The Oscar statuette is the symbol of the Academy Awards. Here are some facts about the trophy itself.

　　奧斯卡小金人是奧斯卡金像獎的象征。這里有一些關于獎杯本身的事實。

　　1. The original design of “Oscar” was by MGM art director Cedric Gibbons. He came up with a statuette of a knight standing on a reel of film gripping a crusader’s sword. The Academy commissioned the Los Angeles sculptor George Stanley to create the design in three dimensions.

　　1.“奧斯卡”的原始設計師是米高梅公司藝術總監塞德里克·吉奔斯。他構想出了一個騎士站在一個電影膠片卷軸上，手里緊握十字軍之劍的雕像。學院委托洛杉磯雕塑家喬治·斯坦利來做三維設計。

　　2. It was presented for the first time at the initial awards banquet on May 16, 1929 to Emil Jannings, named Best Actor for his performances in “The Last Command” and “The Way of All Flesh”.

　　2.小金人在1929年5月16日的頒獎晚會上首次亮相，第一座小金人授予艾米爾·杰寧斯，他憑借在《最后的命令》和《眾生之路》中的表演獲選奧斯卡最佳男演員。

　　3. Since then, 2,701 statuettes have been presented.

　　3.自那時起，已經有2701座小金人被頒發出去。

　　4. The new golden statuettes are cast, moulded, polished and buffed each January by RS Owens & Company, the Chicago-based awards manufacturer retained by the Academy since 1982.

　　4.每年一月新的黃金雕像將由RS歐文公司進行澆鑄和拋光，自1982年以來美國電影藝術與科學院就一直授權這家芝加哥獎杯制造商制造獎杯。

　　5. Oscar stands 13? inches tall and weighs 8? lbs.

　　5.奧斯卡小金人身高13?英寸，重8?磅。

　　6. The film reel features five spokes, signifying the five original branches of the Academy: actors, directors, producers, technicians and writers. Although the statuette remains true to its original design, the size of the base varied until 1945, when the current standard was adopted.

　　6.這個電影膠片卷軸上有五個輻條，標志著學院的五個原始分支：演員、導演、制片人、技術人員和作家。在1945年前，雖然雕像一直忠于原始設計，但底座大小不一。直到1945年，目前的標準才被采納。

　　7. Officially named the Academy Award of Merit, the statuette is better known by its nickname, Oscar. While the origins of the moniker are not clear, a popular story has it that upon seeing the trophy for the first time, Academy librarian (and eventual executive director) Margaret Herrick remarked that it resembled her Uncle Oscar. The Academy didn’t adopt the nickname officially until 1939.

　　7.奧斯卡的官方名稱是學院成就獎，但是小金人的昵稱“奧斯卡”更廣為人知。雖然該昵稱的起源不明，但是有個廣為流傳的故事提到，當學院圖書館員（后成為執行董事）瑪格麗特·赫里克第一次看到小金人時，她評論說小金人長得就像她的叔叔奧斯卡。學院一直到1939年才正式起用這一綽號。

　　8. The statuettes presented at the initial ceremonies were gold-plated solid bronze. Within a few years the bronze was abandoned in favour of Britannia metal, a pewter-like alloy which is then plated in copper, nickel silver, and finally, 24-carat gold.

　　8.最初在奧斯卡頒獎禮上頒發的小金人都是鍍金實心銅像。幾年后小金人的原料被換成不列顛合金，這是一種類錫合金，然后鍍上銅、鎳銀，最后再鍍上一層24K黃金。

　　9. Due to a metal shortage during the Second World War, Oscars were made of painted plaster for three years. Following the war, the Academy invited recipients to redeem the plaster figures for gold-plated metal ones.

　　由于在第二次世界大戰期間金屬資源短缺，有三年的奧斯卡小金人是用石膏制成的。戰爭結束后，學院請這些獲獎者拿石膏雕像來換鍍金金屬雕像。

　　10. The Academy is not certain know how many statuettes it will hand out until the envelopes are opened on the night of the ceremony. Although the number of categories are known in advance, the possibility of ties and of multiple recipients sharing the prize in some categories makes it impossible to predict the exact number of statuettes to be awarded. Any surplus awards are housed in the Academy’s vault until the following year’s event.

　　直到奧斯卡頒獎禮當晚信封被打開，學院并不清楚將頒發多少個小金人獎杯。盡管各獎項類別的數目已經提前知曉，但仍有可能在某些獎項產生多人獲得同一個獎的情況，因此無法預知要頒發出去的小金人的準確數量。多出的小金人將放在學院的地窖里，等待來年奧斯卡再頒發出去。