Unit 4 全新版大学英语阅读教程二知识点

Unit 4-- Conversation 1

Mark: This is just so crazy!

Janet: What?

Mark: This story I'm reading.

Kate: So tell us.

Mark: A man within a wheelchair crossing the road in front of a lorry at some traffic lights. Somehow, the back of

the wheelchair got stuck on the front of the lorry. When the lorry started moving, it took the wheelchair and the

man with it!

Kate: You're joking!

Mark: The driver drove for several miles at 80 kilometres an hour before he stopped at a garage. The man was unhurt

because his seat belt had stopped him falling out.

Janet: What a terrible story! Thank goodness the man was all right!

Mark: The police asked the driver if he'd realized he had a passenger. The driver said he had no idea at all.

Mark: Do you want to hear another one? A funny one this time.

Kate: Go on.

Mark: A woman reported that her car had been stolen and that she'd left her mobile phone in the car. The policeman

suggested calling the mobile. When he did, the thief answered it. The policeman told the thief that he was answering

an ad in the paper and that he wanted to buy the car. And the thief agreed to sell it!

Janet: He didn't!

Mark: So they arranged to meet and the thief was arrested and the woman got her car back. Janet: A happy ending!

Mark: You get these great stories in the papers — I alway

Unit 4--Conversation 2

Voice on radio: The news at one o'clock.

Tornadoes have damaged homes in Northern England.

There is still no news of missing company director, Alan Marsden.

Scientists claim that global warming is accelerating.

There are reports coming in of more fighting in ...

Mark: Do you mind if I turn it off?

Janet: It's fine, I wasn't listening.

Mark: Do you follow the news?

Janet: Yeah, I do. But I don't often listen to the radio, I mostly get my news online.

Kate: Do you?

Janet: Yes, I read articles from different papers.

Kate: My dad does that.

Mark: Well, I've got used to reading real newspapers.

Janet: You should try reading the news online. You get lots of different views, it's very stimulating.

Mark: True, it is stimulating. But I've got into the habit of reading the papers in the JCR — in a comfortable armchair, with lots of black coffee.

Kate: Don't either of you listen to the radio? It's a great way to wake up.

Mark: Yeah, I do that. And I download podcasts. And I watch the news on telly.

Kate: You're a news addict. We all know that.

Mark: You have to be if you read PPE. You have to be really knowledgeable about current affairs.

Janet: You are.

Kate: Well, I'm a TV addict. I spend too much time watching the soaps. I love British TV. Janet: We've noticed, Kate. Are you going to watch Friends with me tonight?

Kate: You bet!

Unit 4-Outside view

Part 1

Keith I saw Robin Williams come to the patio. I made

the run, jumped a couple of sawhorses锯木厂, climbed up a stairway,

got in front of him, and said, "Robin, do you mind if I take a

picture?" He goes, "After all that, how could I stop you?"

Voice-over Keith Sykes has a long career in journalism, photography, and communications. Keith I've taken pictures of a lot of celebrities. Cindy Crawford. I've taken her picture a few times and, I, I think it's impossible to take a bad picture of her. James Garner. I've photographed famous politicians. I stood in the same position for two hours to get this picture. Photographing these people is uh, an exciting thing for me. When I moved to Los Angeles in 1979 to become editor of a weekly newspaper out there, I was really excited when I started getting these invitations to come to this award show, or this benefit show. I was showing up at all these events and seeing people that I had seen on the screen and it was, uh, really, uh, a magical moment for me.

