大年初一，中国首部以太空为背景的超级大片《流浪地球》上映，一周内拿下20亿票房，在预售排名第四的情况下，逆袭成为春节档冠军。据在线票务平台猫眼估算，《流浪地球》最终票房或超过50亿，创造《战狼2》之后的又一票房神话。
《流浪地球》改编自刘慈欣所著同名小说，由郭帆执导，吴京特别出演。故事设定在太阳即将膨胀吞噬整个太阳系，地球面临毁灭之时。为求生存，人类社会开启了“流浪地球”计划，制造“行星发动机”试图带着地球一起逃出太阳系并前往新家园。
这部科幻电影在引发“宇宙级乡愁”的同时，更撬动了人们对中国科幻作品未来的期待。《纽约时报》称，中国在太空探索领域是后来者，在电影业中，中国也是科幻片领域的后来者。不过，这种局面就要改变了。
本篇课程首发于2019年2月13日，选自 The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/04/movies/wandering-earth-china.html
作者：Steven Lee Myers
China's Film Industry Finally Joins the Space Race
① China's first blockbuster set in space, "The Wandering Earth," opened last week amid grandiose expectations that it will represent the dawning of a new era in Chinese filmmaking.
② "The Wandering Earth," shown in 3-D, takes place in a distant future in which the sun is about to expand into a red giant and devour the Earth.
③ The impending peril forces the world's engineers to devise a plan to move the planet to a new solar system using giant thrusters. Things go very badly when Earth has to pass Jupiter, setting off a desperate scramble to save humanity from annihilation.
④ The film is adapted from the namesake novel by Liu Cixin, the writer who has led a renaissance in science fiction here, becoming the first Chinese winner of the Hugo Award for the genre in 2015.
⑤ His novels are sprawling epics and deeply researched. That makes them plausible fantasies about humanity's encounters with a dangerous universe.
⑥ The opening came as China reached a milestone in space: the landing of a probe on the far side of the moon in January.
▍生词好句
space race: 太空竞赛
blockbuster /ˈblɒkˌbʌstər, ˈblɑːkˌbʌstər/: n. 大片
be set in: 设定在……的背景下
be set against the background of: 设定在……的背景之下
wander /ˈwɒndər, ˈwɑːndər/: vi. 游荡；漫游 (to move without a fixed course, aim or goal)
grandiose /ˈɡrændiəʊs/: adj. 宏大的，壮阔的；浮夸的 (impressive because of uncommon largeness or scale)
grandiose ideas: 宏大的想法
grandiose plans: 宏伟的计划
verbose /vɜːˈbəʊs, vɜːrˈbəʊs/: adj. 啰嗦的；冗长的
jocose /dʒəˈkəʊs/: adj. 爱开玩笑的
represent /ˌreprɪˈzent/: vt. 代表；表现；象征
dawning /ˈdɔːnɪŋ, ˈdɑːnɪŋ/: n. 开端；开始
dawn /dɔːn, dɑːn/: n. 破晓；黎明
distant /ˈdɪstənt/: adj. 遥远的
far /fɑː, fɑːr/: adj. 遥远的 (一般作表语)
a distant/far-away place: 一个遥远的地方
red giant: 红巨星
devour /dɪˈvaʊə, dɪˈvaʊər/: vt. 吞噬；吞没
impending /ɪmˈpendɪŋ/: adj. 迫在眉睫的；即将来临的
peril /ˈperəl/: n. 危险；冒险 (serious and immediate danger)
devise /dɪˈvaɪz/: vt. 设计；策划 (to form in the mind by new combinations or applications of ideas or principles；脑力策划的过程)
design /dɪˈzaɪn/: vt. 设计 (多指可以用图纸实现的设计过程，比如时装、建筑、工业等等)
solar system: 太阳系
thruster /ˈθrʌstə, ˈθrʌstər/: n. 推进器
Things go badly. 事态恶化；情况不妙；发展不顺利
Jupiter /ˈdʒuːpɪtə, ˈdʒuːpɪtər/: n. 木星
set off a desperate scramble for sth. / to do sth.: 触发了……的渴望；引发了一个……的紧急状况
desperate scramble: 迫切渴望/需求
humanity /hjuːˈmænəti/: n. 人类；人性；(humanities) 人文学科
annihilation /əˌnaɪəˈleɪʃən/: n. 彻底毁灭；湮灭
be adapted from: 改编自
best adapted screenplay: 最佳改编剧本
best original screenplay: 最佳原创剧本
namesake /ˈneɪmseɪk/: n. 同名的人或事物
lead a renaissance in: 引领了一场……的复兴
renaissance /rɪˈneɪsəns, ˈrenəˌsɑːns/: n. 某种文化的再次兴起
genre /ˈʒɒnrə, ˈʒɑːnrə/: n. (文艺作品的) 流派；类别
sprawling epic: 宏大的史诗
plausible /ˈplɔːzəbəl, ˈplɑːzəbəl/: adj. 看起来可信的
fantasy /ˈfæntəsi/: n. 幻想
reach a milestone: 取得一个里程碑
probe /prəʊb/: n. 探测器
▍词汇拓展
1. be set in: 设定在……的背景下
· be set against the background of: 设定在……的背景之下
The costume drama was set in the Song dynasty.
这部古装剧的背景设定在宋朝。
The story was set against the background of Chinese Civil War.
这个故事设定在中国内战的背景之下。
2. wander: vi. 游荡；漫游 (to move without a fixed course, aim or goal)
I wandered lonely as a cloud. (William Wordsworth)
我似浮云，独游于天际。
3. represent: vt. 代表；表现；象征
The popularity of short video apps like Douyin represents a new trend in Chinese cultural consumption.
抖音这样的短视频 app 的流行，代表着中国在文化消费领域出现了新的趋势。
4. Things go badly. 事态恶化；情况不妙；发展不顺利
Things are going very badly with the project.
项目的进展很不顺利。
Things are going very badly with him.
他的状况不太妙。
5. set off a desperate scramble for something/to do something: 触发了……的渴望；引发了一个……的紧急状况
The economic recession has set off a desperate scramble for a layoff in the Internet industry.
经济的衰退在互联网行业触发了一轮裁员潮。
6. sprawling epic: 宏大的史诗
The book is a sprawling epic on race in America.
这是一部关于美国种族议题的史诗级的作品。
▍配乐
流浪地球主题音乐（阿鲲）
▍责任编辑
高晴、李焕
▍内容校对
武志琳、章晓丹