年轻人爱上Jellycat毛绒玩具

系着围裙的厨师们在油炸篮边忙活，并用报纸把下单的食物包起来。

双语精读

The plushy craze: Suitable for all ages

毛绒玩具热潮：大人小孩都爱玩

It looked like a typical fish-and-chip shop. Aproned chefs tended to frying baskets and wrapped orders in newspaper.

它看起来像一家典型的炸鱼薯条店。系着围裙的厨师们在油炸篮边忙活，并用报纸把下单的食物包起来。

But the catch of the day came with a catch of its own: at Selfridges, a department store in London, patrons were buying toys rather than trawl. Cuddly cod were garnished with fuzzy lemons and served with plushy peas.

但是当天的渔获有猫腻：在伦敦的塞尔福里奇百货公司，顾客们购买的是玩具而不是拖网捞上来的鱼。软萌的鳕鱼片装饰着毛茸茸的柠檬，再配上软绵绵的豌豆。

The cheapest item cost $25, twice the cost of an actual meal. Jellycat, the British brand behind the pop-up shop, invited everyone to play with their food.

最便宜的单品售价25美元，是一顿真正餐食价格的两倍。这家快闪店背后的英国品牌Jellycat邀请大家一起玩食物。

The world has gone soft for soft toys. On TikTok videos tagged #Plushies, featuring various stuffed creatures and objects, have been viewed around 8bn times.

世界已经被毛绒玩具萌化了。在TikTok上，带有“毛绒玩具”标签、以各种毛绒动物和物品为主题的视频已经被观看了大约80亿次。

Stampedes have broken out at shops. The Jellycat pop-up required visitors to book a slot. Labubu dolls-elfin figures in fluffy outfits made by Pop Mart, a Chinese toy company-are popular across Asia.

客人们蜂拥进店里，因此Jellycat快闪店需要访客预约到店时间段。拉布布玩偶——由中国玩具公司泡泡玛特制作的穿着毛茸茸服装的小精灵形象——在亚洲各地都很受欢迎。

Melissa Symonds of Circana, a consumer-insights firm, says that soft toys are the second-largest category in the British toy market; sales have increased by around 58% since 2021.

来自消费者研究公司Circana的梅利莎·西蒙兹表示，毛绒玩具是英国玩具市场的第二大品类，自2021年以来，毛绒玩具销售额增长了约58%。

It is not young kids driving the demand but "kidults" (those aged 12 and over). Kidults now account for over a quarter of sales and, in 2023, surpassed preschoolers for the first time as the biggest age cohort for toys overall.

推动需求的不是幼儿，而是“大小孩”（12岁及以上的人）。现在大小孩占玩具销售额的四分之一以上，并且在2023年首次超过学龄前儿童，成为玩具消费者中规模最大的年龄组。

The craze began during the pandemic, as teenagers and young adults, stuck at home amid a global upheaval, sought succour in cute playthings. Lucy Dray, the owner of an online soft-toy shop called Baby Beans, says that plushies "bring people happiness and comfort"-two states that "can be quite hard to find in the world we live in".

这股热潮始于疫情期间，当时青少年和年轻人在全球陷于剧变之际被困在家里，在可爱的玩具中寻求慰藉。露西·德雷是“宝贝豆”毛绒玩具网店的老板，她说毛绒玩具“给人们带来快乐和安慰”，这两种状态“在我们生活的世界中可能很难找到”。

Pop psychologists on social media have also preached the benefits of reconnecting with your younger self. And as many defer having children until their late 20s or early 30s, kidults have more money to splurge on themselves.

