底特律一条名为“8里路”的街道将白人与黑人、都市与郊区分割开。从小丧父、生长在黑人区一边的吉米，是个在hip-hop的音乐中找到家、找到梦想的人……

8 Mile

No matter who we are, no matter where we live, we're all bound by borders. Many of us are content to live within these borders--others are simply forced to exist within them. But some of us need to break out, burst through, even if what is on the other side is both frightening and unknown.

From this comes the tale of one young man's dilemma as he navigates his way through his colliding worlds. Set against Detroit's hip-hop scene in 1995, Jimmy Smith Jr., a young white rapper, struggles to find his voice.

The people of Detroit know 8 Mile Road as the city's perimeter. It is also a psychological dividing line between urban and suburban, between black and white, between where Jimmy is and where he wants to be. Here, survival is key, and for many, the emotional life preserver is hip hop.

In the absence of nurturing parents, Jimmy and his friends--cool and charasmatic Future, optimistic dreamer Sol, aspiring activist DJ Iz and slow but steady Cheddar Bob--have created their own family.

Jimmy and his "crew" (Three One Third), live on hopes of getting their "big break" while struggling to eke out a living at their dead end day jobs. At night, they feed their dreams in the hip hop clubs where the city's best rappers battle each other with abusive rhymes that are wielded like weapons. Here, words are meant to wound and victory belongs to the quick-witted.

重点词汇

content  a. 满足的，满意的，愿意

dilemma  n. 进退两难的局面，困境

Detroit  n. 底特律（美国城市）

hip-hop  n. 各种街舞的总称

perimeter  n. （树）周长，周界

psychological  a. 心理（上）的

suburban  a. 郊外的，偏远的

nurture  v. 养育，教养，给与营养物

eke out  v. 弥补……的不足，竭力维持

dead end  n. 闭塞不通，没有出路的

abusive  a. 滥用的

wield  v. 挥

quick-witted  a. 脑子反应快的

wound  v. 击伤