用法学习: 1. depressing I. Causing especially emotional depression. II. 让人压抑的. 闷得透不过气来的. Dismal; dreary: a week of rainy, depressing weather. 2. threshold ([ˈθreʃhəuld]) n. I. (Building) Also called: doorsill 门槛 a sill, esp one made of stone or hardwood, placed at a doorway. II. any doorway or entrance. III. the starting point of an experience, event, or venture: on the threshold of manhood. IV. a level or point at which something would happen, would cease to happen, or would take effect, become true, etc. threshold price; threshold effect. be on the threshold of doing something to be likely to do something soon Finland's Conservatives were on the threshold of joining a coalition government.be on the threshold of something if
someone or something is on the threshold of a situation, that situation
is likely to happen soon He was on the threshold of a great career. valve (vælv) n. I. (Mechanical Engineering) any device that shuts off, starts, regulates, or controls the flow of a fluid. II. (Anatomy) anatomy a flaplike structure in a hollow organ, such as the
heart, that controls the one-way passage of fluid through that organ. III. (Electronics) Also called: tube or vacuum tube an evacuated electron
tube containing a cathode, anode, and, usually, one or more additional
control electrodes. a safety valve a
way of allowing someone to express strong or negative emotions without
harming other people (often + for ) I often think football acts as a
safety valve for a lot of stored-up日积月累的, 累积的 male aggression.
关于store up, bottle up, pent up: 1. store something up 储存, 蓄积, 储藏. to
build up and lay away a supply of something. (idiomatic, intransitive)
To build up a supply of something, usually for use at a particular time
in the future, when the time is right. The bears will store fat up for
the long winter. They store up fat for the winter. 2. bottle up I. 压抑 to repress, control, or restrain: to bottle up anger. II. 阻塞, 陷入. to enclose or entrap: Traffic was bottled up in the tunnel. bottle something up I.
Lit. to put some sort of liquid into bottles. She bottled her homemade
chili sauce up and put the bottles in a box. She bottled up a lot of the
stuff. II. Fig. to constrict something as if it were put in a bottle.
The patrol boats bottled the other boats up at the locks on the river.
The police bottled up the traffic while they searched the cars for the
thieves. III. bottle something up (inside (someone)) Fig. to hold
one's feelings within; to keep from saying something that one feels
strongly about. Let's talk about it, John. You shouldn't bottle it up.
Don't bottle up your problems. It's better to talk them out. Don't
bottle it up inside you. Don't bottle up all your feelings. Emotions are often bottled up rather than dealt with, which can lead to stress in later life. bottle up something( 参看下边 pent-up. keep everything bottled in, not let out. 憋在心里. 闷在心里. let/blow off the steam ) I. to not express something She
bottled up her emotions throughout the tournament. The more you bottle
that anger up, the more likely it is that it will explode. II. to keep something from making progress The French navy had bottled up the British navy. Lawmakers in key positions can bottle things up for months. He is bottling his feelings up, boys don't talk about their feelings. 3. Apple's iPhone generates more revenue, for example, than all of Microsoft's products combined. Some analysts saw the deceleration in iPhone sales as good news, suggesting pent-up ( I. 压抑的, 没有释放的. Not given expression; not released; repressed. pent-up emotions. He punched his pillow and screamed at the top of his lungs about all the pent-up frustrations from the day. II. 圈在 kept unwillingly. I've been pent up in this office for over a year. pent是pen的过去式和过去分词. pen v. A past tense and a past participle of pen2. adj. Penned or shut up; closely confined. pent cattle; pent emotions. ) demand for the new model that could translate into blockbuster holiday sales. 4. Chandler: Chandler Bing. Phoebe: Bing, what an unusual name. Chandler: Well you should meet my uncle, Bada. (Pause) I'll let myself out( let something out (to someone) to rent something to someone. I let the back room out to a college boy. I let out the back room to someone. let out [for an event that includes many people] to end. (The people are then permitted to come out.). Classes
let out at 4:15. What time does the movie let out? I have to meet
someone in the lobby. The meeting let out at about seven o'clock. School
lets out in June. Usage notes: said about meetings, classes, performances, and other events that groups of people leave at a particular time. ) let out (with) something I. to state or utter something loudly. The man let out with a screaming accusation about the person whom he thought had wounded him. She let out a torrent of curses. II. to give forth a scream or yell. She let out with a bloodcurdling scream when she saw the snake in her chair. They let out with shouts of delight when they saw the cake. III. 泄漏, 透漏. to make something known If anyone lets out this information, they will face immediate punishment. let/blow off (some) steam I. Lit. [for something] to release steam. The locomotive let off some steam after it came to a halt. With a great hiss, it let off steam and frightened the children. II. Fig. to work or play off excess energy. Those boys need to get out and let off some steam. Go out and let off steam! III. Fig. to release one's pent-up emotions, such as anger, usually verbally. I'm sorry I yelled at you. I guess I needed to let off some steam. She's not that mad. She's just letting off steam.
