And they’re off. The Toronto International Film Festival, which began two days ago, is known as one of the “starting guns” of awards season.

多伦多国际电影节开始了。被称为颁奖季的“发令枪”之一的多伦多国际电影节于两天前开幕。

First held in 1976, the annual fixture has built a reputation for showcasing films that go on to generate a buzz. Since 2008, every winner of its People’s Choice Award except one has found itself shortlisted for the Oscar for Best Picture, and four have won.

这个一年一度的电影节于1976年首次举办，以放映能引起轰动的电影而闻名。自2008年以来，除了一部影片外，所有获得观众票选奖的电影都发现入围了奥斯卡最佳影片奖的候选名单，其中四部获奖。

This year, biopics abound. “Harriet”, a highly anticipated retelling of the life of Harriet Tubman, a campaigner for the abolition of slavery, will premiere on Tuesday; and next weekend the festival will close with “Radioactive”, a biography of Marie Curie, a Nobel-prize winning scientist who is played by Rosamund Pike.

今年，传记电影比比皆是。备受期待的《哈丽特》将于周二首映，它讲述了废奴运动家哈丽特·塔布曼的生活；下个周末，电影节将以播放《放射性物质》这部电影结束，这是由罗莎蒙德·派克饰演的获得诺贝尔奖的科学家玛丽·居里的传记。

Tomorrow an all-star cast including Nicole Kidman will nervously await the verdict on “The Goldfinch”, adapted from Donna Tartt’s successful coming-of-age novel. The popcorn is at the ready, the red carpet is unfurled and, for now, the jury is out.

明天，包括妮可·基德曼在内的全明星演员将紧张地等待《金翅雀》的最终结果，这部电影改编自唐娜·塔特成功的成长小说。爆米花已经准备好了，红毯已经铺开，现在还没有定论。

多伦多国际电影节

第44届多伦多国际电影节将于2019年9月5日-9月15日举行。

多伦多国际电影节（Toronto International Film Festival）是英语地区重要电影节之一]，每年9月在加拿大多伦多举行，最高荣誉是观众票选奖（People's Choice Award）。

观众票选奖（People's Choice Award）为多伦多国际电影节最大奖项，多伦多电影节并未设置有评审团，也没有像其他电影节的竞赛项目，该奖项是由参加电影节的观众票选出最高票的电影获得。

多伦多国际电影节于1976年首次举办，早期是以放映其他电影节参展电影为主。经过多年发展及多番转变，今日已成为颇具规模的电影盛会，近年更被认为是美国奥斯卡金像奖的预演，共有近6000部影片在这里与世人见面，其中有大约300部曾登上了奥斯卡提名名单和领奖台。不少电影选择在多伦多国际电影节进行全球或北美首映，让观众先睹为快。

多伦多电影节不同于戛纳电影节、柏林电影节（展映+评奖的电影节类型），不重复其它电影节的模式，以展映新片为主，不评奖。随着影响力的不断扩大，多伦多电影节入围展映单元的影片质量也越来越高，很多电影在奥斯卡奖上也屡屡斩获大奖。

电影节强调多元化取向，由好莱坞作品、独立制片以至实验作品，都兼容并蓄，亦未忽略加拿大本土作品，并借此肯定加拿大为电影工业所作贡献。

哈丽特

哈丽特·塔布曼（Harriet Tubman 1820年－1913年3月10日）是美国废奴主义者。

塔布曼是在马里兰州出生的黑人奴隶，可能出生于2月末或3月初，从7岁起，就经常被奴隶主出租给其他人，受到许多非人的待遇，有一次曾经被人用一个两磅的秤砣重重地打在头上，造成她终生忍受周期性癫痫发作后遗症。她的三个姐妹被奴隶主卖掉，再也不能够相见。1844年，她和一个自由人约翰·塔布曼结婚。

1849年，塔布曼的奴隶主死亡，他的妻子为了还债，决定卖掉奴隶，塔布曼害怕被卖掉，决定逃亡，她的丈夫不愿意离开。当年秋天，塔布曼自己逃到北方。在逃亡的路上，她受到废奴主义者和贵格会教徒的帮助。她逃亡后不久即加入到这些帮助奴隶逃亡的“地下铁路”中，成为最活跃的向导。在地下铁路中，她的化名为“摩西”，她冒着南方重金悬赏缉捕的危险，多次潜回马里兰州带领奴隶逃亡，亲自救出300多名奴隶。

