On the day Meiying, Lichu, Meichen, Shuyuan, and I met for lunch around three weeks ago, Shuyuan suggested that we watch the movie if the typhoon was too big. It was a pity that we didn't go to see it.
http://www.businessweekly.com.tw/KBlogArticle.aspx?ID=13167&pnumber=1
跟著小小兵學英文！跟「迷你」沒關係，你知道英文片名minions是什麼意思嗎？
撰文者周強 2015-07-27
《小小兵》（Minions）是今年暑假的動畫大片，此片因2010、2013 年的電影《神偷奶爸》（Despicable Me）系列票房亮眼所推出的「外傳」。
英文片名Minions 取得很妙，minions讓人立刻聯想到與「小」有關的字根“mini＂，例如迷你裙miniskirt、最小值minimum。不過事實上，minion的原義與「小」無關，其字根也非mini，它是指只遵守主人命令的僕卒，讀作[ˋmɪnjən]，可見取英文片名的作者刻意以minions的前四個字母讓人聯想到「小」。另有一說，minions是mignon（小巧玲瓏）一字的俏皮雙關語，而中文片名《小小兵》更是妙譯！
My comments: minion: an unimportant person who has to do what a more powerful person tells them to do (Macmillan English Dictionary). I still think the prefix "mini" meaning "little" makes sense here. Someone who is unimporant weighs little in others' minds."
BTY, a word primary stress rule: The primary stress falls on the syllable right before "i + Vowel," just like "million," "billion," "union," "communion," etc.
進電影院觀賞之前，先來看一下storyline（故事情節）：
Minions Stuart, Kevin and Bob are recruited by Scarlet Overkill, a supervillain who, alongside her inventor husband Herb, hatches a plot to take over the world.
翻譯：Stuart、Kevin 還有Bob 這三個小小兵，被超級大壞蛋史嘉蕾（Scarlet Overkill）所招募；而史嘉蕾與她的發明家老公赫伯（Herb）策劃要控制這個世界。
光是這句簡短的storyline就可以讓我們學到好多英文。首先recruit是多益測驗的核心字彙，有動詞「招募」與名詞「雇員」之意。a supervillain who中，a supervillain是Scarlet的同位語，指的就是史嘉蕾，後面接著who是關係代名詞，修飾a supervillain。
hatch在此是「策劃」，但是它更常用在「孵、孵出」，例如有名的諺語Don't count your chickens before they hatch，意思是「小雞未孵出之前，先別數有幾隻小雞」，也就是「別太早下定論」。
My comments: I love the use of the word "hatch." Just think about the image of a hen sitting on its egg(s)!
hatch: If you hatch something such as a plan, you plan it, especially in secret. (Macmillan English Dictionary)
《小小兵》的全球首映會選在倫敦舉行，相當生動活潑，動畫中的人物以卡通造型出現，配上替本片配音的大明星珊卓‧ 布拉克登場，「首映會」的英文字彙是premiere，讀作[prɪˋmjɛr]，常在外國媒體的電影相關報導中出現，值得一學。記者如此報導當天的首映會：
My comments: The rule mentioned above ('V + i + V) still applies here. The article writer uses American pronunciation. The word can also be pronounced as ['premieə (r)].
Minions love their supervillain Sandra Bullock almost as much as they love bananas. The actress and her loyal henchmen hit the yellow carpet at the Minions ' film premiere in London on Thursday. Bullock, 50, lends her voice to the movie as the evil Scarlett Overkill, who recruits a crew of mischievous minions to help her take over the world. The 50-year-old actress looked stunning at the premiere, wearing a silver dress that showed off her arms and legs.
翻譯：
小小兵們喜愛珊卓‧ 布拉克就如同它們喜愛香蕉一般，這位女星與她忠實的追隨者（指小小兵）週四在倫敦電影首映會上，踏上黃地毯。50 歲的珊卓‧布拉克把她的聲音借給了電影中邪惡的史嘉蕾，而史嘉蕾招募了一群頑皮的小小兵們來幫她控制這個世界。這位50 歲的女星在首映會上看起來美極了，穿了一件銀色的洋裝，展現了她的手臂與美腿。
看懂了以上內容，來試試下方多益測驗仿真題：
Q: What is suggested about the film Minions?
(A) It was directed by Sandra Bullock. (B) Sandra Bullock played a famous role in the world. (C) It has received positive reviews from the critics. (D) It was performed for the first time in London.
解析：
本題的正確答案是（D）。題目中的suggest可不是「建議」，而是「暗示、言下之意」。在多益測驗中，意指「暗示、暗指」的字眼還有imply與infer。解題的關鍵字是premiere（首映），因為報導中提到hit the yellow carpet at the Minions' film premiere in London on Thursday，可見是在倫敦第一次上演。
選項（A） 錯在文中只提到珊卓‧ 布拉克是actress（ 女演員）， 並未提到由她導演（directed）；選項（B）錯在文中只提到珊卓‧ 布拉克所扮演的Scarlett Overkill在劇中要接管這個世界（take over the world），並未提到珊卓本人在世界上的角色；選項（C）錯在報導中未提影評（review）之事。
首映的premiere一字，與幾個英文字彙看起來很相似，你能分辨它們嗎？來看看底下題目：
Q: Their long-term clients are willing to pay a ______ for the excellent products and services.
(A) premiere (B) premium (C) premier (D) premise
解析：
本題的正確答案是（B）。premium一字有「額外費用」之意，本題的題意是「他們的長期客戶願意為優良的產品與服務付出額外的費用。」，所以答案（B）為正解。選項（A）是本文提到的「首映、首演」；選項（C）是「首相、總理」或是形容詞「首要的」，讀作[ˋprimɪɚ]；選項（D）是多益測驗的核心字彙，是「前提」，讀作[ˋprɛmɪs]，但其複數型在國際職場與多益測驗中有個特殊的字義是「營業場所」，例如：The consulting firm moved to its new premises last week.（這家顧問公司上週搬至新址。）
這部電影不只是給小孩子看的，許多成人在看了預告片（retailer）之後說I may be 60 years old but I LOVE the Minions!（我差不多60 歲了，但是我愛死小小兵了！），還有人說I'm more excited than a child. Looking forward to it.（我比小孩子還興奮，期待這部電影。），可見《小小兵》的魅力連大人也無法擋。看完之後，快與我們分享你在電影中學到了哪些英文！
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