20100612 A Superman Celebration in Metropolis (3)

A Superman Celebration in Metropolis

Super history

If only the town's founders could see this piece of land on the Ohio River today. It was nicknamed "City of Opportunity" in 1839, but patience was needed. It took almost another century for Superman to materialize on the pages of a comic book. Another 30-plus years passed before Metropolis made a "super" name for itself. In 1972 the town legally became the proud parent of its high-flying son. That year the Illinois State Legislature passed a resolution that declared Metropolis the "Hometown of Superman." The town then made "headlines" by permanently changing the name of the local newspaper to the Metropolis Planet, to almost match that of Superman's employer.

Of course, it wasn't until Superman went to work at the Daily Planet that the metropolitan city of Metropolis became his hometown. After Sunday afternoon's Superhero Costume Contest ends, so does the festival. The weekend "actors" wander off incognito, this time in street clothes. I see a young girl in shorts and a T-shirt amble away. The only clue that she was Supergirl moments ago is the red boots in her hand. It's true that history repeats itself, and so does fiction in Metropolis ... every year on the second weekend in June.

material n. 物質

materialize v. 具體成形/實現

=> become real

eg: His plan of building his dream house finally materialized when he was 50.

=> 他在50歲時蓋一棟夢想中的房子的計劃終於實現了 .

eg: Her dream of becoming a composer never materialized.

=> 她想成為作曲家的夢想始終沒有成真

permanent adj. 永久的/固定的

permanently adv. 永久地/固定地

=> forever

eg: Hank and his wife decided to permanently settle in this town, so they bought a house last month.

=> Hank和他的妻子決定在這個鎮定居下來，所以他們上個月買了一棟房子。

eg: Her heart was permanently broken after the break up.

=> 自從分手之後她的心有了永久地傷害。

amble vi. 從容漫步/緩步前進

=> walk away slowly

=> 不及物動詞，後面要加介係詞和受詞

eg: We ambled down the streets and did some window shopping.

=> 我們在街上漫步而且看了一些商店的櫥窗。

eg: She ambled along the beach searching for seashells.

=> 她沿著海邊漫步尋找貝殼。

metropolitan adj. 大都市的

metropolitan city

wander off 漫遊於/徘徊於

//== Chat room ==//

Superman

comic book hero 漫畫書英雄

comic book 漫畫書

comic strip 連環漫畫

comedian 喜劇演員

stand-up comedy 脫口秀

comic relief 喜劇性的舒解

=> 在一個嚴肅狀態中的輕鬆或是滑稽的場面

//== Grammar on the Go ==//

Another 30-plus years passed before Metropolis made a "super" name for itself.

=> Metropolis made a "super" name for itself after another 30 plus years.

A period of time + passed before + an event

eg: Seventeen hours had passed before we were finally able to get on our plane.

eg: Another three days passed before Tricia got the results of her medical tests.