今日导读
好莱坞电影历来以其制作大胆精良、情节扣人心弦、角色生动丰满著称。然而，近些年我们却看到，越来越多的好莱坞电影其实是“冷饭热炒”——换言之，大的电影 IP 陆续推出各式各样的续集，比如：全球大热的《复仇者联盟》系列。甚至在 2018 年的年度全球电影票房前十名中，有超过半数都是电影续集。对于电影行业来说，这究竟是喜是忧呢？我们马上和 Lala 老师一起走进今天这篇《卫报》的新闻。
新闻原文
Nearing the endgame: is Hollywood's lust for sequels destroying cinema?
The Guardian
Never before have film sequels been so many and so varied.
The industry’s eagerness to recycle is not hard to explain. Revenue is a big factor. Of the all-time top 10 grossing films, six are now sequels. More important than the scale of these earnings is their reliability. Nobody knows whether an untried property will succeed, but the success of a sequel is virtually guaranteed.
Just why sequels are so successful is no mystery either. They meet intense audience demand. Nothing whets filmgoers’ appetites like what the industry calls “preawareness”. Informed anticipation is part of the fun, and provides a ready topic of conversation.
Inevitably, the sequels juggernaut is throttling fresh ideas, the lifeblood of any creative activity. It may be offering the movies a short-term fix by imperilling their long-term health.
Our world is in flux, and yet we are not encouraged to engage with change. Instead, we are offered the chance to retreat into thought bunkers with those of like mind, and cut ourselves off from unsettling ideas.
It is understandable that in such circumstances we should look to the big screen for the comfort of repetition. Children find it consoling to be told the same bedtime story every night. Maybe, however, it is time for filmgoers to grow up.
带着问题听讲解
如何理解 endgame 这个词？
好莱坞电影人为何如此痴迷于拍摄电影续集？
电影行业所说的“预先意识”是指什么？
新闻正文
Nearing the endgame: is Hollywood's lust for sequels destroying cinema?
临近终局:好莱坞热衷拍续集是否正在毁掉电影？
Never before have film sequels been so many and so varied.
电影续集从未像现在这样数量繁多，类型多样。
The industry’s eagerness to recycle is not hard to explain. Revenue is a big factor. Of the all-time top 10 grossing films, six are now sequels. More important than the scale of these earnings is their reliability. Nobody knows whether an untried property will succeed, but the success of a sequel is virtually guaranteed.
电影行业喜欢（对已有电影）进行重复利用这一点不难解释。（票房）收益是一个重要因素。在有史以来最卖座的 10 部电影中，现在有 6 部都是续集。比这些收入规模更重要的是它们的可靠性。没有人知道一个未经尝试的 IP 是否会成功，但续集的成功基本上是有保证的。
Just why sequels are so successful is no mystery either. They meet intense audience demand. Nothing whets filmgoers’ appetites like what the industry calls “preawareness”. Informed anticipation is part of the fun, and provides a ready topic of conversation.
续集为什么如此成功也并不神秘。它们满足了观众的强烈需求。没有什么比电影行业里所说的“预先意识”更能激起电影观众的观影欲望了。对于已知剧情的预期是（观影）乐趣的一部分，并为观众们提供了一个现成的话题。
Inevitably, the sequels juggernaut is throttling fresh ideas, the lifeblood of any creative activity. It may be offering the movies a short-term fix by imperilling their long-term health.
不能否认的是，来势汹汹的续集大军正在扼杀新鲜的想法，而新鲜的想法正是所有创意活动的命脉。拍摄续集电影就像是在吸毒，图一时之爽而危害电影行业的长期健康。
Our world is in flux, and yet we are not encouraged to engage with change. Instead, we are offered the chance to retreat into thought bunkers with those of like mind, and cut ourselves off from unsettling ideas.
我们生活在一个不断变化的世界里，但我们却没有被鼓励去直面变化。相反，我们和我们的同类，被提供了一个撤退到思想掩体的机会，使自己和舒适圈外的的思想彻底隔绝。
It is understandable that in such circumstances we should look to the big screen for the comfort of repetition. Children find it consoling to be told the same bedtime story every night. Maybe, however, it is time for filmgoers to grow up.
