影片對白 Told me that he'd been planning to kill somebody for about as long as he could remember.
專題推薦：2008年“兩會”英語學(xué)習(xí)專題
文化面面觀
電椅死刑的歷史
美國是現(xiàn)在世界上唯一采用電椅處死的國家（菲律賓因被美國占領(lǐng)過，也采用過這種方法）。電椅是1888年在紐約率先被采用的，請注意，電燈是1879年在紐約被發(fā)明的，兩者只相隔9年。這就是說，電椅也是人類最早的電力應(yīng)用之一。電椅是由愛迪生公司推出的，而他推出電椅的動機(jī)，居然是推廣直流電。
歐洲最早處死犯人的方法是絞刑（Hanging），法國大革命期間因?yàn)橛X得絞死太慢，就發(fā)明了斷頭臺（Guillotine）。不過，美國從來沒有采用過斷頭臺，一直是絞刑。小說《紅字》里，一個(gè)重要的場景就是絞刑臺。
到了19世紀(jì)后期，美國人開始覺得絞刑太殘酷了。比如，有一個(gè)犯人在絞架上整整掙扎了15分鐘，令所有在場的人備受折磨。1886年，紐約市成立了一個(gè)委員會，尋找處死犯人的新方法，而且馬上就要采用。
愛迪生覺得這是一個(gè)推廣電力的好機(jī)會。由于他使用的是直流電（DC），而另一位發(fā)明家George Westinghouse使用的是交流電（AC），兩者存在競爭。他覺得可以用交流電去處死犯人，從而告訴公眾交流電是多么危險(xiǎn)，從而轉(zhuǎn)而使用直流電。他和助手用小動物做試驗(yàn)，到處展示，表明交流電擊是一種迅捷有效的處死方法。
1888年，紐約州同意采用電椅。1890年8月6日，William Kemmler成為第一個(gè)被電椅處死的犯人。下圖就是歷史上第一張電椅（它被叫做Kemmler電椅），以及當(dāng)時(shí)的情景。
此后，美國各州相繼采用這種方法。它成為美國主要的死刑方法。
從80年代中后期開始，越來越多的人覺得電椅過于殘酷，從而要求取消它。如果你看過電影《Greenmile》，就知道這是千真萬確的事實(shí)?，F(xiàn)在，注射(Lethal Injection)已經(jīng)成為美國主要的死刑執(zhí)行方法。
但是，電椅并沒有消失。在Alabama、Florida、South Carolina、Virginia州，犯人可以自行選擇電椅還是注射，在Nebraska州電椅是唯一的死刑方法。在Kentucky和Tennessee州，1998年前犯罪的犯人適用電椅。在Illinois、Oklahoma和Florida州，電椅只是理論上的死刑方法。這樣，美國現(xiàn)在還保留電椅的州一共11個(gè)。美國上一個(gè)被電椅處死的人是James Neil Tucker，2004年5月在South Carolina。
下圖上，深綠色區(qū)域是現(xiàn)在還有電椅的州，淺綠色區(qū)域?yàn)闅v史上用過電椅，現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)不再用的州。
（來源：阮一峰的網(wǎng)絡(luò)日志，有改動）
影片簡介
No Country For Old Men
is a 2007 film adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's novel of the same name. Filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen wrote and directed it for a 2007 release. The title is from the first line of W. B. Yeats' poem "Sailing to Byzantium".
Llewellyn Moss is an antelope hunter and Vietnam War veteran who stumbles across the aftermath of a drug-related gun battle which has left everyone dead save a single badly wounded Mexican. Moss finds a truck full of heroin and a satchel with $2.4 million in cash. He takes the money, but leaves the Mexican alive, which ignites a hunt for Moss that stretches for most of the remaining novel.
Sheriff Ed Tom Bell investigates the drug crime while trying to protect Moss and his young wife with the aid of other law enforcement. The sheriff is haunted by his actions in World War II, for which he received the Bronze Star Medal. Now in his late 50s, Bell has spent most of his life attempting to make up for the incident when he was a 21 year-old soldier. He makes it his quest to resolve the case and save Moss.
Complicating things is the arrival of Anton Chigurh, a violent sociopath hired to recover the money. Chigurh uses a captive bolt pistol (called a cattlegun in the text) to kill many of his victims and destroy several cylinder locks to open doors. In one of his final murders described in the book, he gives a long speech about causality and fate to his victim. Wells, a rival hitman and ex-partner of Chigurh, is also on the trail of the money.
Things turn dangerous when various men, ranging from ruthless freelancers to ex-Special Forces members, turn up to find out the truth and destroy all evidence.
考考你
用今日所學(xué)將下面的句子譯成英語。
1. 投票者們正在評價(jià)協(xié)會的要求。
2. 約翰曾給我寫信講他的新生兒。
Juno《朱諾》精講之六 考考你 參考答案
1. 替補(bǔ)四分衛(wèi)被叫上場比賽，他卻膽怯了拒絕參加。
The backup quarterback was called into the game, but he got cold feet and refused to go in.
2. 我從機(jī)場回到家，便一下癱倒在離我最近的沙發(fā)上了。
When I got home from the airport, I flaked out in the nearest armchair.
3. 這個(gè)計(jì)劃已經(jīng)決定了。
This plan has been set in stone.
影片對白 Told me that he'd been planning to kill somebody for about as long as he could remember.
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(英語點(diǎn)津Annabel編輯)