Part 2

Keith The word paparazzi means "the pest" in Italian. Fellini dubbed配音a character who played a pesky photographer in La Doice Vita "Paparazzo". The roots of paparazzi photography were in Europe after World War II. The countries were all subject to受制于many political factions 派别who were deciding what direction their countries would go. This created awesome political rivalries. And photographers would cover political events, knowing that they would probably turn into violent protests and they'd get newsworthy pictures and be able to sell them. Now at the same time, more and more celebrities were going to the Mediterranean, to Monte Carlo ... And these photographers, who had started as political photographers, took pictures of the celebrities and their ... those celebrities' wild lives. There are financial rewards. If I got a photograph of Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt holding hands, then I'd be paid maybe $10,000. If I shot Jennifer and Brad throwing drinks at each other, I would get $50,000. How much a photograph is worth is often determined by how negative it portrays that celebrity. When, uh, Princess Diana died, I started thinking. I had realized that the business had gone bad, that it was being motivated by money, that it was creating not artists, or even well-meaning photographers who wanted to pursue this craft, but rather, really bounty hunters.

Part 3

Keith I decided to use the small college town of North Hampton and go up there every Saturday night, and I put on the full uniform, photo vest, and press IDs, and I would lurk in doorways and follow people and jump out in front of them and take their picture. I've, you know, walked up with my camera behind me and then just pulled it out and shot it with the flash. We wanted to know what it felt like - as an everyday person, how do you like the idea that someone can take pictures of you on the street? And almost universally, people feel you shouldn't have the right to invade their privacy. I think, as consumers of the media, we at least have to look at ourselves occasionally and evaluate what it is we're consuming. Because whatever we're consuming, we're encouraging to spread.

Unit 4-Listening in

Passage 1

Phil Hello.

Tony Hello, is that Phil Taylor?

Phil Speaking.

Tony Hi, Phil, my name's Tony, and I'm a reporter for SUN.

Phil The uni paper! I suppose you want to talk to me about the fire.

Tony Yes, if it's OK with you. We'd like to do a piece on the fire for next week's paper. Can you tell people how it happened?

Phil Yeah, OK, it probably is a good idea.

Tony So when can I come and see you?

Phil Um ... Wednesday afternoon? Three o'clock? I'm in South Block, Room 18.

Tony OK, I'll be there.

...

Tony OK, so let's get started. When did the fire happen?

Phil Two days ago.

Tony November the 10th. OK, so tell me how it happened.

Phil Um ... It was about 11pm. I decided to fry some chips, I use quite a lot of oil -1 was deep-frying. Um ... And I put the chips in. And then my girlfriend rang.

Tony OK.

Phil We'd had a quarrel, and I was pretty upset, so we started talking, and I completely forgot about the chips and went back to my room.

Tony You fool!

Phil Thanks. We talked for quite a long time. Next thing I knew, there was this smell of smoke, and someone was shouting, "Fire! Fire!" And I realized immediately of course, it was my chips! And I rushed out of my room - the kitchen was next door - and ... well... there were flames all over one wall.

Tony And it was all your fault!

Phil It was. But people were in the kitchen throwing blankets over the flames, and someone had already called the fire brigade and they came - in ten minutes I think - and put it out very quickly.

Tony So what was the damage?

Phil They're gonna to have to replace the cooker, two kitchen units, repaint one wall.

Tony Sounds pretty bad.

Phil It could have been a lot worse.

Tony Can I take a photo of you for the paper?

Phil Do you have to? Oh, OK.

Tony Thanks. It'll be front page news.

Phil Oh dear! Haven't you got anything else to write about?

Tony Not this week. There's not much happening on campus. I'm joking. You're on Page 2. Phil Thanks!

Passage 2

Presenter Today's discussion is about reality TV programmes, the programmes loved by millions and hated by just as many. We have three people on our panel —Tricia a student at Liverpool University, Rick from Luton, and Karen who is a full-time mum.

Panel Hello.

Presenter So let's begin with a very obvious question. Do you watch reality TV programmes and if so, why?

Tricia Yes, I do, I love them, I'm addicted to them, I'm afraid.

Presenter Addicted to them?

Tricia Yes, I think all my friends are really. I guess it's

just, you know, fascinating to watch real people put under a

bit of pressure and then see how they behave.

Presenter That doesn't sound very nice exactly.

Tricia No, it isn't. But reality TV isn't very nice actually.

