6: ANGELS AND DEMONS (2000)
《天使與魔鬼》 (2000)

"Angels and Demons" is a 2000 best-selling mystery-thriller novel written by Dan Brown. Robert Langdon discovered a brotherhood called Illuminati. This anti-Christ underground movement creates a viral frenzy in the Vatican City, coinciding with the murder of a physicist, the death of the pope and the abduction of four cardinals. The Illuminati threatened to kill each cardinal every hour and then put the Vatican City to dust with the antimatter. Robert Langdon, a religious symbologist together with Vittoria, a scientist, raced against time to unravel the clues and discover where the destructive weapon was hidden. The two heroes, Vittoria being the researcher of the dangerous prototype of the antimatter and Robert being an expert tour guide must travel throughout Rome to discover the horrific truth behind the Illuminati's wrath in merely 4 hours.
《天使與魔鬼》這本書是2000年暢銷推理驚悚小說，作者是丹·布朗（Dan Brown）。羅伯特·蘭登（Robert Langdon）發(fā)現(xiàn)了一個名為“光照派”的組織，這個反基督的教派在梵蒂岡秘密研制出了病毒，就在這時一名物理學家被謀殺，教皇去世，四名紅衣主教被綁架，而光照派威脅每過一小時就要殺死一名紅衣主教，然后用反物質(zhì)將梵蒂岡化為灰燼。符號學家羅伯特·蘭登是一個虔誠的信徒。他與科學家維多利亞一起與時間賽跑，通過蛛絲馬跡找到被藏起來的危險武器。這是兩位英雄，維多利亞負責找到危險的反物質(zhì)，羅伯特負責通過線索尋路，二人要在僅有的四個小時內(nèi)在羅馬找出光照派憤怒的真相。

7: THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA (2003)
《穿普拉達的女王》(2003)

Did you know that "The Devil Wears Prada" is Lauren Weisberger's first written novel? Published in 2003, this delightful novel about landing on a first job with a devilish superior maintained to stay six months in the New York Times best-seller list. "The Devil Wears Prada" takes the readers to the hilarious world of Andrea Sachs. Her mishaps as assistant to Miranda Priestly, a high profile editor, a sophisticated woman, and an iron-clad fisted boss, elicit humor and inspiration to readers. This book also gives an inside look in New York and International fashion with full references to designers, models, clothes and glamour, from the trendiest to the most expensive, name it. Andrea and Miranda symbolize the reality at the workplace where the boss is always right. As a whole, the depiction of work life, fashion statement and success of a newbie cast a spell to the readers.
你知道《穿普拉達的女王》是勞倫·維斯伯格（Lauren Weisberger）創(chuàng)作的第一部作品么？這部有趣的小說在2003年出版，講述在第一份工作遇到了惡魔上司的故事，曾在《紐約時報》暢銷書單中連續(xù)六個月蟬聯(lián)第一名。這部小說帶領(lǐng)讀者進入安德莉亞·薩克斯（Andrea Sachs）的狂歡世界。她不幸給一位老練冷血的名主編米蘭達·普瑞斯特里（Miranda Priestly）做助理，但在過程中帶給讀者的也不乏幽默和鼓舞。這本書也描述了紐約和國際時尚界的內(nèi)幕，涉及了設計師、模特、衣香鬢影，從最時尚的到最昂貴的。米蘭達和安德莉亞昭示了一個職場潛規(guī)則，那就是老板永遠是對的。而書中對職場生活和時尚界的描述，以及一名新人修煉的過程都深深抓住了讀者的心。

8: TWILIGHT (2005)
《暮光之城》(2005)

Stephanie Meyer undoubtedly justified her sensibility to enable the readers to thirst for more in her very own version of a vampire story, the "Twilight". A vampire story for people who don't want vampire is just one of the many unified notions for this novel about the impossible love, the family mystery and the extraordinary life of Edward Cullen and Isabella Swan. Each page is savored that compels and touches the readers to feel like they are unwilling to give up hope for a seemingly doomed relationship. Bella's undying love and Edward's hidden monstrous character lead the romance to a bloody twist. On the one hand for the sake of trivial pursuit, "Twilight" was rejected by 14 agents, right before it was published in 2005 with a print-run of 75,000 copies. "Twilight" peaked at Number 1 at New York Times Bestseller list and later went on to become the Bestselling Book in 2008.
女作家斯蒂芬·梅爾駕馭作品的高超能力讓讀者對她這個版本的吸血鬼小說非常喜愛，這部吸血鬼小說滿足了那些不喜歡千篇一律的吸血鬼故事的人們.書中講述了不可能的愛情，家族之謎和愛德華·卡倫（Edward Cullen）和伊莎貝拉·斯旺（Isabella Swan）非同尋常的生活。每一頁的掙扎和觸碰讓讀者感受到他們對這段命定的戀情不肯放棄的希望。貝拉不變的愛戀和愛德華隱藏的獸性讓浪漫愛情轉(zhuǎn)為了血腥的糾結(jié)。《暮光之城》曾被14家出版商退回過，而在2005年出版后，這部書賣出了七萬五千本，迅速在《紐約時報》的暢銷書榜登頂，在2008年，這部小說再度成為最暢銷書。