澳金童失望夺银: It's a pretty tough time to learn that you are human. Those words from his coach Brant Best were resonating in the ears of在耳际回响 James Magnussen as he realised his dream was over. We all thought he was unbeatable heading into London in the 100m freestyle. We wavered(I. 犹豫. 胆怯. to be irresolute; hesitate between two possibilities. II. to become unsteady. III. to fluctuate or vary. IV. to move back and forth or one way and another.) after the 4 x 100m freestyle relay failure, but then jumped back aboard 'the Missile' after an emphatic( [im'fætik] I. Expressed or performed with emphasis: responded with an emphatic "no." II. Forceful and definite in expression or action. III. Standing out in a striking and clearly defined way.) semi-final performance. Superman was back. But on Wednesday night, he felt like merely a mortal( I. Liable or subject to death. Of or relating to humankind; human. Susceptible to death by aging, sickness, injury, or wound. the mortal limits of understanding. II. Causing death; fatal. lethal: a mortal wound. ), when he suffered the most painful of losses. The most heartbreaking of losses, the most narrow of losses. Just 0.01s, less time than it takes to say it, less time than it takes to think it. We ended up with neither(no gold medal nor world record), only sympathy for the 21-year-old and disappointment. Our disappointment, however, is nothing compared to what he is, and will go through, not only tonight, tomorrow and when he returns to Australia, but for the next four years until he gets a chance for some redemption. It's a long time wait as a result of the smallest of times.
"That hurts," Magnussen said, summing it up perfectly, as he struggled
with his emotions."I did my best tonight and it wasn't quite good
enough. To lose by that amount stings,
but I've had a lot of great support over the last few days from
everyone back in Australia."It's been a tough Olympics. They say what
doesn't kill you makes you stronger so hopefully I will come out of this a better swimmer, but most of all a better person." Magnussen has been criticised for his brashness( brash I. 不经大脑的. 不假思索的. impetuous or rash. Hasty and unthinking; impetuous. II. insensitive or tactless. IV. impudent or shameless.), some saying he was too over confident with his statements
before the Games that he was planning on winning gold. His critics said
he should shut up and swim, but Magnussen said he would do nothing
differently."No, definitely not. It's who I am as a person. If you're sitting where we are today, there's a good chance you'll be pretty confident. It's an event that takes that confidence," he explained." With 25m to swim he looked to have the upper hand over占上风 Adrian. But the American fought back and as both swimmer lunged at the wall, it was anyone's guess. Everyone turned to the scoreboard and the number two came up alongside Magnussen's name. Victory was Adrian's in 47.52s. Magnussen was, for the second time in three days, stunned and shattered目瞪口呆. "I knew that Nathan Adrian was sticking with me紧追不舍 and it was going to come down to that touch but I thought I got a pretty good touch. "It all [the race] seems like a blur. So much is going on in your mind going into it [the race]. I don't know if you can notice my eyes are pretty bloodshot,
I haven't had a great deal of sleep but you know I did my best and it
wasn't as quick as trials [47.10s] but it's a different ball game( a whole new ball game also a totally different ball game a completely different situation, often one which is difficult or which you know very little about. We'd done a lot of climbing in Scotland, but the Himalayas were a whole new ball game. ) here."You know I guess having such a successful young career I just felt pretty much bulletproof战无不胜的, 无坚不摧的 coming into this Olympics and it's very humbling and I have a lot more respect for guys like Michael Phelps who can come out at Olympics and back up under that pressure. There was a lot riding on ( have a lot riding on to have a great deal of personal interest in the outcome of a person or event. ride on something to depend on the result of something else. Who could have predicted that the result of a presidential election would ride on a court's decision? ) my result at this meet and to have missed out twice is pretty shattering让人粉碎的." 其他报道: Australia, an Olympic swimming superpower which has spawned some of the biggest names in the sport, had been promised a first men's champion in the blue riband ( riband a ribbon, esp one awarded for some achievement. blue riband
I. Also called (esp US) blue ribbon the record for the fastest sea
journey between two places, esp (in the 1920s and 30s) for a passenger
liner between New York and Southampton. II. a. the most distinguished
achievement in any field. the blue-riband event of the meeting. ) sprint for 44 years and expected it to be delivered. The promises had come from Magnussen himself, who eschewed ( [is'tʃu:] vb. (tr) to keep clear of or abstain from (something disliked, injurious, etc.); shun; avoid. ) the usual caution of an athlete before a major championship and all but guaranteed he would win, perhaps even in world record time. Adrian said he had been quite happy to let Magnussen take the pressure of being favourite in the lead-up to the Olympics, and that talking up his chances was not his style.