社交媒体上的流行心理学家也宣扬了与儿时的自己重新建立联系是有好处的。而且由于许多人推迟到20多岁或30岁出头才要孩子，因此大小孩们有更多的钱可以花在自己身上。

词汇预习

overall [高考]
美[ˌoʊvərˈɔːl , ˈoʊvərɔːl] | 英[ˌəʊvərˈɔːl , ˈəʊvərɔːl]
adj. 全部的；总体的；全面考虑的
adv. 总的来说；总共
n. 罩衫；工作服
demand [高考]
美[dɪˈmænd] | 英[dɪˈmɑːnd]
n. 要求；需求
v. 要求；查问；需要
media [高考]
美[ˈmiːdiə] | 英[ˈmiːdiə]
n. 传播媒介；(medium的复数)媒体；新闻媒介
brand [高考]
美[brænd] | 英[brænd]
n. 烙印；商标；牌子；标记
vt. 加污名于；铭记；打烙印
actual [高考]
美[ˈæktʃuəl] | 英[ˈæktʃuəl]
adj. 实际的；事实上的
self [高考]
美[self] | 英[self]
n. 自己；本性；自我
pron. 我自己；你自己；他或她自己
adj.同一的；纯净的；单一的
v. 近亲繁殖；自花授粉
account for [高考]
美[əˈkaʊnt fɔːr] | 英[əˈkaʊnt fɔː(r)]
vt. (在数量方面)占；说明(原因等)；对 ... 负责；导致，引起；击毙，杀死；报账
broken [高考]
美[ˈbroʊkən] | 英[ˈbrəʊkən]
adj. 弄坏的；破碎的
amid [四级]
美[əˈmɪd] | 英[əˈmɪd]
prep. 在其间；在其中
fuzzy [四级]
美[ˈfʌzi] | 英[ˈfʌzi]
adj. 毛茸茸的；模糊的；含糊不清的（感情）
live in [四级]
美[liv ɪn] | 英[liv in]
v. 住进
play with [四级]
美[ple wɪθ] | 英[plei wið]
玩弄；与 ... 一起玩
craze [六级]
美[krez] | 英[kreɪz]
n. 狂热；风尚；裂纹
v. 使发狂；出现裂纹
trawl [专八]
美[trɔːl] | 英[trɔːl]
n. 拖网；排钩
v. 用拖网捕鱼；搜罗；查阅（资料）
defer [专八]
美[dɪˈfɜːr] | 英[dɪˈfɜː(r)]
v. 推迟；延期；使延期入伍
v. 顺从；把…委托给他人
slot [考研]
美[slɑːt] | 英[slɒt]
n. 狭缝；槽；投币口；时间段；职位；（鹿的）足迹
v. 插入；留细长的孔；放置

重点讲解

The plushy craze: Suitable for all ages

毛绒玩具热潮：大人小孩都爱玩

tend to sth/sb 照料某物/人；照管某物/人

【例】Excuse me, I have to tend to the other guests.

请原谅，我得去招待其他客人了。

【搭配】tend to do sth 倾向于做某事；往往会

【例】It tends to rain here in the summer.

这里到了夏季往往会下雨。

It looked like a typical fish-and-chip shop. Aproned chefs tended to frying baskets and wrapped orders in newspaper.

它看起来像一家典型的炸鱼薯条店。系着围裙的厨师们在油炸篮边忙活，并用报纸把下单的食物包起来。

tend to sth/sb 照料某物/人；照管某物/人

【例】Excuse me, I have to tend to the other guests.

请原谅，我得去招待其他客人了。

【搭配】tend to do sth 倾向于做某事；往往会

【例】It tends to rain here in the summer.

这里到了夏季往往会下雨。

But the catch of the day came with a catch of its own: at Selfridges, a department store in London, patrons were buying toys rather than trawl. Cuddly cod were garnished with fuzzy lemons and served with plushy peas.

但是当天的渔获有猫腻：在伦敦的塞尔福里奇百货公司，顾客们购买的是玩具而不是拖网捞上来的鱼。软萌的鳕鱼片装饰着毛茸茸的柠檬，再配上软绵绵的豌豆。

catch n. 圈套；诡计；隐藏陷阱

【例】The house is for sale very cheaply; there must be a catch.

这房子卖得这么便宜，肯定有诈。

【拓展】a catch-22 situation 因前后矛盾而没有解决办法的情况

【例】I can’t find a job because I have no experience, but I can’t have any experience if I don’t have a job -- it’s a catch-22 situation.

我找不到工作，因为我没有经验，但是我没有工作就不可能有经验。这真是无解的困境。

cuddly adj. 让人想拥抱的；柔软可爱的

【例】a cuddly kitten 可爱的小猫咪

【拓展】cuddle v. 搂抱；依偎

The cheapest item cost $25, twice the cost of an actual meal. Jellycat, the British brand behind the pop-up shop, invited everyone to play with their food.

最便宜的单品售价25美元，是一顿真正餐食价格的两倍。这家快闪店背后的英国品牌Jellycat邀请大家一起玩食物。

pop-up adj. 弹出的；突然出现的

【例】a pop-up window 弹窗

【拓展】pop v. 突然出现

【例】I opened the door and the cat popped into the room.

我打开门，小猫一下窜进房间。

stuff v. 填满；填充

【例】She stuffed the envelop with sheets of paper.

She stuffed sheets of paper into the envelop.

她往信封里塞满了纸张。

【拓展】stuffed adj. 填充的；吃饱的

The world has gone soft for soft toys. On TikTok videos tagged #Plushies, featuring various stuffed creatures and objects, have been viewed around 8bn times.