Presenter Karen, how about you?

Karen Yes, well I watch them but I'm not like Tricia. I'm definitely not addicted to them. I can take them or leave them. But I do like to watch property programmes.

Presenter Propertyprogrammes?

Karen You can learn a lot from them. And it's -it's great

to see real people buying a property and then doing it up, the

mistakes they make, that kind of thing. And yes, you know,

there's the human interest factor as well.

Presenter Rick -

Rick I can't stand reality TV. I mean, OK, if it's a property programme or a gardening programme, fine, but most of them are just - they're set up to humiliate people.

Tricia Not always.

Rick I disagree. People are on show. It's like

watching animals in a zoo. I mean, would you appear on a reality show?

Tricia Maybe. I don't know. Probably not.

Rick There you are you see? You don't want to be

humiliated.

Karen Some people do very well on reality shows. They

win a lot of money.

Rick OK, that's true, but - standards on reality shows

can be pretty low, you can't deny it.

Presenter Tricia, what have you got to say to that?

Tricia Well, it's true, yes.

Karen I agree with Rick.

Presenter So, next question ...

Unit 5—Conversation 1

Mark: Hi!

Kate: Hi, Janet! Have you been waiting long?

Janet: Not at all. What did you think of Hero?

Kate: It was brilliant, thanks for suggesting it.

Janet: Well, it was nominated for an Oscar, you know.

Kate: That figures. It's a beautiful film.

Mark: Yes. The costumes, and scenery were amazing,

Kate: I'd love to know more about the emperor, he was cool. Who was he?

Janet: Qin Shi Huang — it's said he was the first emperor in the history of China — he unified China.

Ka te: Did he? When?

Janet: Er ... 221 BC.

Mark: As long ago as that!

Waitress: Hi guys! What can I get you?

Kate: Yes, I'll have a coke, thanks.

Mark: Er ... Just a coffee.

Waitress: Sure.

Mark: Tell us more ...

Janet: Um ... Well, before that, there were seven big states and they had been fighting each other for many years.

Mark: Right.

Janet: It's called the Warring States Period. Anyway — Qin was king of the largest state and he defeated the six other states, one after another. It took him ten years to conquer them, each with a different strategy.

Mark: What kind of man was he?

Janet: Well, he was brilliant, obviously. And also wise. He had this huge army —they were very powerful. After his army had attacked the first state, the next state surrendered without much fight. They were so terrified.

Kate: Wow!

Janet: What else? The army leaders were very clever, they used a river to flood a city.

Mark: That can't have been easy.

Janet: Yes, anyway, after conquering the last state, Qin made himself Emperor of the whole of China.

Mark: Was he the emperor who created the Terracotta Warriors?

Janet: That's right. He was so afraid of death that he wanted them to guard him in the afterlife.

Unit 5--Conversation 2

Becky: OK.

Kate: Thank you.

Mark: Thanks.

Kate: So go on about Emperor Qin. It's really interesting.

Janet: It is, isn't it? Well, so he unified China and that was an incredible achievement. But as a result, huge numbers of soldiers were killed.

Kate: About how many?

Janet: Oh, I don't know, something like 500,000 men?

Kate: That is huge.

Mark: So how do the Chinese see Qin?

Janet: He's seen as the greatest emperor in Chinese history.

Mark: Why? Because he unified China? That's a very good reason, mind you.

Janet: Not only that. The thing is, as a result of the unification, he did many amazing things. He built roads all across China, he standardized writing ... and also the money system. Oh, and the system for measuring and weighing things as well.

Mark: So he was a great leader for China.

Janet: Yes, he was, but he was also very cruel.

Mark: Yes, but most emperors were cruel, weren't they?

Kate: Well I guess that's true. You're right.

Mark: So did he have enemies?

Janet:Ofcourse,I think all great emperors have some enemies. Some people hated him so much they tried to kill him!

Mark: Was he the emperor who built the Great Wall of China?

