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50岁的Hello Kitty可爱依旧
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50岁的Hello Kitty可爱依旧
国王正在公开盛赞一个比任何亿万富翁或外交使节都更知名的人物:今年满50岁的凯蒂猫。 ![]()
双语精读
The queen of kawaii: still cute at 50
可爱女王:50岁也可爱依旧
Most have to wait until their centenary to receive birthday wishes from the king of Britain. But King Charles III made an exception for "a self-made entrepreneur worth billions of dollars and a UNICEF children's ambassador on top".
大多数人必须等到自己的百岁生辰才能收到英国国王的生日祝福。但查尔斯三世国王为"一位白手起家、身价数十亿美元的企业家兼联合国儿童基金会儿童大使"破了例。
The monarch was feting a figure more recognisable than any billionaire or emissary: Hello Kitty, who turns 50 this year. The character was created by Shimizu Yuko, a Japanese illustrator, on November 1st 1974.
国王正在公开盛赞一个比任何亿万富翁或外交使节都更知名的人物:今年满50岁的凯蒂猫。这个形象是由日本插画师清水侑子于1974年11月1日创作的。
Soon after, Kitty was appearing on an astounding array of trinkets. Today you can wear her face on your hands, with OPI fake nails, or your feet, in the form of Adidas trainers.
不久后,凯蒂出现在了多得令人惊讶的一系列小饰品上。现在你可以用OPI穿戴甲把她的脸戴在手上,也可以用阿迪达斯运动鞋的形式把她穿在脚上。
You can wash yourself in a Hello Kitty shower and dry yourself with a Hello Kitty towel. Sanrio, the company which owns the character, makes almost $4bn in sales annually.
你可以在一个凯蒂猫淋浴间里洗澡,然后用一条凯蒂猫毛巾擦干身体。拥有该形象的公司三丽鸥每年的销售额几乎达到40亿美元。
Kitty's popularity is emblematic of the global craze for cute things. Despite the name, whiskers and pointy ears, Kitty is supposedly not a cat, but a little girl who lives in the suburbs of London with her family.
凯蒂猫的受欢迎象征了全球对可爱事物的狂热。尽管名字叫凯蒂猫(注:kitty可以表示猫咪),尽管有胡须和尖尖的耳朵,但据说凯蒂并不是一只猫,而是一个和家人住在伦敦郊区的小女孩。
Her charm lies in her expressionless face: she is composed of just three circles, six lines and a red bow, notes Joshua Paul Dale, a specialist in Cute Studies at Chuo University in Tokyo.
东京中央大学可爱研究专家约书亚·保罗·戴尔指出,她的魅力在于她那张毫无表情的脸:仅由三个圆圈、六根线条和一个红色蝴蝶结组成。
The simplicity of the design makes it easy to reproduce on all manner of items. Unlike Mickey Mouse, Kitty's look has not had to be updated.
这种设计的简洁性使人们很容易将她复现在各种物品上。与米老鼠不同,凯蒂猫的形象无需更新。
Kitty was born in the right place, at the right time. Kato Norihiro, a cultural critic, has argued that she reflects the aftermath of the second world war. With no meaningful back story, Kitty represented the mood in Japan and "the impulse to escape history and to stop talking about it".
凯蒂在正确的时间出生在正确的地方。文化评论家加藤则宏认为凯蒂猫反映了第二次世界大战之后的世界。凯蒂猫没有什么意义深远的背景故事,而是代表了日本的情绪,以及"对历史避而不谈的冲动"。
She emerged as "the perfect post-war icon", agrees Roland Kelts of Waseda University. "Japan's warrior nation was shoved under the rug and the message to Japan was: 'Shhh, look cute and beautiful'."
早稻田大学的罗兰·凯尔特斯表示,凯蒂猫作为"完美的战后偶像"而出现。"日本的武士国家被掩盖起来,传达给日本的信息是:‘嘘,要看起来漂亮可爱。'"
She also coincided with a changing social and economic landscape. In the 1970s women joined the workforce in greater numbers; they earned money and spent it on cute items for themselves.