世界已经被毛绒玩具萌化了。在TikTok上，带有“毛绒玩具”标签、以各种毛绒动物和物品为主题的视频已经被观看了大约80亿次。

pop-up adj. 弹出的；突然出现的

【例】a pop-up window 弹窗

【拓展】pop v. 突然出现

【例】I opened the door and the cat popped into the room.

我打开门，小猫一下窜进房间。

stuff v. 填满；填充

【例】She stuffed the envelop with sheets of paper.

She stuffed sheets of paper into the envelop.

她往信封里塞满了纸张。

【拓展】stuffed adj. 填充的；吃饱的

Stampedes have broken out at shops. The Jellycat pop-up required visitors to book a slot. Labubu dolls—elfin figures in fluffy outfits made by Pop Mart, a Chinese toy company—are popular across Asia.

客人们蜂拥进店里，因此Jellycat快闪店需要访客预约到店时间段。拉布布玩偶——由中国玩具公司泡泡玛特制作的穿着毛茸茸服装的小精灵形象——在亚洲各地都很受欢迎。

break out 暴发；突然发生

【例】A war/fire/fighting broke out.

战争爆发/突然起火/突然发生打斗。

【搭配】break out of 逃离某地；摆脱某状况

【例】to break out of the jail 越狱

【拓展】outbreak n. 暴发

【例】the outbreak of war 战争的爆发

Melissa Symonds of Circana, a consumer-insights firm, says that soft toys are the second-largest category in the British toy market; sales have increased by around 58% since 2021.

来自消费者研究公司Circana的梅利莎·西蒙兹表示，毛绒玩具是英国玩具市场的第二大品类，自2021年以来，毛绒玩具销售额增长了约58%。

cohort n. 一群人；一批人

【例】the 1999 birth cohort

出生于1999年的群体

【近义词】group/set/demographic n. 群体

【例】the 18-30 group/set/demographic

18至30岁的群体

It is not young kids driving the demand but “kidults” (those aged 12 and over). Kidults now account for over a quarter of sales and, in 2023, surpassed preschoolers for the first time as the biggest age cohort for toys overall.

推动需求的不是幼儿，而是“大小孩”（12岁及以上的人）。现在大小孩占玩具销售额的四分之一以上，并且在2023年首次超过学龄前儿童，成为玩具消费者中规模最大的年龄组。

cohort n. 一群人；一批人

【例】the 1999 birth cohort

出生于1999年的群体

【近义词】group/set/demographic n. 群体

【例】the 18-30 group/set/demographic

18至30岁的群体

The craze began during the pandemic, as teenagers and young adults, stuck at home amid a global upheaval, sought succour in cute playthings. Lucy Dray, the owner of an online soft-toy shop called Baby Beans, says that plushies “bring people happiness and comfort”—two states that “can be quite hard to find in the world we live in”.

这股热潮始于疫情期间，当时青少年和年轻人在全球陷于剧变之际被困在家里，在可爱的玩具中寻求慰藉。露西·德雷是“宝贝豆”毛绒玩具网店的老板，她说毛绒玩具“给人们带来快乐和安慰”，这两种状态“在我们生活的世界中可能很难找到”。

upheaval n. 剧变；动荡

【例】a period of emotional upheaval

情绪波动很大的时期

【拓展】heave v. 举起；起伏

【例】Her shoulders heaved with laughter.

她笑得双肩抖动。

Pop psychologists on social media have also preached the benefits of reconnecting with your younger self. And as many defer having children until their late 20s or early 30s, kidults have more money to splurge on themselves.

社交媒体上的流行心理学家也宣扬了与儿时的自己重新建立联系是有好处的。而且由于许多人推迟到20多岁或30岁出头才要孩子，因此大小孩们有更多的钱可以花在自己身上。

defer v. 推迟；延期

【例】He deferred the decision until his parents came back.

他一直推迟做决定，直到父母归来。

【搭配】defer to 遵从；服从

【例】I have to defer to my boss.

我必须服从老板的命令。

课后练习

What does the Jellycat shop sell?
A. Fish and chips
B. Expensive cuisines.
C. Toys that look like food
D. Fresh fish and vegetables.
The Jellycat pop-up and Labubu dolls are mentioned to show that ____.
A. soft toys are extremely popular around the world
B. Jellycat has a larger market share than Labubu dolls
C. there is fierce competition in the market of soft toys
D. Asian countries have a special preference for soft toys
The most prominent consumer group for toys consists of ____.
A. preschoolers
B. rich adults
C. adults who have kids
D. people aged 12 and above
One of the reasons for the craze of plushies is that ____.
A. many young adults are introverted and like to stay at home
B. they have psychological benefits and make people feel good
C. advertisements for plushies are ubiquitous on the internet
D. toys are more affordable for kidults than luxury goods