Janet: He built the first Great Wall. You see, tribes from the north were always trying to invade so he built a huge wall across China to stop them. Hundreds of thousands of men died building it. Kate: It's so sad — all those thousands of people dying.

Mark: But then ... that's war, isn't it?

Unit 5-Outside view

On the 25th of April each year, Australia and New Zealand celebrate Anzac Day, when they commemorate all the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who died in action during the First and Second World Wars, and in every armed conflict since then. We're here now at the Australian War Memorial at the start of the dawn service. They shall grow not old

As we that are left grow old

Age shall not weary them nor the years condemn

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.

Lest we forget.

A verse from the poem. Ode to Remembrance by Laurence Binyon, is recited during the ceremony.

Inside the Hall of Memory is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. This is the grave of a solider whose identity is not known and it represents all those soldiers who died in battle but were not identified.

Twenty-four years after the ravages of World War I, war came to the mainland of Australia where air raids killed hundreds of service personnel and civilians. In Malaya, Korea and Vietnam, we answered the call as we have in Afghanistan and Iraq. Through it all the one unshakable truth has been a steadfastness, bom of the traditions of the Australian servicemen. Today, Australia's

special day, they remember in East Timor, on Bougainville, in Afghanistan and Iraq, on the island of Crete, at Gallipoli, they along with us, remember.

Anzac Day is a public holiday in Australia. It is one of the most important national days of the year and certainly the most solemn one. Commemoration services are held in all the major cities in Australia and huge crowds attend to pay their respects to those who died. Servicemen and women from all the armed services in Australia march in procession. They fought in the Second World War and other conflicts since then that have happened around the world. The men in the trucks are all wearing decorations. They're veterans from the Second World War, and perhaps a few last survivors from the First World War. After the Parade the veterans will gather in a pub or club to talk and share memories. This veteran fought in the Second World War in Western Australia.

Interviewer And what does Anzac Day mean to you?

Veteran Well, it means remembering not only those who didn't go home but the, the fact that you keep in touch with a lot of your ... friends.

Unit 5-Listening in

Passage 1

There are many war novels but the novel I'm going to talk about today is unusual because it's war seen through the eyes of a child. The "eyes" are those of JG Ballard, one of Britain's most respected novelists.

Let's begin with some information about Ballard. He was born in 1930, in Shanghai, where his father was a businessman, and he was only 11 years old when the city was occupied during World War II. Ballard and his family were placed in a prison camp and he has said that his experiences there affected him so deeply that it was 40 years before he felt able to write about them. "Twenty years to forget and 20 years to remember."

The result of Ballard's experiences was a semi-autobiographical novel called Empire of the Sun, published in 1984. It quickly became a success and in 1987 it was made into a movie by Hollywood director, Steven Spielberg.

Let's move on to the novel itself. Empire of the Sun tells the story of how a young boy, Jim Graham, survives the Japanese occupation. Interestingly, Jim is J G Ballard's first name and his second name is Graham. Also, Jim is the same age as Ballard - 11 -when the occupation begins.

At the start of the story, Jim is living with his parents in a wealthy part of Shanghai. When the invasion begins, many of Shanghai's inhabitants flee from the city and Jim's parents do the same. But the boy becomes separated from them and finds himself all alone. He goes back to their empty home and lives alone there. Inevitably, he's found and then he's sent to a prison camp.

It's a terrible four years, but the boy somehow survives. He steals food, finds ways of getting in and out of the camp, and is befriended by some Americans and a Japanese boy.

Is there a happy ending? Yes and no. Jim sees many people die; his Japanese friend is killed by the Americans. But at the end of the war, he gets back to Shanghai and is reunited with his parents.

Jim's experiences are terrible, as a child who discovers the depths of human cruelty. But he learns also about the strength and courage that is possible, even in these circumstances.

Both the great power and the truth of the novel come from the fact that it's based on the author's own experiences. The general opinion of critics is that Empire of the Sun is one of the best

war novels ever written - so read it, it's worth it.