"There's a lot to be said, but until you actually get into the water
and do it, it all doesn't mean anything," he said. "So why open my mouth
to provoke anybody else." Magnussen said, however, that he had no intention of changing his ways, even if he was dubbed arrogant. "I'm going to hold my head up high now and finish off these games." 澳游泳金童50M freestyle未进决赛: "It was little bit rusty( 生锈的. 技能生疏的. Lacking recent experience, out of practice, especially with respect to a skill or activity. )," he said.
"But you know, it's a little bit to be expected. But I wanted to go out
there tonight and have fun and enjoy it and lap up ( I. To consume by lapping. 舔食 The cat's lapping up the milk in its bowl. II. (idiomatic) To revel in, to overtly enjoy. You could see she was pleased, she was lapping up the applause. ) the crowd. It's been a
stressful week so its good to just have a swim where I relaxed and
enjoyed it. "I didn't put any expectations on myself. This is the first year I have
ever done a half-decent one (50m). I knew it had been a tough couple of
days to back up ( I.
倒退, 倒车. To move backwards, especially for a vehicle to do so. To move a
vehicle backwards. II. 打消念头. 重新考虑. To undo one's actions. To reconsider one's thoughts. I couldn't see how to finish the project, so I backed up and tried it another way. This isn't working. Let's back up and think about it. III. 支持. To provide support or the promise of support. You
should be careful. This guy is backed up by the local gang. When he
said I wasn't there, I told him I was, and my buddy backed me up. ) from and I was a little bit rusty, but certainly I put
everything into that and it wasn't too far off(That ain't too far off 还不错. 还不坏. 不算太坏. This statement is designed to replace "That's what's up." It means, basically, "That's cool." or "Wow, impressive!" Waiter: Here's a free bowl of ice cream to make up for the stale french fries. Customer: That ain't too far off. not far off (the mark) or not far wrong 不算太离谱. almost correct or accurate. I'm
told that most of what's been reported in the newspapers is not too far
off the mark. I thought it would happen in early April, and I wasn't
far wrong. far out I. 太酷了, 酷毙了, 太帅了 Cool; great; an expression of support, enthusiasm, or celebration. Sl. great; extraordinary. This jazz is really far out! You want to hear some far out heavy metal? Far out! The game has a hidden cow level. We were discussing a new base for our office, but moving to Antarctica seemed too far out. II. Lit. far from the center of things; far from town. The Smiths live sort of far out. The restaurant is nice, but too far out太偏僻了. III. very hard to understand; arcane; highly theoretical. This physics chapter is too far out for me. I can't follow your far out line of reasoning. IV. intoxicated. Three beers and Wally was really far out. 澳洲俚语: If you say the words "Far Out" it can mean something is fantastic! Or it can mean you think something is really bad news! It's the same deal with the word "Crikey(Surprised at something (good or bad))!" wide I. 太离谱了 Deviating or straying from something expected or specified: a remark that was wide of the truth. II. distant or remote from the desired point, mark, etc: your guess is wide of the mark. III. 宽松的. loose, full, or roomy: wide trousers. IV. exhibiting a considerable spread, as between certain limits: a wide variation差别巨大的. V. Large in scope. The inquiry had a wide remit. VI. On one side or the other of the mark; too far sideways from the mark, the wicket, the batsman, etc. Too bad! That was a great passing-shot传球, but it's wide. wide of the mark 差太多了, 太离谱了 I. (of a projectile) Missing the target. II. (idiomatic) inaccurate. Well, I suppose you could say the weatherman was wide of the mark again then! ). Eamon spoke afterwards about how he could relate to Magnussen's experiences 心有戚戚焉, 惺惺相惜.
