Bond has certainly been an economic lion. MGM/UA, the company that releases the Bond films inthe US, virtually stays in business for that sole purpose. In late August, Wall Street analystsupgraded their rating of the company's stock on the mere basis of seeing some footage of thenext Bond film which isn't due in cinemas until late November.

　　But something other than money, even vast piles or it, keeps Bond going.Although he hasseemed to stay Frozen in time, Bond has actually undergone a series of very subtletransformations, via the variety of actors who have played the role and the relation of themovies to the culture and politics of the real world.

　　Perhaps it was because he was so much older than Connery, the ever first Bond; perhapsbecause his films depended less on what he brought to the part than what was happeningaround him. Moore was always slightly out of touch,distinctly self-satisfied, standing like abeauty queen or a game show contestant waiting to be crowned.

　　The Bond franchise was next put into the hands of an actual actor, the impossibly handsomeShakespearean actor Timothy Dalton. Dalton's debut gave the film-makers the opportunity tosteer the character back to Fleming's vision of bare knuckles and high living. And Dalton, beinga proper actor, played the role as written: hard, violent, mean.

　　Like Moore, Brosnan had once lost the role to the previous fellow and was best known for histelevision work. But Brosnan had glamour, there was no denying it. And he had the look andthe wit and even the acting chops.

　　The public at large deemed him a perfect Bond. His first three outings-Golden Eye, TomorrowNever Dies andThe World Is Not Enough-all grossed US$350 million worldwide, the most in thehistory of the series. Brosnan's chief strength is his ability to play straight and wink at thesame time-in this capacity he is arguably the best Bond of all.

　　他永遠(yuǎn)不老：他從來不會(huì)受重傷;他總是花天酒地，追逐美女;若非最好的汽車、衣服、酒店和武器，他都不屑一顧;他總是一刻不停地拯救世界，使其免遭災(zāi)難。

　　[l]007當(dāng)然是經(jīng)濟(jì)上的雄獅。在美國，發(fā)行007系列影片的米高梅/聯(lián)美公司實(shí)際上就是為了這個(gè)原因才繼續(xù)經(jīng)營(yíng)的。8月底，華爾街的分析師提高了對(duì)該公司股價(jià)的估值，[2]其依據(jù)僅僅是因?yàn)榭催^了下一部007影片片花，而影片要到ll月底才正式公映。

　　但是，使007系列不斷延續(xù)的不單單只是錢(大把大把的錢)。雖然看起來他像是凝固在時(shí)間里，但實(shí)際上007已經(jīng)發(fā)生了許多細(xì)微的改變，這些改變是由扮演這個(gè)角色的不同演員以及該系列電影與真實(shí)世界的文化、政治的相互關(guān)系引起的。

　　或許是因?yàn)槟栆仁孜?07演員康納利年長(zhǎng)得多，或許是因?yàn)?07系列電影不是那么依賴007這個(gè)角色有什么新本事，而是依賴于發(fā)生在他身邊的各種事件。摩爾總是有點(diǎn)拒人于門外，他顯然對(duì)自己很滿意，像是等待加冕的選美皇后或游戲節(jié)目勝出的參賽選手一樣。

　　[3]下一位扮演007的是一位真正的演員，他就是提摩西·達(dá)爾頓，一個(gè)非常英俊的莎士比亞戲劇演員。[4]達(dá)爾頓的初次演出就讓制片人有機(jī)會(huì)按照弗萊明設(shè)想的那樣塑造出一個(gè)氣勢(shì)洶洶、生活奢華的人物形象。達(dá)爾頓的確是位合適的演員，他按照劇本所要求的那樣扮演角色：堅(jiān)韌、暴烈而又無情。

　　[5]和摩爾一樣，布魯斯南也曾一度失去扮演007角色的機(jī)會(huì)，把當(dāng)讓給了前一位007扮演者。布魯斯南以其電視作品最為著名。他有魅力，這是不可否認(rèn)的。他形象好，有才智，也有演技。

　　公眾一般認(rèn)為他是最好的007演員。他的前三部作品——《黃金眼》、《擇日再死》和《明日帝國》——都獲得了3.5億美元的全球票房，是007系列影片獲得的最高票房紀(jì)錄。布魯斯南的最大長(zhǎng)處在于他能夠在常規(guī)的表演同時(shí)又出人意料——憑借這種才能，他當(dāng)之無愧地被評(píng)為最好的007。

　　1.It is indicated that MGM/UA stays in business simply for________________purpose.

　　2.The next Bond film is expected to be put on in the cinemasin__________________________.

　　3.Before he was chosen to act as Bond, Timothy Dalton used to play partsin______________________.

　　4.Fleming originally described Bond as a secret agentof____________________________.

　　5.Brosnan's first chance to play Bond was lost to another actor whose nameis__________________.

　　1.[economic]

　　[定位]第2段開頭兩句。

　　解析：第2段第2句表明MOM/UA持續(xù)經(jīng)營(yíng)的原因是for that sole purpose，而由首句中提到的an economic lion可推斷此處這個(gè)“目的”是指“經(jīng)濟(jì)方面的”目的，因此economic為本題答案。

　　2.[late November]

　　[定位]第2段末句。

　　解析：根據(jù)題干可以推斷本題要求查找下一部007電影上映的時(shí)間或地點(diǎn)，原文只有第2段末句提到了the next Bond film，該句句末的定語從句說明了其公演的時(shí)，可見late November為本題答案。

　　3.[Shakespearean plays]

　　[定位]第5段首句。

　　解析：從第5段首句中的actual actor和Shakespearean actor可以推斷Timothy Dalton在扮演007之前是一個(gè)職業(yè)演員，而且專演“莎士比亞劇”，故Shakespearean plays就是本題答案。

　　4.[bare knuckles and high living]

　　[定位]第5段第2句。

　　解析：空白處為名詞(詞組)。原文該句中的steer the character back to...描述的就是Fleming理想中的007形象，而本題要求查找的正是描述007形象的詞語，因此該句中的bare knuckles and high living為本題答案。

　　5.[Timothy Dalton]

　　[定位]倒數(shù)第2段首句。

　　解析：本文介紹007演員時(shí)是按他們扮演007的先后順序的，第4段提到最早的是Connery，然后是Moore，第五段提到接著是Timothy Dalton，最后兩段提到Brosnan。由此可見，Brosnan之前是Timothy Dalton，而這正是倒數(shù)第2段首句中previous fellow的所指，故本題答案應(yīng)為Timothy Dalton。