Hollywood Plays Rough With Diamonds
A bullet-riddledSUV storms along a dirt track in Mozambique, spraying out dust and rocks like a vacuum cleaner in reverse . Hunch ed behind the steering wheel, Leonardo DiCaprio wrestles the vehicle while Jennifer Connelly and Djimon Hounsou grip the rear seat as if their lives depended on it, which, in this scene of director Edward Zwick's film, they do. "Faster!" shouts Zwick. "We need more speed." DiCaprio nods and backs up, and the bucking drive begins again.
bullet-riddled 被子弹穿透的
spray vt. 喷射, 喷溅
vacuum cleaner 真空装置; 真空吸尘器
in reverse 在背面; 反过来; 与...相反
hunch vi. 向前移动, 隆起
The actors aren't the only ones getting a rough ride in Blood Diamond, an action thriller about the illegal gem trade set during Sierra Leone's brutal civil war. The Warner Bros. film, due for release on Dec. 8, has the diamond industry concerned that moviegoer s may walk out of cinemas with the idea that all diamonds are taint ed. （1）The gem folks, including De Beers, which produces more than 40% of the world's diamonds, argue that they have largely fixed the problem of conflict, or "blood," diamonds--gems mined illegally by warlords and sold to buy weapons and pay soldiers. And they intend to ensure that the movie--which ties together the stories of a diamond-smuggling mercenary (DiCaprio) chasing a rare pink diamond, a fisherman (Hounsou) searching for his kidnapped son, and a reporter (Connelly) after a scoop--is viewed as a fictitious take on history.
Gem : A pearl or mineral that has been cut and polished for use as an ornament.宝石，珍珠
Brutal : Harsh; unrelenting:严酷的；无情的
moviegoer : n.常看电影的人
taint :To affect with decay or putrefaction;spoil.See Synonyms at contaminate 污染
blood : Recorded descent from purebred stock.良种：有记载的纯种出身
warlord : n.军阀, 军阀式首脑
mercenary : One who serves or works merely for monetary gain; a hireling.唯利是图的人
fictitious : Of, relating to, or characterized by fiction; imaginary. 虚构的
（2）Human-rights campaigners, however, welcome Hollywood's focus on the issue and say it has helped tighten industry oversight even before the film's release. In the run-up to the holiday period--peak season for diamond sales and blockbuster movies--the public spat makes an interesting study of how a big studio movie can threaten a $60 billion-a-year global retail industry, one that has previously thrived on its association with all things Hollywood, and how that business can fight back.
Campaigner n. 从军者, 出征者, 竞选者
run-up n.<英> 事件的前奏曲, 预备阶段
blockbuster : 一鸣惊人者