成功地将她的四个兄弟带到北方。美国南北战争期间，她为北方军队担任护士和厨师，同时不时潜到南方作为侦探，还带领了几百名南方奴隶加入北方的军队。

1863年，她策划了一场对南卡罗来纳州南方军的袭击，这是美国历史上第一次由一个女人策划和发动的战役。在战斗前，她潜入敌方庄园，通知奴隶们在战役打响后向河中逃跑，北方的战舰会接应他们。这次战斗中，又有几百名奴隶逃亡，南北双方军队都有很大伤亡。

塔布曼在潜回南方营救奴隶过程中，一次也没有被捕过，主要是因为她非常聪明、大胆、细心，她依靠黑人社区的帮助，在逃亡过程中实行军事纪律，不允许有人掉队被捕。有一次她携带两只鸡作为掩护，突然遇到以前奴隶主的一个邻居奴隶主，她将鸡放出假装捉鸡，使得那人没有认出她。

还有一次在火车站发现捉拿奴隶的人正在搜查去往北方的火车，她立即果断地带领她帮助逃亡的奴隶们乘上开往南方的火车，然后再转道北方。

她曾经决定如果有人半道突然改变主意，想打退堂鼓，她以枪决的方式来吓他，以免透露消息。不过很值得庆幸的是，这个决定从来没有执行的机会。她曾经自豪地说：“我没有丢失任何一个我带出来的人。”

战后她的经济状况非常拮据，1869年萨拉布雷福德为她写了一本传记《哈莉特塔布曼的生活特写》，她的经济状况才略有好转。几乎在战争过后30年，政府才想起为她在部队中服役发养老金。他年，她和小她22岁的退伍兵尼尔森戴维斯结婚，在纽约奥本购买了她的朋友，林肯时代国务卿威廉施瓦德的房产定居下来。

她在自己房产旁，也属于她的地产中帮助建立了一个非裔美国人养老院，她晚年受到关节炎的困扰，健康状况恶化，也住进了这个养老院，最终在此逝世，受到军队葬礼的待遇，并在奥本竖立了一个纪念碑。

金翅雀

电影《金翅雀》/《 The Goldfinch》预计9月13日在美国上映

电影讲述了13岁的西奥-戴克被母亲带领参观纽约大都会博物馆，然而博物馆却发生了恐袭爆炸，导致母亲丧生，西奥却奇迹般幸存。这次悲剧改变了西奥的命运，从此他伴随悲痛与自责、振作与救赎逐渐长大。然而没有人知道的是，西奥悄悄收藏了一件那次事件的纪念物，那是他回忆起母亲时的唯一慰藉——一幅绘有小鸟被链条锁住的画儿——那正是所有人都以为早已在大都会博物馆大爆炸中化为乌有的世界名作《金翅雀》

fixture /ˈfɪkstʃə(r)/

1.( BrE ) a sports event that has been arranged to take place on a particular date and at a particular place （定期定点举行的）体育活动，体育节

•an annual fixture 一年一度的体育节

2.( especially BrE ) a thing such as a bath/ bathtub or a toilet that is fixed in a house and that you do not take with you when you move house 固定设施（如房屋内安装的浴缸或抽水马桶）

•The price of the house includes fixtures and fittings . 房屋价格包括固定装置和附加设备。

showcase /ˈʃəʊˌkeɪs/

1. N-COUNT A showcase is a glass container with valuable objects inside it, for example, at an exhibition or in a museum. 玻璃陈列柜

2. N-COUNT You use showcase to refer to a situation or setting in which something is displayed or presented to its best advantage. 展示场合

•The festival remains a valuable showcase for new talent.该音乐节依然是新秀展示才华的宝贵机会。

3. V-T If something is showcased, it is displayed or presented to its best advantage. 展示

•Restored films are being showcased this month at a festival in Paris.本月的巴黎电影节将展映一些修复版的电影。

generate a buzz

导新潮流；引起轰动；带来人气

shortlist /ˈʃɔːtˌlɪst/

1. N-COUNT If someone is on a shortlist, for example, for a job or a prize, they are one of a small group of people who have been chosen from a larger group. The successful person is then chosen from the small group. (工作或获奖的) 候选人名单

