本片段剧情：玛蒂父亲遇害后，购买的马被谋杀犯偷走了。玛蒂找到卖主，坚持以325美元的价格把马再卖回去。卖主非常不情愿，两人一番唇枪舌剑，最后卖主无奈买下了本属于自己的已经丢失的马。来看看玛蒂是怎么给自己辩护的吧。

 

Mattie: How much are you paying for cotton?

 

Trader: Nine and a half, for low and middlin' and ten for ordinary.

 

Mattie: Think I'm surprise of that, really. I sold to the Wizten brothers in Little Rock for eleven cents.

 

Trader: Then I suggest you take the balance of it to the Witzen brothers.

 

Mattie: I take the balance to Witzen. At ten and a half.

 

Trader: Why'd you come here to tell me this?

 

Mattie: I thought I might shop around a place. I'm doing alright in Little Rock. I'm Mattie Ross. Daughter of Frank Ross.

 

Trader: Aw, tragic thing. May I say, your father impressed me. With his manly qualities. He was a close trader, but he acted a gentleman.

 

Mattie: My post was to sell those ponies back to you, that my father brought.

 

Trader: Well that I fear, is out of the question. Well, we'll see that they are shipped to you, at my earliest convenience.

 

Mattie: We don't want the ponies now, we don't need them.

 

Trader: Well that hardly concerns me. Your father brought the ponies, and paid for them. And there's an end to it. I have the bill of sale.

 

Mattie: And I want $300 for Papa's saddle horse that was stolen from your stable.

 

Trader: You'll have to take that up with the man who stole the horse.

 

Mattie: Tom Chaney stole the horse while it was in your care. You were responsible.

 

Trader: Yeah, I admire your sin. But I believe you'll find I'm not liable for such claims.

 

Mattie: You were the custodian. If you were a bank that were robbed. You could not simply tell your depositors to go hang.

 

Trader: I do not entertain hypotheticals. The world as it is vexing enough. Secondly your evaluation of the horse is high. By about two hundred dollars. How old are you?

 

Mattie: If anything, my purse is low. My Judy was a fine racing mare. I've seen her jump a eight rung fence with a rider at fourteen.

 

Trader: Oh, it's all very interesting. The ponies are yours, take them. Your father horse was stolen by a murderous criminal. I have provided reasonable protection for the creature as per our implicit agreement. My watchmen had his teeth knocked out, you can take on his suit.

 

Mattie: That would take to long.

 

Trader: You have no case.

 

Mattie: Courage would make the dartmore to long. This is by a jury. Petitioned by a widow and three small children.

 

Trader: I will pay two hundred dollars to your fathers estate. When I have in my hand a letter from your lawyer, absolving me of all liability from the beginning of the world to today.

 

Mattie: I'll take two hundred dollars for Judy, plus one hundred for the ponies. And twenty five dollars for the grey horse that Tom Chaney left. He was easily worth, forty. That is three hundred and twenty five dollars, sold.

 

Trader: The ponies have no part in it. I will not buy them.

 

Mattie: And the price for Judy is three hundred and twenty five dollars.

 

Trader: I would not pay three hundred and twenty five dollars for winged Pegasus. As for the grey horse, it does not belong to you.

 

Mattie: The grey horse was lent to Tom Chaney by my father. Chaney only had the use of him.

 

Mattie: I would pay two hundred and twenty five dollars. And keep the grey horse. And I want the ponies.

 

Mattie: Then it's settled, then. There will be no settlement after I leave this office and go to the court of law.

 

Trader: All right, this is my last offer. Two hundred and fifty dollars. For that I get the release, previously discussed. And I keep your father's saddle. The grey horse is not yours to sell.

 

Mattie: The saddle is not for sale. I will keep it. Glory Daniel will approve of the grey horse. He will come after you with a great vengeance.

 

Trader: What? All right, now look, listen very carefully. As I will not bargain further. I'll will take the ponies back, and the grey horse. Which is mine. And settle... For three hundred dollars. Now you must take that or leave it. And I do not much care which it is.