凯蒂猫也与发生变化的社会和经济格局同时出现。在20世纪70年代,有更多女性加入劳动力大军,她们挣钱,并把钱花在给自己买可爱物品上。
Yet even when Japan's economy faltered in the 1990s, Kitty remained popular. When the mood is sour, sweet things are even more desirable.
然而,即使在20世纪90年代日本经济崩溃时,凯蒂猫仍然很受欢迎。当心情酸涩时,甜美的东西就更加令人向往。
词汇预习
economic [高考]
美[ˌiːkəˈnɑːmɪk] | 英[ˌiːkəˈnɒmɪk]
adj. 经济的,经济学的;有利可图的;节约的
economy [高考]
美[ɪˈkɑːnəmi] | 英[ɪˈkɒnəmi]
n. 经济;节约 adj. 经济的;廉价的
critic [高考]
美[ˈkrɪtɪk] | 英[ˈkrɪtɪk]
n. 评论家;批评家
charm [高考]
美[tʃɑːrm] | 英[tʃɑːm]
n. 魅力;吸引力;迷人;美貌 v. (使)着迷;施魔法
landscape [高考]
美[ˈlændskeɪp] | 英[ˈlændskeɪp]
n. 风景;风景画;山水;[计]横向 v. 美化景观
exception [高考]
美[ɪkˈsepʃn] | 英[ɪkˈsepʃn]
n. 例外;不合规则;反对;[律]异议
reproduce [高考]
美[ˌriːprəˈduːs] | 英[ˌriːprəˈdjuːs]
v. 再生;复制;生殖
simplicity [高考]
美[sɪmˈplɪsəti] | 英[sɪmˈplɪsəti]
n. 简单;单纯;简朴
entrepreneur [高考]
美[ˌɑːntrəprəˈnɜːr] | 英[ˌɒntrəprəˈnɜː(r)]
n. 企业家;承包商;主办者
workforce [高考]
美[ˈwɜːrkfɔːrs] | 英[ˈwɜːkfɔːs]
n. 劳动力;工人总数;职工总数
desirable [高考]
美[dɪˈzaɪərəbl] | 英[dɪˈzaɪərəbl]
adj. 令人向往的,值得拥有的;可取的;性感的 n. 称心合意的人(或物),好的品质
annually [高考]
美[ˈænjʊəlɪ] | 英[ˈænjuəli]
adv. 每年;年年
figure [高考]
美[ˈfɪɡjər] | 英[ˈfɪɡə(r)]
n. 图形;人物;身材;体形 v. 认为;是重要部分;是…的部分;计算(数量或成本)
specialist [高考]
美[ˈspeʃəlɪst] | 英[ˈspeʃəlɪst]
n. 专家;专科医生;专食性动物
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
ambassador [高考]
美[æmˈbæsədər] | 英[æmˈbæsədə(r)]
n. 大使,使节;(体育项目、行业等的)代表人物
billionaire [高考]
美[ˌbɪljəˈner] | 英[ˌbɪljəˈneə(r)]
n. 亿万富翁
impulse [高考]
美[ˈɪmpʌls] | 英[ˈɪmpʌls]
n. 冲动;心血来潮;神经冲动;[物]冲量;[电]脉冲 vt. 推动
rug [四级]
美[rʌɡ] | 英[rʌg]
n. 地毯;毯子;旅行毯
supposedly [四级]
美[səˈpoʊzɪdli] | 英[səˈpəʊzɪdli]
adv. 推测地;大概
array [四级]
美[əˈreɪ] | 英[əˈreɪ]
n. 一系列;大批;数组;陈列,列队;盛装 vt. 排列;部署;打扮
composed of [四级]
美 | 英
由 ... 组成的
craze [六级]
美[krez] | 英[kreɪz]
n. 狂热;风尚;裂纹 v. 使发狂;出现裂纹
monarch [六级]
美[ˈmɑːnərk] | 英[ˈmɒnək]
n. 君主,帝王;最高统治者;[动]黑脉金斑蝶
icon [六级]
美[ˈaɪkɑːn] | 英[ˈaɪkɒn]
n. 偶像;象征;[计算机]图标
aftermath [专四]
美[ˈæftərmæθ] | 英[ˈɑːftəmæθ]
n. 后果;余波;灾后时期;再生作物
illustrator [专八]
美[ˈɪləstreɪtər] | 英[ˈɪləstreɪtə(r)]
n. 插图画家
warrior [考研]
美[ˈwɔːriər] | 英[ˈwɒriə(r)]
n. 勇士;战士;武士
重点讲解
The queen of kawaii: still cute at 50
可爱女王:50岁也可爱依旧
make an exception 破例
【例】We have a strict no-refund policy, but in your case, we'll make an exception.
