6. Providing the voices for the characters is a cast that includes Mike Meyers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz and John Lithgow--all great 1)comedy actors. Meyers, famous for his role as the funny 2)spy Austin Powers, plays the 3)title role of Shrek. He says he took the role in part because Shrek's tale is "a great story about accepting yourself for who you are." Director Andrew Adamson says that Meyers was able to step into his character and stay there, even between takes. Meyers became Shrek, and provided wonderful, 4)improvised lines. "The 5)improv moments were gold," says Adamson. "Those are the moments that give the 6)animators the most to go on, because at that point, it's not a written piece of dialogue, it's a character come to life."

为这些角色配音的演员包括麦克梅尔斯、艾迪墨菲、卡麦蓉狄亚以及约翰李斯高--个个都是卓越的喜剧演员。以饰演滑稽间谍奥斯汀鲍尔而闻名的梅尔斯，担任主角史瑞克的配音。他说他之所以会答应演出这个角色，部分原因在于史瑞克的故事「以接受自己的本色为主题，是个精采的故事」。导演安德鲁亚当逊说梅尔斯能够融入角色，甚至在等待下场拍戏的时候都不改变。梅尔斯变成了史瑞克，并且提供了相当棒的即兴台词。亚当逊表示：「这些即兴演出的时刻相当珍贵，它让动画家能充分发挥，因为这时候已经不是事先写好的台词，而是活生生的角色在说话。」

6. 1)comedy (n.) 喜剧 2) spy (n.) 间谍 3) title role 与剧名同名的角色，通常就是主角 4) improvise (v.) 即兴创作 5) improv (n.) 即兴表演 6) animator (n.) 动画家

7. Playing Shrek's 1)talkative buddy, a 2)donkey, is 3)veteran 4)comedian Eddie Murphy, another great 5)improviser. 6)Co-director Vicky Jenson said that Murphy "could make you fall on the floor laughing with his 7)interpretation of even a single word." Murphy explains that he likes to do animated films because, if they're done right, they last forever. And he says his kids love them. "I explained to them that Daddy is playing a 8)jackass in Shrek, and they really got a kick out of it. They love hearing their father's voice come out of a cartoon."

老牌喜剧演员艾迪墨菲为史瑞克多话的伙伴--一只驴子--配音，他也很会即兴表演。副导维琪简生说，墨菲「即使只诠释一个字，也能让你笑得在地上打滚。」墨菲解释说他很喜欢参与动画片，因为只要做的好，动画片可以永垂不朽。而且他说他自己的小孩也都很喜欢。「我对他们解释说，老爸要在《史瑞克》里扮演驴子，他们全都乐坏了。他们很喜欢听到老爸的声音从卡通人物的嘴里发出来。」

7.1) talkative (a.) 健谈的，多话的 2) donkey (n.) 驴子 3) veteran (a.) 老经验的 4) comedian (n.) 喜剧演员 5) improviser (n.) 即兴演出者 6) co-director (n.) 副导演，共同导演 7) interpretation (n.) 诠释 8) jackass (n.) 公驴，愚蠢的人

8. To 1)bring these characters and their world to life, the 2)filmmakers have used the latest in animation technology. To 3)portray human 4)emotions, they rely on a 5)unique 6)facial animation system developed at PDI/DreamWorks. The complex system builds up a character's face 7)layer by layer, from the 8)skull up through all the 9)individual muscles, all the way to the skin--or in some instances, the hair. It allows the character to show an astonishing 10)range of emotions. Also 11)available to the filmmakers was new technology for animating 12)fluids and fire. They put it to good effect, creating the 13)fearsome dragon's fire-breath, moats of boiling 14)lava, and a silly 15)scene involving a bath of mud and beer.

电影工作者使用最新的动画科技，赋予这些角色和他们的世界生命。为了表现人类的感情，他们靠的是PDI/梦工厂研发出来的一套独特的脸部动画系统。这套复杂的系统一层一层地建造出角色的面貌，从头骨往外到每根肌肉，一直到皮肤--有时是毛。角色能够表现来的感情范围大得惊人。此外电影工作者还可以使用一种最新科技来制作流体及火焰的动画。他们运用出极佳的效果，创造出恶龙喷出的火、滚烫岩浆的护城河，以及在泥浆和啤酒中洗澡的一个可笑场景。

8.1) bring ... to life (v.) 使……活起来 2) filmmaker (n.) 电影工作者 3) portray (v.) 描绘 4) emotion (n.) 情感 5) unique (a.) 独一无二的 6) facial (a.) 面部的 7) layer (n.) 层 8) skull (n.) 头骨 9) individual (a.) 个别的 10) range (n.) 范围 11) available (a.) 可以取得，有供应 12) fluid (n.) 液体，流体 13) fearsome (a.) 可怕的 14) lava (n.) 熔岩 15) scene (n.) 场景

9. "We 1)envisioned a magical environment that you could 2)immerse yourself in," says 3)co-producer Aron Warner. "Every leaf on every tree moves, the dirt moves, the dust rolls ... there's a sense of 4)atmosphere, a sense of weight to the 5)props. You can almost smell it." 共同制作人阿伦华纳这么说：「我们想象出一个奇幻的世界，你可以沉浸在其中，」「每一棵树上的每一片叶子都会动，泥土会动，灰尘滚滚……有空气的感觉，道具彷佛有重量感。几乎闻得到。」

9.1) envision (v.) 想象 2) immerse (v.) 沉浸 3) co-producer (n.) 共同制片 4) atmosphere (n.) 气氛，大气层 5) prop (n.) 道具

10. The 1)combination of great comedy actors and advanced technology promises a 2)memorable movie. Shrek's world and story are brought 3)vividly to life, and the 4)timeless 5)moral of the story is 6)convincingly realized. As producer Katzenberg says, "Each of our characters comes to understand that there is something wonderful-warts and all-about who they are. I think that's true for all of us: that the people who 7)ultimately come to know and love us, see the strengths inside of us. Whether you're a princess, a donkey, or even a big, green, 8)stinky ogre, you can find love and happiness."

伟大的谐星与先进科技的结合，保证会是一部令人难忘的电影。史瑞克的世界和他的故事生动地呈现出来，故事里的永恒寓意也表现得令人信服。就像制作人卡森伯格所说：「我们每一个角色到最后都发现，自己的本色--包括瑕疵在内--有相当美好的一面。我认为我们每一个人也都是这样：到最后能了解并爱我们的人，都是看出了我们内在的力量。不管你是公主、驴子，甚至是又大又臭的绿色妖怪，都能找到爱与幸福。」

10. 1) combination (n.) 组合 2) memorable (a.) 难忘的 3) vividly (adv.) 生动地 4) timeless (a.) 永恒的 5) moral (n.) 教训，道德 6) convincingly (adv.) 有说服力地 7) ultimately (adv.) 到最后 8) stinky (a.) 发臭的