 

Mattie: My Lawyer Decker would not wish me to consider anything under three hundred and twenty five dollars. But I will settle for three hundred and twenty. If I am given twenty in advance. Now here's what I have to say about that saddle.

 

1. manly qualities: 男子气概，阳刚之气。这里也可以翻译为“是条汉子”。

 

比如：He looks very manly in his uniform.（他穿着制服十分精神。）

 

2. pony: 小型马，矮马。

 

3. out of the question：不可能的。

 

类似的说法还有stand no chance of，比如：This team stands no chance of winning the match.（这个队不可能在比赛中获胜。）

 

4. saddle horse: 驯马，鞍马。

 

5. go hang: 任其自然，忘却，一般用let things go hang来表示。

 

比如：Mr Johnson let his business go hang after his wife died.（太太死后，约翰逊先生对自己的事业再也无兴趣了。）

 

6. The world as it is vexing enough: 烦人的事多着呢，本来已经够烦人的了。Vex表示“使烦恼，恼怒”。

 

7. if anything: 怎么说，如果有什么区别的话。这里玛蒂是说，怎么说我的报价也已经很低了。

 

8. racing mare: 赛马。Mare一般指母马。

 

9. as per: 按照。

 

例如：As per the contract, the construction of factory is now under way. 根据合同规定，工厂的建设正在进行中。

 

10.winged Pegasus: 有翼的马，神马，这里指已经丢了的马。

 

Pegasus在希腊神话中指珀加索斯，是一匹有双翼的飞马，被其足蹄踩过的地方有泉水涌出，诗人饮用这些泉水可以获得灵感。因此也可以引申为诗人的灵感，诗才。在天文学中，Pegasus也指“天马座”。

 

11.take that or leave it: 要么接受，要么就算了。这里是卖主在威胁玛蒂接受自己的出价。

1. 我要说的是，你父亲的阳刚之气给我印象很深。

______________________________________

2. 别跟我打比方，烦人的事多着呢。

______________________________________

3. 怎么说我的要价都已经很低了。

______________________________________

4. 我才不会花325美元来买一匹丢了的马。

______________________________________

《大地惊雷》的成功之处在于，它紧紧抓住了部分观众内心深处浓郁的怀旧心理，把老派的西部片的精彩与当代电影技术巧妙的联合在一起，为观众们展示了一部既保存着老派西部片的骨架和影子，又融合当今商业娱乐片元素在内的西部电影。

美国西部片影史回顾

荒凉的西部小镇，在空旷的街道上两个牛仔面对面的站着，间隔三十步。相互凝视很久后，两人几乎同时拔枪。“呯”“呯”两声过后，一个牛仔摇晃了几下，扑倒在地。胜者把左轮手枪在手中转几个圈后插回枪套，转身上马向远方缓缓走去……THE END……一幕典型的西部片结束了。

西部片这一古老的电影片种，几乎和电影诞生在同一时期。在电影技术刚传入美国不久，一些电影片段中就出现了西部和印第安人的影像。1903年，埃德温·鲍特拍摄了影片《火车大劫案》，在当时引起轰动。这部短片以当时美国的一件社会新闻为题材而拍摄，说的是4名强盗抢劫一列火车，打死一名乘客，最终在和警察的枪战中被击毙。影片虽然只有8分钟，却奠定了它在美国电影史上的地位。从此银幕上开始上演一个又一个的西部神话。

西部片的时代背景

1861年，南北战争爆发。联邦政府为了争取群众支持它反对南部奴隶主的战争，于1862年颁布了满足广大人民土地要求的“宅地法”。宅地法规定，凡没有参加过反联邦叛乱、年满21岁身为户主的美国公民，或申请入籍而没有持枪反抗过合众国的人，交纳10美元登记费，就可以申请1/4平方英里尚未分配给私人的公有土地，耕种5年以后，这块土地就免费成为其私有财产。一时，大批的美国人为了拥有自己的土地而涌向西部，开始了轰轰烈烈的美国西部开拓史。