this week. In Beijing four years ago, Sullivan broke the world record
in the semi-finals of the 100m freestyle and was hot favourite to win
the final, but was beaten by 0.11s by Frenchman Alain Bernard.
"It sort of brings up memories for me as well," Sullivan said. "I had a
chat to him this morning and said, 'You know, having gone through it
myself经历过同样的事情, 有过同样的经历, you're always going to think if someone invents a time machine
I'm going to go back and change what happened, but at the end of the day
what's done is done and you have to learn from your mistakes'.
"For me now, looking back four years ago, I neglected to remember忽视, 几乎忘记 how
much fun we actually have at these meets and I let the disappointment
get the better of me and affect the rest of the meet.
I think he carried a lot of expectations in like I did in 2008 and as
much as you think you're on top of it, sometimes it gets the better of
you."
关于食言: 1. 职场金言: Never be the first to walk out( walk out I. to leave an event before it is finished It was such a bad movie that I felt like walking out in the first fifteen minutes. John was giving a very dull speech, and a few people even walked out on him. II. to refuse to work because of a disagreement with your employer Airline pilots are threatening to walk out next week. ). It sucks when people back out on something退出, 放弃, 不守承诺( I. To withdraw from something before completion. II. To fail to keep a commitment or promise.) that is meant to go as a team. If you don't like your job, man up( man up 男人一点, 像个男人
I. to "be a man about it"; to do the things a good man is
traditionally expected to do, such as: taking responsibility for the
consequences of one's actions; displaying bravery or toughness in the
face of adversity; providing for one's family, etc. I
was wondering when he would man up and marry that girl he knocked up.
You need to man up and confront your boss about his behavior. Hey son,
man up, OK? There will be time for tears later.
II. (of military personnel in a unit) to assemble, each person manning
(attending to) his station, prepared for departure of an aircraft, ship,
etc. III. (of personnel, industrial, etc.) to staff adequately; to staff up; to successfully fill all needed labor positions. IV. (sports) to vigorously guard the opponent to which one is assigned. ) and tell your boss you're quitting instead of looking like an asshole and inconveniencing him. 2. 食言, 反悔: go back on one's promise/pledge/word 食言, 不遵守承诺, 反悔 to break a promise that one has made. I hate to go back on my word, but I won't pay you $100 afterall. Going back on your promise makes you a liar. break one's word not to do what one said one would do; not to keep one's promise. Don't say you'll visit your grandmother if you can't go. She hates people to break their word. If you break your word, she won't trust you again. keep your word to do what you promise to do. He is someone who keeps his word - you can rely on that. go back on fail to fulfill a promise or obligation; "She backed out of her promise". renege = renegue [ri'neig] To fail to carry out a promise or commitment. to go back on one's word: He has reneged on his promise. reneged on the contract at the last minute. renege on something反悔 to go back on one's promise or commitment. I am mad at you because you reneged on your promise! I did not renege on what I promised. backtrack ['bæk,træk] vb (intr) I. 原路返回. to return by the same route by which one has come. to retrace one's steps. I dropped my sunglasses and had to backtrack to find them. II. 改变注意. 改变想法. to retract or reverse one's opinion, action, policy, etc. III. To return to a previous point or subject, as in a lecture or discussion. IV. to repeat or review work already done. If we backtrack through this problem, maybe we can figure out where we went wrong. backslide 老毛病又犯, 犯老错, 旧错从犯 relapse into bad ways or error. To regress; to slip backwards or revert to a previous, worse state. No backsliding走上老路, 不吸取教训, man. He felt better for a little while, before his condition started to backslide. "There are many things that can cause slimmers to backslide". II. (backtrack = backpedal, retreat, retract)To shirk responsibility; to renege on one's obligations or commitments. Rich