我们有严格的不退款政策,但你的这个情况,我们会破一次例。
【拓展】without exception 概不例外
on top 另外;还有
【例】We missed our flight, and we had to wait seven hours for the next one on top.
我们错过了飞机,而且下一个航班还要等7个小时。
He gets commission on top of his salary.
他除了薪金之外还拿佣金。
【近义词】in addition 另外;还有
Most have to wait until their centenary to receive birthday wishes from the king of Britain. But King Charles III made an exception for "a self-made entrepreneur worth billions of dollars and a UNICEF children's ambassador on top".
大多数人必须等到自己的百岁生辰才能收到英国国王的生日祝福。但查尔斯三世国王为"一位白手起家、身价数十亿美元的企业家兼联合国儿童基金会儿童大使"破了例。
make an exception 破例
【例】We have a strict no-refund policy, but in your case, we'll make an exception.
我们有严格的不退款政策,但你的这个情况,我们会破一次例。
【拓展】without exception 概不例外
on top 另外;还有
【例】We missed our flight, and we had to wait seven hours for the next one on top.
我们错过了飞机,而且下一个航班还要等7个小时。
He gets commission on top of his salary.
他除了薪金之外还拿佣金。
【近义词】in addition 另外;还有
The monarch was feting a figure more recognisable than any billionaire or emissary: Hello Kitty, who turns 50 this year. The character was created by Shimizu Yuko, a Japanese illustrator, on November 1st 1974.
国王正在公开盛赞一个比任何亿万富翁或外交使节都更知名的人物:今年满50岁的凯蒂猫。这个形象是由日本插画师清水侑子于1974年11月1日创作的。
illustrator n. 插画师
【例】Alan Lee is an illustrator who is best known for his artwork for The Lord of the Rings.
艾伦·李是一名插画家,因其为《指环王》创作的插画艺术而闻名。
【拓展】illustration n. 插图;图表
illustrate v. (用示例、图画等)说明,解释
astounding adj. 令人惊讶的
【例】an astounding decision 令人吃惊的决定
【近义词】astonishing adj. 令人震惊的
amazing adj. 令人惊奇的;令人惊叹的
【拓展】astound v. 使惊讶
Soon after, Kitty was appearing on an astounding array of trinkets. Today you can wear her face on your hands, with OPI fake nails, or your feet, in the form of Adidas trainers.
不久后,凯蒂出现在了多得令人惊讶的一系列小饰品上。现在你可以用OPI穿戴甲把她的脸戴在手上,也可以用阿迪达斯运动鞋的形式把她穿在脚上。
illustrator n. 插画师
【例】Alan Lee is an illustrator who is best known for his artwork for The Lord of the Rings.
