Paul: When I was a kid...every night I'd climb up to the roof of the orphanage, and I'd make a wish on every star I could see.
Victoria: That's a lot of wishing.
Paul: It usuallyboiled downto one wish, really.
Victoria: What was that?
Paul: What you have in there.
Victoria: Everyone always telling you how you should live your life.
Paul: Better than having no one telling you.
Pedro: You know, in 1580 the first Aragon, also a Pedro, came from Spain to Mexico with a dream in his head, the clothes on his back, and the root from the family's vineyard inside his pocket. Excuse me. May I...see one more? Which one? Ah, that's no good. Try one more. Ahh...that's wonderful. Come...I will show you something. This is the root I brought with me, a descendant from the root the first Pedro brought with him. All our vines come from this one. It's not just the root of Las Nubes. It's the root of our lives, of Victoria's life. Now that you're a part of all this, a part of us, it is the root of your life. You are an orphan no longer. So, you will stay with your family while we harvest the fruit? Ah. It's a special time. It's a time of magic.
Paul: I really can't. I have commitments.
Pedro: What about the commitments to your family? W-What can be more important than that?
Paul: I would like to, really. But I can't.
Pedro: He said you would not stay.
Paul: Who did?
Pedro: Alberto. He said, "The first chance the gringo gets, he will leave her." His exact words.
Paul: I'm not leaving her. I'm--
Pedro: No, no, no, no. I understand. Just my poor granddaughter. He will whip her with it. She'll be the one to pay for your commitments. Such a pity. Such a sweet girl.
Paul: But it would just be the difference of a day.
Pedro: The most important day of our year, the day that makes or breaks our fortunes--that's what he willthrow up toher for the rest of her life. I know my son.
Paul: Don Pedro.
Pedro: Eh?
Paul: You're right. It's only one day. I'll stay.
Pedro: Right. May I? It's a good thing. You have no more chocolates to sell, anyway. Come on.
Victoria: I thought you were leaving.
Paul: I thought it would be better for you if Istuck aroundat least until the harvest.
Alberto: Don't you have chocolates to sell?
Paul: Family comes first.
妙语佳句,活学活用
1. Boil down
在这里的意思是"Simplify, summarize, or shorten; lead to the conclusion that缩短,减少,归纳为,简单地归结为",例如:
It all boils down to a clear case of murder.
John finally managed to boil his thesis down to 200 pages.
2. Throw up to
这里的意思是"criticize, upbraid 责备,指责",例如: Dad was always throwing it up to the boys that they were careless and messy.
3. Stick around
俚语,意思是"逗留,停留",例如:If you had stuck around, you'd have seen the fireworks.
文化面面观
Las Nubes --- Napa Valley北加州的纳帕山谷
Las Nubes 是西班牙语,意思是 the clouds。影片中的 Las Nubes 就如同一个梦幻中的葡萄园,当
Napa Valley contains many vineyards, such as this one.
得起 the clouds 的美名。据说为了寻找一个带有梦幻般色彩的葡萄园,导演曾经亲赴欧洲、澳洲和南美各地挑选,最后才终于选定了美国加州的纳帕山谷。它的美丽也确实在影片中展现无疑。在纳帕山谷中,无论清晨还是傍晚,山坡上都会出现阵阵薄雾,使人有如临梦幻之感。而片中导演那梦幻与现实相结合的拍摄方法,更是使影片充满了拉美梦幻现实主义的浪漫风情和韵味。
Napa Valley is widely considered one of the top wine regions in California, and all of the United States with a history dating back
Fruity grapes in one of the vineyards of Napa Valley
to the nineteenth century. The Mediterranean climate and geography of the valley along with the surrounding hills and mountains are conducive to growing wine grapes. Several microclimates exist within the area due to various weather and geographical influences. The open southern end of the valley floor is cooler during the growing season due to the proximity of San Pablo Bay while the sheltered, closed northern end is often much warmer. The valley floor is flanked by the Mayacamas Mountain Range on the western and northern sides while the Vaca Mountain Range is on the eastern side. Several smaller valleys also exist within these two ranges. The floor of the main valley gradually rises from sea level at the southern end to 362 feet above sea level at the northern end in Calistoga at the foot of Mount St. Helena. The eastern side of the valley tends to be more arid due to the fact that winter storms tend to drop much more precipitation on the western mountains and hills. The soil in the southern end of the valley consists mainly of sediments deposited by earlier advances and retreats of San Pablo Bay while the soil at the northern end of the valley contains a large volume of volcanic lava and ash. Several of the small hills that emerge from the middle of the valley floor near Yountville are indicators of the region's volcanic past.