countries are backsliding on their commitment to agree to new WTO
measures to help people in poor countries gain access to affordable
medicines. retract [ri'trækt](protract 拉长的, 扯得很长的, 拖得很久的 To draw out or lengthen in time; prolong: disputants who needlessly protracted the negotiations. ) I. 收回, 改想法. 撤回声明. (=take back) To take back; disavow: refused to retract the statement. You can't retract it. He said he was gonna to quit acting, but one day later he backpedaled on that statement. to say that something that you previously said or wrote is not true. The President's political adviser later retracted this statement. II. To draw back or in: a plane retracting its landing gear. a snail can retract its horns. III. if part of an object or animal retracts, or if it is retracted, it is pulled backwards or inside it. The cat immediately retracted its claws. 关于撤销指控的说法: Israel Calls on UN to Retract ( I. To take back; disavow: refused to retract the statement. II. To draw back or in: a plane retracting its landing gear. ) Gaza War Crimes Report. 卡恩事件中的撤销: NY judge set to预计, 预定 decide on Strauss-Kahn. A New York judge is expected to rule Friday whether disgraced French politician and former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn will face a civil lawsuit filed by a hotel maid accusing him of sexual assault. Diallo, who is seeking unspecified damages, says Strauss-Kahn forced her into oral sex in his luxury hotel room in Manhattan, where she had entered to clean进去打扫. Strauss-Kahn says consensual sex took place. New York prosecutors dropped撤销指控 criminal charges against the former high-flying politician, saying that Diallo's story was undermined by lies and inconsistencies( undermine 破坏, 使衰弱 I. To weaken by wearing away a base or foundation: Water has undermined the stone foundations. II. To weaken, injure, or impair, often by degrees or imperceptibly; sap: Late hours can undermine one's health.). backpedal ( pedal [ˈped(ə)l] paddle /ˈpæd(ə)l/ peddle /ˈped(ə)l/) I. To move the
pedals of a bicycle or similar vehicle backward, especially to apply a
brake. II. To move backward by taking short quick steps, as in boxing or
football. II. To retreat or withdraw from a position or attitude: The senator later backpedaled on the issue. pedal, paddle, peddle. The comments made Monday are already raising ire in neighbouring countries that bore the brunt of Japan's wartime aggression and that have long complained that Japan has failed to fully atone忏悔 for wartime atrocities战争暴行. "To maintain discipline in the military, it must have been necessary at that time," said Hashimoto. Recently, top officials in Abe's government have appeared to backpedal on ( I.
To move the pedals of a bicycle or similar vehicle backward, especially
to apply a brake. II. To move backward by taking short quick steps, as
in boxing or football. II. 取消, 撤回. 后悔.backtrack. To retreat or withdraw from a position or attitude: The senator later backpedaled on the issue.) suggestions the government might revise past apologies, apparently to calm tensions with South Korea and China and address U.S. concerns about Abe's nationalist agenda. 3. 另一个例子: Mr. Rostenkowski: So, why'd you agree to come? Howard: 'Cause Bernadette made me. Mr. Rostenkowski: I tried to back out (反悔, 退出. I. To withdraw from something before completion. II. To fail to keep a commitment or promise.), too. My wife said I had to go. Howard: Really? Your wife makes you do stuff? You're a big, scary cop. Mr. Rostenkowski: You're an astronaut, and your wife makes you do things, and she's only four feet tall.. 单词和Down low文化,Brokeback Moutain: down low n. I. secrecy. I'll tell you, but keep it on the down low. Witherspoon被捕报道: But things got decidedly more somber while at the police station.
Witherspoon told another officer that she's trying to keep her pregnancy
on the down-low. "I was afraid you would tell people, I am trying to keep it a secret," she said.