艾伦·李是一名插画家,因其为《指环王》创作的插画艺术而闻名。
【拓展】illustration n. 插图;图表
illustrate v. (用示例、图画等)说明,解释
astounding adj. 令人惊讶的
【例】an astounding decision 令人吃惊的决定
【近义词】astonishing adj. 令人震惊的
amazing adj. 令人惊奇的;令人惊叹的
【拓展】astound v. 使惊讶
You can wash yourself in a Hello Kitty shower and dry yourself with a Hello Kitty towel. Sanrio, the company which owns the character, makes almost $4bn in sales annually.
你可以在一个凯蒂猫淋浴间里洗澡,然后用一条凯蒂猫毛巾擦干身体。拥有该形象的公司三丽鸥每年的销售额几乎达到40亿美元。
illustrator n. 插画师
【例】Alan Lee is an illustrator who is best known for his artwork for The Lord of the Rings.
艾伦·李是一名插画家,因其为《指环王》创作的插画艺术而闻名。
【拓展】illustration n. 插图;图表
illustrate v. (用示例、图画等)说明,解释
astounding adj. 令人惊讶的
【例】an astounding decision 令人吃惊的决定
【近义词】astonishing adj. 令人震惊的
amazing adj. 令人惊奇的;令人惊叹的
【拓展】astound v. 使惊讶
Kitty's popularity is emblematic of the global craze for cute things. Despite the name, whiskers and pointy ears, Kitty is supposedly not a cat, but a little girl who lives in the suburbs of London with her family.
凯蒂猫的受欢迎象征了全球对可爱事物的狂热。尽管名字叫凯蒂猫(注:kitty可以表示猫咪),尽管有胡须和尖尖的耳朵,但据说凯蒂并不是一只猫,而是一个和家人住在伦敦郊区的小女孩。
emblematic adj. 象征性的;标志性的
【例】The dove is emblematic of peace.
鸽子象征和平。
【拓展】emblem n. (代表国家或组织的)徽章
【近义词】be representative/symbolic of sth 象征某物
Her charm lies in her expressionless face: she is composed of just three circles, six lines and a red bow, notes Joshua Paul Dale, a specialist in Cute Studies at Chuo University in Tokyo.
东京中央大学可爱研究专家约书亚·保罗·戴尔指出,她的魅力在于她那张毫无表情的脸:仅由三个圆圈、六根线条和一个红色蝴蝶结组成。
be composed of 由……组成
【例】The test is composed of two sections: written and oral.
考试由两部分组成:笔试和口试。
【近义词】consist of 由……组成
【拓展】composition n. 成分;构成
all manner of 各种各样的
【例】They asked me all manner of questions.
他们问了我各种各样的问题。
【近义词】all kinds of 各种各样的
【拓展】manner n. 方式;样子
manners n. 礼貌;礼仪
The simplicity of the design makes it easy to reproduce on all manner of items. Unlike Mickey Mouse, Kitty's look has not had to be updated.
这种设计的简洁性使人们很容易将她复现在各种物品上。与米老鼠不同,凯蒂猫的形象无需更新。
be composed of 由……组成
【例】The test is composed of two sections: written and oral.
考试由两部分组成:笔试和口试。
【近义词】consist of 由……组成
【拓展】composition n. 成分;构成
all manner of 各种各样的
【例】They asked me all manner of questions.
他们问了我各种各样的问题。
【近义词】all kinds of 各种各样的
【拓展】manner n. 方式;样子
manners n. 礼貌;礼仪
Kitty was born in the right place, at the right time. Kato Norihiro, a cultural critic, has argued that she reflects the aftermath of the second world war. With no meaningful back story, Kitty represented the mood in Japan and "the impulse to escape history and to stop talking about it".
凯蒂在正确的时间出生在正确的地方。文化评论家加藤则宏认为凯蒂猫反映了第二次世界大战之后的世界。凯蒂猫没有什么意义深远的背景故事,而是代表了日本的情绪,以及"对历史避而不谈的冲动"。
aftermath n. (坏事)结束后的情况
【例】Millions died as an aftermath of war.
