The cast and crew of British movies will no longer be hailed as the underdogs at awards ceremonies. At the recent 81st Oscars ceremony, British actors and movies won no less than 11 awards.

The list of Oscar winners is usually dominated by American films and actors but 2009 has seen a more international flavour to the ceremony.

British actors and actresses have long awaited such global recognition. Kate Winslet was nominated six times for an Oscar before she eventually won the Best Actress award at this year鈥檚 ceremony.

Slumdog Millionaire lived up to its status as a global success and movie phenomenon. The low-budget movie swept the board winning eight Oscars, including Best Director and Best Picture.

The movie, which documents the life of a young Indian boy after he wins a TV game show, has definitely helped to raise the profile of the British film industry.

Summarising the national feeling, British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, issued a statement saying "Britain is showing it has the talent to lead the world."

A spokesman for the UK Film Council agreed with Mr Brown鈥檚 comments but added that many of this year鈥檚 movie winners have benefited from national funding.

"With our lottery funding for Man on Wire and The Duchess, and Film4's support for Slumdog Millionaire, last night proved that government support for film can deliver success on a global scale," he said.

Addressing the growing fervour for British film, Slumdog director Danny Boyle has urged people to remain calm and to be realistic after his remarkable Oscar success.

"You鈥檝e got to be careful of claiming that this marks the renaissance of the British film industry. It is one film," he said.

• ceremony [´seriməni]   n.典礼；礼仪；客气   (初中英语单词)
• international [,intə´næʃənəl]   a.国际的，世界的   (初中英语单词)
• recognition [,rekəg´niʃən]   n.认出；认识；承认   (初中英语单词)
• director [di´rektə]   n.指导者；....长；导演   (初中英语单词)
• indian [´indiən]   a.印度的 n.印度人   (初中英语单词)
• definitely [´definitli]   ad.明确地；绝对   (初中英语单词)
• minister [´ministə]   n.部长；大臣 v.伺候   (初中英语单词)
• talent [´tælənt]   n.天才；才干；天资   (初中英语单词)
• realistic [riə´listik]   a.现实主义的；现实的   (初中英语单词)
• remarkable [ri´mɑ:kəbl]   a.值得注意的；显著的   (初中英语单词)
• actress [´æktris]   n.女演员   (高中英语单词)
• millionaire [,miljə´neə]   n.百万富翁   (高中英语单词)
• phenomenon [fi´nɔminən]   n.现象；奇迹；珍品   (高中英语单词)
• saying [´seiŋ, ´sei-iŋ]   n.言语；言论；格言   (高中英语单词)
• duchess [´dʌtʃis]   n.公爵夫人；女公爵   (高中英语单词)
• eventually [i´ventʃuəli]   ad.最后，终于   (英语四级单词)
• status [´steitəs]   n.身份；情形；状况   (英语四级单词)
• winning [´winiŋ]   n.&a.胜利(的)   (英语四级单词)
• renaissance [rə´neisəns]   n.复兴；复活；新生   (英语四级单词)
• profile [´prəufail]   n.侧面 vt.画...侧面   (英语六级单词)
• spokesman [´spəuksmən]   n.发言人   (英语六级单词)
• lottery [´lɔtəri]   n.抽彩，抓阄，彩票   (英语六级单词)