Passage 2

Host On Women's World,today, we look at women's role in the Second World War and the important part they played in it. In the First World War, women had worked in factories and as nurses, both at home and at the front. In the Second World War, women were even more essential to the war effort. Doris Watts was just 18 when the war began and Mavis Grey was only 20.

Host Do you remember how you felt, Doris, the day the

war was declared?

Doris Oh yes ... of course I do. I felt frightened of course,

but we had known it would happen. The first thing, more than

anything I think, that I felt was ... was that I wanted to do

something! You know, do something useful, so I joined the

Land Girls.

Host Ah, yes, the Women's Land Army. That was an

organization started in the First World War. Women worked in

agriculture as the men were away fighting. Did you enjoy the

experience?

Doris Not really. It was very hard work, very physical. You never saw anybody except the officer coming to inspect your work. So when I heard about the WAAF I signed up.

Host That's the Women's Auxiliary Air Force. WAAF, for

short. So why the WAAF?

Doris I'd always thought planes were very exciting. And

it's silly but I liked the light blue uniforms.

Host That's a good enough reason! Now, Mavis, you were in the W AAF at the same time as Doris. Can you tell us more about it?

Mavis Yes. Organizations like the WAAF were a way for women to join the armed forces, since they weren't allowed to fight. Instead, the army, the navy and the air force all had support services, which women could join.

Host And Doris. What kind of things did you have to do?

Doris Oh, well, a lot of different things. I worked in transport and catering. We were very young but we were given a lot of responsibility.

Host And what did you do, Mavis?

Mavis Various jobs but eventually I worked on a fighter station, tracking the German bombers as they flew towards London. It was very exciting.

Host Was it ever dangerous?

Doris Yes, we were always in danger of being bombed. They tell me that over 1,500 young women lost their lives. I was lucky.

Host And what about social life?

Mavis We did have some wonderful parties. And of course I met my husband, Eric. He was an electrician at the station.

Host One last question, Doris. Do you think women's work in the forces changed things for women?

Doris Without a doubt. Oh absolutely! After the war the position of women could never be the

same again - we'd contributed so much.

Host Doris and Mavis, thank you both.

Unit 6—Conversation 1

Kate: Are you on your way to the boathouse?

Janet: No. What's happening?

Kate: There's a practice race to help choose who will row on the college team. Mark really wants a place on the team, so he has to row well today. And I'm going to watch.

Janet: Well, I'd like to, but I have an essay to finish.

Kate: That's too bad! I know how you feel.

Janet: Maybe I can come later?

Kate: Sure. I'm thinking of having lunch in the boathouse bar, and then watching the rowing all afternoon.

Janet: How do I get to the boathouse?

Kate: It's easy. Can you see where we are on the map? Here, look!

Janet: OK, which way round are we standing? ... Yes, got it!

Kate: OK, go down Catte Street, and turn right into the High Street. Go along the High Street and turn left into St Aldates. Walk along St Aldates, past Christ Church College until you get to Folly Bridge.

Janet: I see.

Kate: Then when you get to the bridge, cross over the river ... turn left and walk along the river bank. Keep going along the river ... And you're there! The boathouses are on the right, and the Hertford College Boathouse is the last one along. You can't miss it.

Janet: Thanks. I'm looking forward to seeing the rowing.

Kate: No problem. We shouldn't miss the rowing —it's a great university tradition!

Janet: I know, Mark was telling me.

Kate: Like the boat race between Oxford and Cambridge universities every year.

Janet: Of course! The great rivals!

Kate: The Boat Race has been going for years, maybe nearly 200 years.

Janet: And Oxford won it this year!

Kate: Yes, but Cambridge was very close behind. Anyway see you later, down by the river. Janet: Bye.

Unit 6--Conversation 2

Kate: So the rules are ... the boats follow each other and the one behind has to bump the one in front ... just like that one has done.