战争的后果是死了几百万人。
【搭配】in the aftermath of 在(坏事)之后
impulse n. 冲动
【例】He had/resisted a sudden impulse to sing.
他突然心血来潮想唱歌/他忍住了想唱歌的冲动。
【搭配】do sth on impulse 因冲动而做某事
【例】He tends to act on impulse.
他往往冲动行事。
shove sth under the rug/carpet 把某物藏在地毯下;掩盖
【例】Shoving issues under the rug ultimately causes more damage than addressing things directly.
把问题隐藏起来最终会比直接解决问题带来更大的伤害。
She emerged as "the perfect post-war icon", agrees Roland Kelts of Waseda University. "Japan's warrior nation was shoved under the rug and the message to Japan was: ‘Shhh, look cute and beautiful'."
早稻田大学的罗兰·凯尔特斯表示,凯蒂猫作为"完美的战后偶像"而出现。"日本的武士国家被掩盖起来,传达给日本的信息是:‘嘘,要看起来漂亮可爱。'"
aftermath n. (坏事)结束后的情况
【例】Millions died as an aftermath of war.
战争的后果是死了几百万人。
【搭配】in the aftermath of 在(坏事)之后
impulse n. 冲动
【例】He had/resisted a sudden impulse to sing.
他突然心血来潮想唱歌/他忍住了想唱歌的冲动。
【搭配】do sth on impulse 因冲动而做某事
【例】He tends to act on impulse.
他往往冲动行事。
shove sth under the rug/carpet 把某物藏在地毯下;掩盖
【例】Shoving issues under the rug ultimately causes more damage than addressing things directly.
把问题隐藏起来最终会比直接解决问题带来更大的伤害。
She also coincided with a changing social and economic landscape. In the 1970s women joined the workforce in greater numbers; they earned money and spent it on cute items for themselves.
凯蒂猫也与发生变化的社会和经济格局同时出现。在20世纪70年代,有更多女性加入劳动力大军,她们挣钱,并把钱花在给自己买可爱物品上。
coincide with 与……同时出现
【例】The heavy rain coincided with the harvest season.
暴雨出现的时候恰逢收获季。
【拓展】incident n. 发生的事件
coincidence n. 同时出现;巧合
falter v. 摇晃;不稳地走路;衰退
【例】His legs faltered.
他双腿发颤。
Her courage never falters.
她从未气馁过。
Yet even when Japan's economy faltered in the 1990s, Kitty remained popular. When the mood is sour, sweet things are even more desirable.
然而,即使在20世纪90年代日本经济崩溃时,凯蒂猫仍然很受欢迎。当心情酸涩时,甜美的东西就更加令人向往。
coincide with 与……同时出现
【例】The heavy rain coincided with the harvest season.
暴雨出现的时候恰逢收获季。
【拓展】incident n. 发生的事件
coincidence n. 同时出现;巧合
falter v. 摇晃;不稳地走路;衰退
【例】His legs faltered.
他双腿发颤。
Her courage never falters.
她从未气馁过。
课后练习
King Charles was feting ____.
A. a renowned entrepreneur
B. a UNICEF official
C. a fictional character
D. a Japanese illustrator
What is special about Kitty's face?
A. It has a cute and attractive expression.
B. It is simple and suitable for various items.
C. It reminds people of a little girl in London.
D. It has many details like whiskers and pointy ears.
According to Kato Norihiro and Roland Kelts, what does Kitty represent?
A. The glorious history of Japan before the second world war.
B. The new image of Japan featured by cuteness and beauty.
C. The guilt of Japanese people after the second world war.
D. The hidden ambition of Japan as a warrior nation.
One of the reasons for Kitty's popularity in the 1970s was ____.
A. the boom of the Japanese economy
B. the spending by working women
C. the sour mood after recession
D. the trend of popular culture