可以理解的是，在这样的情况下，我们可能寄希望于在大屏幕上看到同样的内容，并从中找寻到舒适感。对于孩子们来说，每天晚上都听同一个睡前故事会感到安心。但是对于电影观众来说，也许是时候长大了。
重点词汇
sequel
/ˈsiːkwəl/
n. 续集
相关词汇：prequel（n. 前传）
revenue
/ˈrevənuː/
n. 收入，收益
搭配短语：national revenue
搭配短语：enterprise revenue
gross
/ɡroʊs/
v. 总共收入
词性拓展：gross（adj. 总共的）
gross (adj.) 搭配短语：gross revenue
例句：The film has grossed over 2 million dollars this year.
相关词汇：grossing
reliability
/rɪˌlaɪəˈbɪləti/
n. 可靠，可靠性
相关词汇：reliable（adj. 可靠的）
例句：My friend has a good reputation for reliability.
搭配短语：the reliability of the news
搭配短语：the reliability of sequels
property
/ˈprɑːpərti/
n. 财产，所有权
搭配短语：intellectual property（知识产权，著作权）
intellectual property 缩写：IP
virtually
/ˈvɜːrtʃuəli/
adv. 几乎
近义词：almost/ nearly
例句：I have virtually no time to have a lunch.
whet
/wet/
v. 引起，刺激（食欲、欲望、兴趣等）
搭配短语：whet sb's appetite
preawareness
/prɪˈəˈwernəs/
n. 预先意识，预认识
词根词缀：pre-（adj. 预先的）
相关词汇：awareness（n. 意识）
juggernaut
/ˈdʒʌɡərnɔːt/
n. 不可抗拒的强大力量（或组织）
文化拓展：印地语中的黑天，是印度教中三大神之一的毗湿奴的化身
搭配短语：The once juggernaut drama Game of Thrones
搭配短语：Weixin juggernaut
throttle
/ˈθrɑːtl/
v. 阻挡；压制；扼杀
词义拓展：掐（喉咙）；使窒息
例句：I really want to throttle him.
例句：Sudden rage throttled his capacity to think clearly.
imperil
/ɪmˈperəl/
v. 危及，使陷入危险
例句：The policy of the United States will imperil the global economy.
flux
/flʌks/
n. 不断的变动，不停的变化
例句：They are in flux.
bunker
/ˈbʌŋkər/
n. 掩体；地堡
cut sth. off
（用锋利的刀具等）去除，切除，剪去
搭配短语：cut off the fat before frying the steak
unsettling
/ʌnˈsetlɪŋ/
adj. 令人不安的，使人担忧的
repetition
/ˌrepəˈtɪʃn/
n. 重复；重做；重说
相关词汇：repeat（v. 重复）
搭配短语：spaced repetition
consoling
/kənˈsoʊlɪŋ/
adj. 可安慰的，安心的
例句：Sheldon finds it consoling listening to Soft Kitty.
拓展阅读
盘点——系列电影之最
最古老的系列电影：最早的系列电影拍摄于 1911 年，虽然只有两部但也是影史上第一次出现两部电影围绕同一主题故事展开。这部电影叫做 Zigomar ，是法语“怪人、特立独行的人”的意思，讲述了一个欧洲怪盗与侦探的故事。
最长寿的系列电影：英国电影 Carry On 系列，从 1958 年出品第一部，到 1992 年才停止拍摄，期间产出了 31 部电影，并且从未更换过导演及核心团队。2016 年，该系列制作人曾宣布要重启 Carry On ，为其拍摄续集，但次年又表示自己已经不在团队中了，重启计划也不了了之。
最卖票的系列电影：如果计入通货膨胀，也就是按现在的消费水平估算以前的电影票房，那么星球大战系列将会以约 220 亿美元的总收入夺得第一。如果不计通货膨胀，星球大战的总票房就成了 92 亿，如此一来，漫威电影宇宙系列就会是影史票房冠军。目前漫威系列中 22 部电影共有约 213 亿美元票房，其中最高的是《复仇者联盟：终局之战》的 26.8 亿美元。而且，漫威还远未到收手的时候，未来还有多部电影定档，成为完完全全的第一只是时间问题。