Janet: Is that Mark's boat?

Kate: Yes! Look, his boat is about to bump the one in front! Well done!

Mark: Hi you guys!

Kate: Fantastic, Mark. You were amazing!

Mark: Well,we won the practice race, but I'm worried about getting a place on the team.The problem is that there are at least three other people on the team who have rowed before.And I can't help thinking that they were better than me.

Janet: Don't worry, Mark. Everything will be OK.

Mark: And then I hurt my knee getting into the boat.

Janet: Oh, I'm so sorry!

Kate: Too bad, but it's only a scratch. Listen up, Janet is right. No need to get nervous, Mark. You were the strongest looking guy in the boat today. Chill out!

Mark: Hey, they're putting the team list on the door.

Janet: Let's go over and see.

Mark: No, you go! I can't bear to look!

Kate: OK.

Kate: Hey, Mark, great news! You got a place on the college team!

Janet: Congratulations!

Kate: That's great, Mark, you deserve it. You trained so hard.

Mark: I can't believe it!

Unit 6-Outside view

Interviewer OK then Graham, I wonder if first off you could explain a little bit of the history of Tae Kwon Do.

Teacher Tae Kwon Do originated er ... about 2,000 years ago in Korea. It's in the present form we train and teach now is formulated in 1955 by a Korean general. He was asked to put a self-defence together for the Korean army. This is how we teach it now, but it's got origins going back thousands of years throughout Asia and of course obviously throughout Korea. Interviewer So how does it, I mean, for the uninitiated不熟悉的；不内行的how does it differ to, say, other martial arts?

Teacher Tae Kwon Do is basically the hand and foot martial art. It's a self-defence martial art as I said, originated for the Korean martial art for the army. It's legs and hands, Tae means to kick, Kwon means to punch and Do means a way, or method.

Interviewer OK. So I can see over your shoulder how it's a pretty popular class, what kind of mixture of people do you get coming along?

Teacher Luckily we get all sorts, that's the aim of the class, it's open to everyone, we take any flexibility level, any age, any fitness level, and we guarantee to improve flexibility and fitness and also have a good time. We're also teaching a traditional martial art as well, so it's a fun aspect but with tradition mixed in as well.

Interviewer So how long have you been in this sport yourself?

Teacher Six years, and I'm a second Dan instructor now.

Interviewer What got you into it in the first place?

Teacher I've always wanted to do martial art, I lacked a little bit of self-confidence I must admit, and my wife's uncle was a black belt and I went along and watched, and thought, yeah I could do that. You know, I had no experience of it at all, and I've never looked back. Interviewer So what do you think people in general get out of it?

Teacher Well hopefully, it's fun, as well as learning something. As I said it's a traditional martial art as well, so we teach tradition m our line work, in our patterns ... go back thousands of years, also the fun aspects, as I said fitness, flexibility, making new friends, getting out, beating the stresses of everyday, daily life. I mean there's nothing better than coming into a class and smacking用掌击a pad护具, you know, releasing the stresses of daily life, so hopefully they get quite a bit out of it.

Interviewer OK, two things actually, whereabouts do you hold your classes and if people were interested in taking up how would they go about finding out?

Teacher OK, the Bytomic group, they run 26 Tae Kwon Do classes in around the southeast. The easiest way of finding out is look on the website which is www. https://www.wendangku.net/doc/3a7884332.html, or alternatively you can ring the office which is 01844 281 888. All the information is on the website or speak to the office. Local clubs are Long Crendon here on a Tuesday and Thursday, Aylesbury on Sundays and Tuesdays and Princes Risborough on a Monday and a Wednesday evening. Interviewer OK, well thank you very much for your time Graham, cheers very much, very interesting, we'll give it a go.

Teacher Thank you very much for your day. Anytime Chris, come along, free lesson!

