 巨大的，特大的
clout (n)影響力
珊卓布拉克 (Sandra Bullock) 演出的《地心引力》(Gravity) 是影評專家預測中，排前幾名 (rank high in … ) 的電影，有望挑戰《自由之心》，共逐最令人垂涎的 (the most coveted) 最佳影片獎。
金球獎也頒給電視節目，已有口碑的 (established)《絕命毒師》(Breaking Bad) 和《唐頓莊園》 (Downton Abbey) 會和新劇《紙牌屋》(House of Cards) 一類的(like) 戲劇共同角逐獎項。
金球獎由好萊塢外國記者協會的九十幾位記者所責辦 (under the purview of . . . )，對各大獎競賽有很大的影響力 (outsized clout)。於3月2日頒發的奧斯卡獎項，在美國影藝學院 (the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) 的會員投票決定時，可能會被金球獎的得獎影片的聲勢 (buzz) 影響。
receipts (n) 收入款項XXXXX*要注意發音：
；本字是 receive 的名詞，常見的意思是「收據、收條」，這時是可數名詞，但指「收入款項」時，則恆用複數型 (如文中用法 )
acclaimed (a) 受讚揚的
本屆金球獎頒給的是電影在商業上 (commercially ) 與口碑上 (critically) 都不錯的一年。北美的票房收入 (box office receipts) 在2013年總計達109億的新紀錄 (a record .9 billion )。一線演員也突破票房動作片 (blockbuster action movies ) 類型，演出《地心引力》這樣受讚賞的 (acclaimed) 影片。
frontrunner (n) 領先的人；比賽中可能得勝的人XXXXX*本字還有兩個拼法：front runner、front-runner
unlikely (a) 難以想像的，不太可能的
swindle (v) (錢財的)詐欺；盜用公款
averse (a) 反對的;不願意的XXXXX*後接介係詞 to，表示對某事物的不喜愛，見新聞中用法
激烈的競爭 (intense competition ) 也延伸到 (extend to . . .) 演員獎項的角逐上。英國的奇維托艾吉佛 (Chiwetel Ejiofor) 以演出《自由之心》中自由黑人被賣為奴隸的角色，將爭奪戲劇類最佳男演員獎。馬修麥康納 (Matthew McConaughey) 減重50磅，在《藥命俱樂部》(Dallas Buyers Club) 一片中演出 (portrayal) 一位令人料想不到的 (unlikely) 愛滋鬥士，也是有勝出希望的人選 (frontrunner) (編按：unlikely 可以指「不太可能發生的」，或是發生的方式令人「出乎意料的」；在這個電影裡所刻畫的愛滋鬥士角色，不太符合我們一般想像中可能的樣子，故作此譯。)
李奧納多狄卡皮歐 (Leonardo DiCaprio) 則在喜劇、音樂劇類最佳男主角有得獎的機會 (get his shot at . . .)。《華爾街之狼》(The Wolf of Wall Street) 是講「美國之貪」(American greed) 的故事，李奧納多在片中演出一個盜用公款的股票經紀人(a swindling stockbroker )。李奧納多將面對來自資深 (veteran) 演員布魯斯鄧恩 (Bruce Dern) 的激烈競爭 (stiff competition)。在《內布拉斯加》(Nebraska) 一片中，布魯斯鄧恩飾演難搞的 (cantankerous)、有妄想症的 (delusional) 父親 (編按：一般我們常看到的「美國夢」一詞是 American dream。American Greed 是美國一個犯罪紀錄片的影集名稱，以大企業、白領階級的金融犯罪為主題，在本文中已經直接當成一個新詞使用，表示在商界、金融界貪婪的白領犯罪)。
本屆金球獎的西席地密爾獎 (the Cecil B DeMille award：金球獎的「終身成就獎」的名稱) 頒給伍迪艾倫 (Woody Allen) ，肯定他對娛樂界的傑出貢獻。伍迪艾倫向來不樂於 (averse to . . .) 參加頒獎典禮，預料將不會出席領獎 (collect the honor)，但據聞 (reportedly)，他喜愛的女演員黛安基頓 (Diane Keaton) 可能代表他 (stand in for him)領獎。
serve up (v phr) 提供酒、食物等
whimsy (n) 機智
consecutive (a) 練續不斷的
金球獎的頒獎典禮中提供 (serve up . . . ) 雞尾酒，氣氛充滿機智趣味 (whimsy)與驚喜感，這與照稿演出的 (tightly scripted)奧斯卡獎形成對比 (in contrast to . . .)。喜劇演員蒂娜費 (Tina Fey) 和艾米波勒 (Amy Poehler) 也將連續第二年 (the second consecutive year)來主持金球獎 。
(編按：今年金球獎開場笑料不斷，兩位主持人的喜劇表演功力一流，一搭一唱的機智幽默充滿挖苦與反諷，每位在場的被提名人都難以倖免。精彩片段可看YouTube)
Check your vocabulary!
Fill in the blanks with a word or phrase from the list above. Make necessary changes. After you finish, select the text below to reveal the hidden answers.
1. He is one of the front runners in the presidential election.
2. Information is collected through the likes of the FBI, CIA, and Scotland Yard.
3. A series of events for teachers and students will culminate in a Shakespeare festival next year.
4. Jim is averse to using chemicals in the garden
5. Can they win the title for the third consecutive season?
6. Tax receipts rose 2.5%.
7. This matter comes within the purview of the Department of Health.
8. He weighed in to prove the point.
Source：http://www.voanews.com/content/reu-hollywood-kicks-off-2014-awards-season-with-golden-globes/1828352.html
編譯：簡嘉呈
館藏介紹
英語宅急便 