这里的西部通常是说密西西比河以西的十一个州，这里有着辽阔而荒凉的平原；壮丽的大峡谷；土生土长的印第安人和大群的北美野牛。蜂拥而来的开拓者给西部带来了经济上的繁荣，也带来了犯罪和同印第安人的战争。这片法律和秩序还没有建立起来的土地上，要想保卫自己的财产，暴力成为最佳的手段（如果不是唯一手段的话）。在这样一个纷乱的世界里，关于牛仔、警长、强盗、印第安人的传奇故事比比皆是。为电影提供了绝佳的好素材。

早期的西部片

《火车大劫案》的巨大成功掀起了西部片的拍摄高潮，一时间几乎所有的导演都开始把目光投向这块有利可图的西部。但早期的西部片但这些早期的作品多是在摄影篷内拍摄的粗制滥造的作品。好人和坏人可以从他们所戴的帽子颜色分辩出来（好人一般戴浅色帽子，坏人戴深色帽子）。在进入有声电影时期以后，观众可以听到那场激动人心的枪声了。但有声电影对其他类型片的促进加上20年代末的经济大萧条使西部片不再是票房的保证了。

黄金时代

1939年，约翰·福特拍摄了里程碑式的西部片《关山飞渡》。他通过描写一辆载着从逃犯到妓女、银行家等形形色色人等的驿站车穿越西部荒原的历程，展示了激烈的马车追逐、小镇上的决斗等西部片中的经典场面。这些经典在后来的西部片中被一再重现。影片大部分在犹他州和亚利桑那州交界的威利山实地拍摄，壮丽的西部风光被电影充分的展示。对于西部片来说，这是一项难忘的贡献。从那以后，到西部实景拍摄就成为任何一个想拍西部片史诗的导演的必须工作。

《关山飞渡》把两个对西部片有重大贡献的人物联系在一起，约翰·福特和 约翰·韦恩，从此两人携手西部，演绎了一部又一部的经典。《关山飞渡》也引领了西部片的复兴，一直到五十年代末，西部片又在银幕上盛行起来。进入了它的黄金时代。而且渐渐有了一套相对固定的格局：开始常常是善良的白种移民受到迫害，然后一个（或几个）英雄出现了，经过殊死搏斗，将歹徒消灭。中间还常常穿插着英雄救美的爱情故事。英雄可以是居无定所的游侠，也可以是初来乍到的牛仔，反面角色不是称霸一方的恶棍就是野蛮的印第安人。片中人物善恶分明，结尾总是正义战胜邪恶。

日薄西山

“就算是山珍海味，也架不住顿顿吃。”当西部片在不断地重复着西部英雄的神话的时候，老套的情节也开始让观众生厌。西部片越来越不能吸引观众了。六十年代那个美国社会分崩离析的时代，随著美国人对美国制度失去了信心，就导致了反传统的社会浪潮。西部片也开始一反常规，主角不再行侠仗义的牛仔，而换成了从强盗到小混混等各种各样的反英雄角色。

1964年意大利人 赛尔乔·莱翁带来了意大利式西部片（而且外景地在西班牙）。在他的西部片中人物已不再善恶分明，而是沾染了“黑色电影”的脾性，反英雄，非主流，反乌托邦，颠覆传统。每个人都不是传统上的正面角色。他的金钱三部曲获得了成功，把“通心粉西部片”和克林特·伊斯特伍德一起带给美国观众。美国本土的西部片的主角也不再是无畏的英雄，换成了从强盗到小混混等各种各样的反英雄人物。进入七十年代，越南战争的失败和越来越多的社会问题让美国人不再相信西部神话，西部片开始走向衰落。阿瑟·潘恩的《小巨人》通过一位120岁的老牛仔对一生的回忆，象是给西部片画了一个句号。

七十年代以后，西部片似乎被人们遗忘了，不多的几部也不再引起人们的注意。1990年，凯文·科斯特纳 和他的《与狼共舞》夺得奥斯卡最佳影片，西部片有了重新振作之意。1993年，又一部西部片——老牛仔 克林特·伊斯特伍德 的《不可饶恕》夺得奥斯卡最佳影片大奖，又给西部片的复兴打了一针强心剂。但现代电脑技术对电影的影响使观众对电影的喜好和以前大不相同。西部片这种老古董只能成为怀旧的主题，慢慢消逝在角落里。