近日，美国演员工会（简称 SAG）以少见的强硬态度公开发表声明指责奥斯卡主办方（美国电影艺术与科学学院）限制演员参加其他颁奖礼。SAG 在声明中指出奥斯卡主办方对演员施加压力，尤其限制 SAG 工会演员不能参加自己的颁奖礼。
类似的冲突也发生在奥斯卡和刚刚结束的金球奖之间，有报道称奥斯卡曾经限制“复仇者联盟”的一些成员，要求他们不要出席金球奖，这样在奥斯卡亮相时才会产生更大的影响。
屋漏偏逢连夜雨，将于2月24日举行的奥斯卡颁奖礼主持人原定由喜剧演员凯文·哈特担任，但哈特在上个月被曝出曾发表厌恶同性恋的评论而遭到广泛的抵制，从而退出了奥斯卡奖主持工作。今年的奥斯卡颁奖典礼真可谓是内忧外患，充满了变数。
本篇课程首发于@友邻优课 2019年1月18日，选自 The Telegraph
Hollywood at war as Oscars organisers accused of bullying stars
at war: 处于交战状态中
accuse /əˈkjuːz/: vt. 指责；指控
bully /ˈbʊli/: vt. 威逼；胁迫 n. 欺凌弱小者；恶霸
① A battle has broken out in Hollywood which threatens to overshadow the awards season, with the largest actors' union in the United States accusing the organisers of the Oscars of intimidation and scare tactics.
battle /ˈbætl/: n. 战役；斗争
break out: 爆发；突然发生
threaten to do sth.: 做某事存在着……的风险
overshadow /ˌəʊvəˈʃædəʊ, ˌoʊvərˈʃædoʊ/: vt. 给……蒙上阴影 (等同于 cast a shadow over sth.)
awards season: 颁奖季
intimidation /ɪnˌtɪmɪˈdeɪʃən/: n. 恐吓 (等同于 scare)
tactic /ˈtæktɪk/: n. 策略
② The Screen Actors Guild (SAG), which hosts its own awards show next weekend, took the unusual step of issuing a statement attacking the organisers of the Oscars, and accusing them of "graceless pressure tactics".
The Screen Actors Guild (SAG): 美国演员公会
issue /ˈɪʃuː/: vt. 发布
graceless /ˈɡreɪsləs/: adj. 不优雅的；不光彩的
③ They claim the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which organises the Oscars, are bullying actors into presenting awards only at their ceremony, and snubbing the SAG show.
claim /kleɪm/: vt. 声称
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences: 美国电影艺术与科学学院
present an award: 颁奖
snub /snʌb/: vt. 冷落
④ The ceremony, scheduled for February 24, is still without a host, after comedian Kevin Hart pulled out when homophobic tweets from several years ago were unearthed.
scheduled for: 某事定于某时发生
pull out: 退出；撤离 (等同于 withdraw from sth. / quit sth.)
homophobic /ˌhəʊmə'fəubik/: adj. 恐同的
unearth /ʌnˈɜːθ/: vt. 发现；发掘
⑤ A new category, best popular film, was scrapped a month after it was announced, amid an outcry over "dumbing down" the prestigious accolades.
category /ˈkætəɡəri/: n. 类别；种类
scrap /skræp/: vt. 废除；取消
outcry /ˈaʊtkraɪ/: n. 强烈抗议
dumb down: 使……通俗易懂；降低难度
prestigious /preˈstɪdʒəs/: adj. 有声望的
accolade /ˈækəleɪd/: n. 荣誉
⑥ And producers are deeply concerned about trying to regain relevancy, after ratings for the biggest night in the business hit an all-time low in 2018.
deeply concerned about doing sth.: 急切地想要做某事
relevancy /ˈreləvənsi/: n. 关联；相关性
hit an all-time low: 达到历史最低点
▍生词好句
Golden Globes: (美国电影) 金球奖
The Academy Awards: 奥斯卡金像奖
▍词汇拓展
- at war: 处于交战状态中
Our nation was at war at that time.
我们国家那个时候正处于战争状态中。 - accuse: vt. 指责；指控
· accuse sb. of doing sth.: 指责某人做某事 (等同于 blame sb. for doing sth.)
He was accused of stealing the car.
他被指控偷了这辆车。 - bully: vt. 威逼；胁迫 n. 欺凌弱小者；恶霸
· bully sb. into doing sth.: 胁迫某人做某事
· force sb. to do sth.: 强迫某人做某事
· school bullying: 校园霸凌
When you come across a bully, you have to tell and seek help. Don't let them get away.
当你遇到霸凌者的时候，一定要说出来并寻求帮助，不能让他们轻易逃脱。 - break out: 爆发；突然发生
A protest broke out in that country.
那个国家爆发了一场抗议。 - issue: vt. 发布
· issue a policy: 发布一项政策 - graceless: adj. 不优雅的；不光彩的
· graceful: adj. 优雅的
· grace: n. 优雅 - scheduled for: 某事定于某时发生
The publication of the novel is scheduled for July.
小说定于7月出版。
The station was scheduled for completion in 2020.
车站计划于2020年完工。 - pull out: 退出；撤离 (等同于 withdraw from sth. / quit sth.)
He was forced to pull out of the contest.
他被迫退赛。
The army pulled out, leaving the city in ruins.
部队撤离，剩下一片狼藉的城市。 - homophobic: adj. 恐同的
· -phobia: n. 对……的恐惧症
· claustrophobia /ˌklɔːstrəˈfəʊbiə/: 密闭空间恐惧症
· nomophobia: 无手机恐惧症 - unearth: vt. 发现；发掘
They will do their best to unearth the truth.
他们会尽力去发掘真相。 - scrap: vt. 废除；取消
· scrap the project/plan: 取消一个工程/计划
· scrap the policy: 废除一项政策 - outcry: n. 强烈抗议
· outcry over/against: 对……的强烈抗议
▍责任编辑：高晴、李秋健
▍内容制作：武志琳、章晓丹