II. (sexuality) the state of being a man who secretly sleeps with
people other than his partner. III. (sexuality) the state of being a man
who secretly sleeps with other men. 4. Down-low (also "on the down low低调进行, 秘密进行"
or "on the DL") may refer to any activity or relationship kept
discreet. Specifically, it may refer to: Keeping an act, action or some
other piece of information a secret. Down-low (sexual slang):
Men who identify as straight, but have sex with men (often a friend) on
the side without disclosing this to their female partner(s). low down adj. (idiomatic, slang, US) 无耻的, 下三滥的. 卑劣的. Of no value. Unfair; shameful. Lowdown tactics. n. 事实真相. 独家新闻. The story or truth; the scoop or dirt. All the reporters hoped to be the first to get the lowdown on the celebrity's marriage plans. DL文化: Down-low is an African American slang term that refers to a subculture of men who usually identify as heterosexual, but who have sex with men; some avoid sharing this information even if they have female sexual partner(s). The term is also used to refer to a related sexual identity. Down-low has been viewed as '"a type of impression management形象管理 that some of the informants use to present themselves in a manner that is consistent with perceived norms符合社会规范 about masculine attribute, attitudes and behaviour'".
A 2003 New York Times Magazine cover story on the Down Low phenomenon
explains that the black community sees "homosexuality as a white man's perversion." It then goes on to describe the Down Low culture as follows: Rejecting a gay culture they perceive as white and effeminate, many black men have settled on a new identity接受了一种新身份, with its own vocabulary and customs and its own name: Down Low. There have always been men – black and white – who have had secret sexual lives with men. But the creation of an organized, underground subculture largely made up of black men who otherwise live straight lives is a phenomenon of the last decade... Most date or marry women and engage sexually with men
they meet only in anonymous settings like bathhouses and parks or
through the Internet. Many of these men are young and from the inner
city, where they live in a hypermasculine thug culture. Other DL men form romantic relationships with men and may even be peripheral participants in mainstream gay culture, all unknown to their colleagues and families. Most DL men identify themselves not as gay or bisexual but first and foremost as black. To them, as to many blacks, that equates to being inherently masculine.
Using a content analysis of more than 170 articles written between 2001
and 2006, sociologist Richard N. Pitt, Jr. concluded that the media pathologized ([pə'θolə,d3aiz] vb (tr). to represent (something) as a disease. 视为病态. 归为病态. this pathologizing of parenthood. ) black bisexual men's behavior while either ignoring or sympathizing with white bisexual men's similar actions. He argued that the "Down Low" black bisexual is often described negatively as a duplicitous表里不一的 ( adj. Given
to or marked by deliberate deceptiveness in behavior or speech. marked
by deliberate deceptiveness especially by pretending one set of feelings
and acting under the influence of another; duplicity [dju:'plisiti] n. 两面三刀. 表里不一. Intentional deceptiveness; deception; double-dealing. "she was a deceitful scheming little thing"; "a double-dealing double agent"; "a double-faced infernal traitor and schemer". deceitful, double-dealing, two-faced, double-faced. double-cross 背叛 To betray or go back on反悔. go back on 反悔, 背信弃义
I. (transitive) To be treacherous or faithless to; betray; as, to go
back on friends. II. (transitive) To fail to keep; to renege on; as, to
go back on one's promises. On Sunday Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said his country would not go back on its nuclear programme. double-dealing (of a person) Cheating, dishonest; treacherous. You low-down卑劣的, no-good一无是处的, double-dealing sidewinder! sidewinder I. A North American rattlesnake, Crotalus cerastes, that inhabits lowland deserts. II. 见风使舵的人. 墙头草 (slang) A person who is untrustworthy and dangerous. III. (slang, dated) A heavy swinging blow from the side which disables an adversary. double-faced I. Having two functional faces. a double-faced hammer. II. deceitful; hypocritical; treacherous. scheming爱耍花招的 Tending to scheme. ) heterosexual man whose behaviors threaten the black community. Alternatively, the "Brokeback" white bisexual (when seen as bisexual at all) is often described in pitying language as a victimized homosexual man who is forced into the closet by the heterosexist society around him. 5. 关于brokeback moutain: Professional film critics影评人士 have heaped praise on Brokeback Mountain. The film's significance has been attributed to its portrayal of a same-sex relationship without any reference to the history of the gay civil rights movement. This emphasizes the tragic love story aspect, which leads many commentators to effectively compare Ennis and Jack's drama to classic and modern romances like Romeo and Juliet or Titanic, often using the term star-crossed lovers("Star-crossed" or "star-crossed lovers" 不被看好的恋人. 惊世骇俗的恋人 is a phrase describing a pair of lovers whose relationship is often thwarted by outside forces. The term encompasses other meanings, but originally means the pairing is being "thwarted by a malign star" or that the stars are working against the relationship. Such pairings are often but not always said to be doomed from the start.). This link to classic romances is no coincidence;