Unit 6-Listening in

Passage 1

Speaker 1And David Seaman is in goal for the England

team down to our right... it's difficult to get used to the change

of team colours here ... I'm looking at the white shorts and

thinking they're English players, but they're not. For this

match it's the Germans who are wearing white. I hope the

English players don't have the same problem, we don't want

them to pass the ball to the Germans. Now Gascoigne for

England passes to McManaman for the first time ...

McManaman is immediately surrounded by three German

defenders ... he brings the ball to the near side of the pitch ...

still McManaman for England, crosses the ball to Pearce ...

Pearce takes a shot! ... saved by the German Ziegler, and

picked up by Ince only 25 yards away from the German

goal... good effort by Ince, aims at the goal! ... and Kopke, the

German goalkeeper pushes the ball over the top of the goal.

So a comer kick for England.

Speaker 2 A great shot by Ince, I'm sure he knows that Pearce set that up for him, but Kopke put the shot out of danger.

Speaker 1 He does like to punch the ball, that Kopke in the German goal... England's first corner of this semi-final... Gascoigne will take it... Here comes the comer kick from Gascoigne ... and Shearer's there and Alan Shearer scores for England ... England have scored after only two minutes' play ... with a comer kick by Gascoigne ... aimed at the near post, and Alan Shearer heads the ball into the German goal ,.. It's an absolute dream start for the semi-final ... Shearer has got his fifth goal of the tournament... Would you believe it? It's England one, Germany nil!

Passage 2

Matt Now it's time for Critic's Choice,with news and reviews about the latest films. Good evening, Jack, seen anything good at the cinema this week?

Jack Good evening Matt, yes, I've seen one of the best sports films of recent years.

Matt Sports films? That's not usually a type of film which appeals to you.

Jack You're right, but this time it's different. I've been to see a film about mountain climbing,

it's not really your typical sports film. It's more man against the mountain.

Matt Tell us more.

Jack I've been to see Touching the Void, which is the story of a pair of mountain climbers in the Peruvian Andes.

Matt Is it a true story?

Jack Yes, it is. In 1985, Joe Simpson and Simon Yates set out to climb the 7,000-metre Siula Grande mountain in the Peruvian Andes. Simpson and Yates were young, fit and confident they would succeed.

Matt So what happens?

Jack Simpson and Yates' style of climbing involved moving quickly up a mountain with very few supplies and no base camps, which is risky. You can't make any mistakes.

Matt I think I can guess what happens next.

Jack And sure enough after climbing well for three and a half days, disaster strikes. Simpson falls and breaks his right leg. With no food or water, the climbers know they have to get off the mountain - fast. Yates is determined to find a way to get his friend home, and he has to lower Simpson down the mountain. Simpson is in agony临死的挣扎, but Yates has no choice except to ignore his partner's cries of pain because otherwise he'll die.

Well, for a while, things go well. But suddenly Simpson, at the end of the rope, fails to respond to Yates' signal. Yates is unable to move any further and has no idea why Simpson is not responding. So Yates holds on with all of his strength, all too aware that eventually his strength would give out用尽and both would fall.

But what Yates doesn't know is that he has lowered Simpson over the edge of a crevasse裂缝. Simpson is hanging in mid-air from the vertical face of the mountain. He's unable to climb back up the rope and he's got frostbitten fingers and can't communicate with Yates above him.

Matt So what happens?

Jack Well, I don't want to spoil the ending for anyone who

hasn't seen it yet.

Matt But...

Jack But Yates hangs onto the rope for an hour, getting

weaker. For any climber, cutting the rope that binds him to his

partner is unthinkable.

Matt Sounds very exciting. So what about the direction

and the filming?

Jack The director is Kevin Macdonald, and he tells the

story by cutting from interviews to shots of the climb itself.

But it's the message of the film which interests me. You see,

in the end, the impression left by the film is astonishment that

a human being could do what Joe did, which is to survive.

Matt Thanks Jack, this week's Critic's Choice is

Touching the Void, on general release in all cinemas from next

Week.