•If you've been asked for an interview you are probably on a shortlist of no more than six.如果你已经被要求参加面试，你很可能在不超过6人的候选名单上。

2. V-T If someone or something is shortlisted for a job or a prize, they are put on a shortlist. 将…列入候选名单

•He was shortlisted for the Nobel Prize for literature several times.他曾数次获得诺贝尔文学奖提名。

biopic /ˈbaɪəʊˌpɪk/

1. N-COUNT A biopic is a film that tells the story of someone's life. 传记片

abound /əˈbaʊnd/

1. V-I If things abound, or if a place abounds with things, there are very large numbers of them. 充满

•Stories abound about when he was in charge.他负责时传闻很多。

bolition /ˌæbəˈlɪʃən/ (动词：abolish)

1. N-UNCOUNT The abolition of something such as a system or practice is its formal ending. 废除

•The abolition of slavery in Brazil and the Caribbean closely followed the pattern of the United States.巴西和加勒比海地区对奴隶制的废除很大程度上遵循了美国的模式。

slavery /ˈsleɪvəri, ˈsleɪvri/ (slaver:奴隶)

1. N-UNCOUNT Slavery is the system by which people are owned by other people as slaves. 奴隶制

•My people have survived 400 years of slavery.我的民族历经400年的奴隶制度后幸存了下来。

premiere /ˈprɛmɪˌɛə, ˈprɛmɪə/

1. N-COUNT The premiere of a new play or movie is the first public performance of it. 首次公演

•Four astronauts visited for last week's premiere of the movie Space Station.四位宇航员到场参加了上个星期举行的电影《空间站》的首映式。

2. V-T/V-I When a movie or show premieres or is premiered, it is shown to an audience for the first time. 首次上映; 首次上演

•The documentary premiered at the Jerusalem Film Festival.那部记录片在耶路撒冷电影节上首映。

biography /baɪˈɒɡrəfɪ/

1. N-COUNT A biography of someone is an account of their life, written by someone else. 传记

•...recent biographies of Stalin.…近年的斯大林传记。

2. N-UNCOUNT Biography is the branch of literature which deals with accounts of people's lives. 传记文学

•...a volume of biography and criticism.…一册传记文学与评论。

verdict /ˈvɜːdɪkt/

1. N-COUNT In a court of law, the verdict is the decision that is given by the jury or judge at the end of a trial. 裁决

•The jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict.该陪审团作出了一份一致通过的有罪裁决。

2. N-COUNT Someone's verdict on something is their opinion of it, after thinking about it or investigating it. 判断

•The doctor's verdict was that he was entirely healthy.这名医生的判断是他完全是健康的。

goldfinch /ˈɡəʊldˌfɪntʃ/

1. N a common European finch, Carduelis carduelis, the adult of which has a red-and-white face and yellow-and-black wings 欧洲金翅雀

coming of age

1. N-SING When something reaches an important stage of development and is accepted by a large number of people, you can refer to this as its coming of age. 到了...的重要阶段

•...postwar Germany's final coming-of-age as an independent sovereign state....战后德国作为一个独立主权国家的关键时刻。

2. N-SING Someone's coming of age is the time when they become recognized as an adult. 成年

•...traditional coming-of-age ceremonies....传统的成年庆典。

popcorn /ˈpɒpˌkɔːn/

1. N-UNCOUNT Popcorn is a snack that consists of grains of corn that have been heated until they have burst and become large and light. 爆米花

carpet /ˈkɑːpɪt/

1. N-VAR A carpet is a thick covering of soft material which is laid over a floor or a staircase. 地毯

•They put down wooden boards, and laid new carpets on top.他们安装了木地板，还在上面铺了新地毯。

unfurl /ʌnˈfɜːl/

1. V-T/V-I If you unfurl something rolled or folded such as an umbrella, sail, or flag, you open it, so that it is spread out. You can also say that it unfurls. 展开 (伞、帆或旗帜)

•Once outside the inner breakwater, we began to unfurl all the sails.一出内防波堤，我们就开始展开所有的风帆。

2. V-I If you say that events, stories, or scenes unfurl before you, you mean that you are aware of them or can see them as they happen or develop. (事件、故事、场景等) 逐渐展开

•The dramatic changes in Europe continue to unfurl.剧变在欧洲继续呈现。