the poster for the film was inspired by that of James Cameron's
Titanic, after Ang Lee's collaborator James Schamus looked at the
posters of "the 50 most romantic movies ever made". There was also
disagreement among reviewers, critics, and even the cast and crew as to
whether the film's two protagonists were actually homosexual, bisexual,
heterosexual, or under no sexual label性标签 at all. Gyllenhaal himself took the opinion that Ennis and Jack were heterosexual men who "develop this love, this bond,"
also saying in a Details interview: "I approached the story believing
that these are actually two straight guys who fall in love." Still
others stated that they felt the characters' sexuality to be simply ambiguous. Ledger was quoted as stating in TIME: "I don't think Ennis could be labeled as gay. Without Jack Twist, I don't know that he ever would have come out.... I think the whole point was that it was two souls that fell in love with each other." Conversely, others stated that the characters were undoubtedly gay, including GLBT non-fiction author Eric Marcus, who dismissed斥为, 斥责为, 驳斥为 "talk of Ennis and Jack being anything but gay as box office-influenced political correctness intended to steer straight audiences to骗进去 ( steer 操纵 To maneuver or manipulate a person or group into a place or course of action. Hume believes that principles of association steer the imagination of artists. ) the film". Roger Ebert also agrees that both characters are gay, although in doubt of it: "Jack is able to accept a little more willingly that he is inescapably宿命的, 摆脱不了的, 逃脱不掉的 gay," and the film's producer James Schamus said, "I suppose movies can be Rorschach tests (The Rorschach test ( also known as the Rorschach inkblot test, the Rorschach technique, or simply the inkblot test墨迹测试) is a psychological test 心理测试 in which subjects' perceptions of inkblots are recorded and then analyzed using psychological interpretation, complex algorithms, or both. Some psychologists use this test to examine a person's personality characteristics and emotional functioning. It has been employed to detect underlying thought disorder, especially in cases where patients are reluctant to describe their thinking processes openly. The test is named after its creator, Swiss psychologist Hermann Rorschach.) for all of us, but damn if these characters aren't gay to me." Annie Proulx herself opined "how different readers take the story is a reflection of their own personal values, attitudes, hang-ups.( hang-up I. 内心的一种情结. an emotional difficulty or a psychological inhibition; a complex. a preoccupation, fixation迷恋, or psychological block; complex. II. an unforeseen obstacle to progress; a hitch. )" When Ledger and Gyllenhaal were asked about any fear of being cast in such controversial roles, Ledger responded that he was not afraid of the role, but rather he was concerned that he would not be mature enough as an actor to do the story justice. Gyllenhaal has stated that he is extremely proud of the film and his role, regardless of what the reactions would be. He regards rumors of him being bisexual as flattering,
stating, "I'm open to whatever people want to call me. I've never
really been attracted to men sexually, but I don't think I would be
afraid of it if it happened." Ledger's performance was described by Luke
Davies as a difficult and empowering portrayal given the environment of the film, stating: "In Brokeback Mountain the vulnerability, the potential for danger, is so great – a world so masculine it might destroy you for any aberration – that [Ledger's] real brilliance was to bring to the screen a character, Ennis Del Mar, so fundamentally shut down that he is like a bible of unrequited desires得不到回应的欲望, 一厢情愿的欲望, stifled yearnings压抑的渴望, lost potential." According to news reports, the film has not been shown in theaters in China, although it was freely available in bootleg (
n. 盗版. An illegally produced, transported or sold product; contraband.
v. I. (chiefly US, transitive) to make, transport and/or sell illegal
alcoholic liquor. II. (transitive) to make, transport and/or sell an
illegal version or copy of a copyright product. ) DVD and video. The reason given by the state for not showing the film in theaters was that the anticipated audience was too small to justify this type of release.