9: THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE (2003)
《時間旅行者的妻子》 (2003)

Although "time travel" suggests a science fiction genre, Audrey Niffenegger successfully conveys a timeless love story beneath the title "The Time Traveler's Wife". Henry is 36 and Clare is 6 when they first met yet the truth is Henry is only 8 years older than Clare. Yes, Henry was plagued by time travel a genetic mutation disorder, as he traveled he discovered much of the future and he could even go back in time. Clare on the other hand was love driven so she opted to live with Henry's curse as part of her life. Henry became her deepest secret. Clare's struggles were devastating yet the love they shared was passionate and enduring. This wonderful novel also explores the multiple ages of Henry and how he foresees his death. "The Time Traveler's Wife", published in 2003 literally buries the readers and gets everyone immersed with Henry and Clare's life, love and destiny.
雖然時間旅行屬于科幻小說范疇，但是奧黛麗·尼芬格（Audrey Niffenegger）卻在《時間旅行者的妻子》這本書中成功描述了一個沖破時空阻礙的愛情故事。亨利遇到克萊爾時，他36歲，而她年僅6歲。事實是，亨利只比克萊爾大八歲。沒錯，亨利因基因突變而不得不在時空中穿梭，他發(fā)現(xiàn)了很多未來的事情，他甚至還能回到過去。而克萊爾深愛著亨利，于是她選擇和亨利的這一詛咒共同生活。亨利也變成了她埋在最深處的秘密。克萊爾的掙扎很痛苦，但他們之間的愛依然熱烈而持久。這部精彩的小說也探索了不同年齡的亨利和預見自己死亡的場景。2003年出版的《時間旅行者的妻子》讓讀者深深沉浸在亨利和克萊爾的生活、愛與命運當中。

10: TAKEN (2006)
《颶風營救》(2006)

"Taken" a novel written by Edward Bloor tackles life two decades from today and lets the readers expect the unexpected. In 2035, what would life be? The rich will be twice as glorified and the poor will be twice as forsaken where kidnapping will become the menial job of the meek. On a New Year's Eve, Charity Meyer is kidnapped, as it is a common situation and every rich kid is well trained on kidnapping protocols, initially she is very calm just waiting to be ransomed. However, when she identified one of the kidnappers, she knows a ransom will not save her. She has no way out but to fight for herself. Scared as she is, there are even much scarier things she has to take to flee. Clueless, unguided and lost, who will save Charity Meyer?
《颶風營救》的作者是愛德華·布魯爾（Edward Bloor），這本書講述了距今二十年后營救生命的故事，讓讀者期待著各種意想不到的事件。在2035年，生活會變得怎樣？富人會更加光鮮，窮人則會愈加凄涼。而綁架變成了弱者卑微的謀生方式。在新年前夕，查瑞迪·邁耶（Charity Meyer）被綁架了，不過富人家的小孩接受綁架訓練已成為一個普遍的現(xiàn)象，所以她非常鎮(zhèn)定地等待被贖。然而，但她認出其中一個綁匪時，她知道就算贖金也救不了她，她沒有依靠只能靠自己。飽受驚嚇的她還要面對逃離過程中更可怕的事。毫無線索，沒有幫手，沒有目標，到底誰能救出她？

On the whole, it is quite obvious that these written works have become bedrock to the writers and a silent force of economic advancements: the books are bestseller; the films are highest-grossing. Nevertheless, the popularity of the books make the films vulnerable to unfavorable reviews such as slaughtering the real story due to chronic rush of sequences, exaggerations and overtones. The question is, what beholds the viewers' eyes?
從總體來看，這些作品不僅成為當代作家們寫作的基石，而且還默默地推動著經(jīng)濟發(fā)展：這些書都很暢銷，而改編成的電影同樣會收獲高票房。然而，流行作品改編成的電影也更容易收到大眾差評，比如為了加快故事進展而砍掉許多原書內(nèi)容，夸張和暗示等。問題在于，吸引觀眾的到底是什么呢？

Vocabulary

cliff-hanging: 扣人心弦的

wrath: 憤怒

labyrinth: 迷宮

hunk: 富有魅力的健美男子

drenched: 浸透的

flamboyant: 浮華的，奢華的

profiteer: 奸商；牟取暴利的人

womanizer: 沉溺于女色的人

sublime: 崇高的，卓越的

uncap: 脫帽致意

newbie: 新手

genetic mutation: 基因突變

menial: 卑微的，卑賤的

bedrock: 基石

（譯者：無事此靜坐，編輯：陳丹妮 Helen）