2023考研英語(yǔ)閱讀芭比50年

　　Barbie at 50

　　芭比50年

　　In the pink

　　風(fēng)韻猶存

　　The versatile pink princess has moved with thetimes

　　千面女郎 與時(shí)共進(jìn)

　　Mulling another career change

　　考慮職業(yè)生涯的另一次改變

　　FROWNED upon by feminists but fought over by five-year-olds, Barbie has been a victim ofcontroversy as much as fashion ever since her birth, 50 years ago this month.

　　1959年3月9日，從誕生之日起就一邊作為時(shí)尚寵兒被5歲兒童爭(zhēng)奪而飽受爭(zhēng)議，一邊受到女權(quán)主義者的不滿。

　　The charge-sheet against the pint-sized piece of plastic is long.

　　這個(gè)塑料小人的罪行真是罄竹難書。

　　She teaches the supremacy of looks over substance;

　　她過分推崇外貌重于內(nèi)涵;

　　she stereotypes outdated gender roles;

　　她刻意強(qiáng)調(diào)過時(shí)的性別差異;

　　she celebrates an impossible body ideal;

　　她以超完美身材為榮，

　　and she spreads platinum hair, plastic limbs and a nauseating shade of pink intohouseholds from Honolulu to Hamburg.

　　她把天生的金發(fā)，塑料四肢，令人厭惡的粉紅色調(diào)從檀香山傳到漢堡的千萬戶家庭里。

　　Yet could it be that Barbie,

　　然而，這就是芭比娃娃，

　　far from being a relic from another era, is in fact a woman for our troubled economic times?

　　她并非是舊時(shí)的遺留，事實(shí)上，她也許是我們?cè)谂e步維艱的經(jīng)濟(jì)時(shí)代里一名女性的形象?

　　For a start, she may benefit from having a strong, reassuring brand in a downturn.

　　首先，在經(jīng)濟(jì)低迷期，她受益于擁有一個(gè)強(qiáng)勁的，令人放心的品牌。

　　Although global Barbie sales fell by 9% in 2008, battering profits at Mattel, her maker,Barbie topped the 2008 survey by America s National Retail Federation of the most populargirls toys, relegating even the Nintendo Wii to fifth place.

　　2008年，雖然全球的芭比娃娃銷量下降了9 % ，消弱了她的生產(chǎn)商美泰公司的利潤(rùn)，但在美國(guó)全國(guó)零售商聯(lián)合會(huì)評(píng)選的最受歡迎的女孩玩具中名列榜首，而任天堂Wii降級(jí)至第五位。

　　And she has just seen off her hipper rivals, the Bratz.

　　她送別了她競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手， 布拉茲娃娃。

　　After a long legal battle, a federal judge recently ordered their maker, MGA, to transfer thetrademark rights to Mattel.

　　經(jīng)過了漫長(zhǎng)的官司，一位聯(lián)邦法官最近下令其制造商，垂詢MGA ，轉(zhuǎn)讓商標(biāo)權(quán)給美泰。

　　Barbie is once again the queen of the toyshop.

　　芭比娃娃再次問鼎玩具商店。

　　In previous recessions toy sales held up reasonably well, as parents cut back elsewhere.

　　在以往經(jīng)濟(jì)衰退歲月里，當(dāng)父母削減其他地方的開支時(shí)，玩具銷售都相當(dāng)不錯(cuò)。

　　As the recession deepens, Barbie s conservative values are also back in vogue.

　　隨著經(jīng)濟(jì)衰退的加深，芭比娃娃保守價(jià)值觀又重新流行。

　　Amid concern about rampant individualism and excess, she evokes a simpler, gentler era.

　　由于擔(dān)心個(gè)人主義猖獗泛濫，芭比開創(chuàng)了一個(gè)較簡(jiǎn)單，溫和的時(shí)代。

　　And since staying in is the new going out, little girls will have more time for old-fashionedplay.

　　暫時(shí)的停下來是為了迎接一個(gè)新的開始，小女孩們將有更多的時(shí)間與芭比娃娃玩耍。

　　Barbie also embodies career flexibility, a valuable attribute in difficult times.

　　其次，芭比娃娃也體現(xiàn)了職業(yè)生涯的靈活性，這在困難時(shí)期非常珍貴。

　　Having starting out as a fashion model in a black-and-white striped bathing suit, she tiptoedinto other professions as fast as they were invented.

　　從一開始身穿黑白條紋游泳衣的時(shí)裝模特，她永遠(yuǎn)踮著腳尖準(zhǔn)備穿上高跟鞋到任何新的職業(yè)領(lǐng)域。

　　She was an air hostess in the 1960s as mass aviation took off, an aerobics instructor withleg-warmers in the 1980s, and even a black presidential candidate four years before BarackObama.

　　在上世紀(jì)60年代，民用航空起飛時(shí)，她是一名空中小姐。80年代，她是一個(gè)穿著暖腿襪的健美操指導(dǎo)員。甚至四年前在奧巴馬當(dāng)選前，她就是一名黑人總統(tǒng)候選人了。

　　Time for a new Barbie, dressed as a distressed-debt investor?

　　時(shí)間賦予了全新的芭比，下次她也許打扮成一名受債務(wù)困擾的投資者?

　　詞語(yǔ)解釋

　　1.versatile a.多才多藝的;通用的

　　Versatile actors can play all kinds of roles.

　　多才多藝的演員能演各種類型的角色。

　　2.controversy n.爭(zhēng)議;爭(zhēng)論

　　The mayor will try to accord the controversyover the housing scheme.

　　市長(zhǎng)試圖調(diào)解住房規(guī)劃方面的爭(zhēng)議。

　　3.supremacy n.至高;主權(quán);最高權(quán)力或地位

　　The indirect democracy, the representative government, is based on the principle ofpopular supremacy.

　　人民主權(quán)原則作為代議制民主建立的主要理論根據(jù)，成為現(xiàn)代國(guó)家政治統(tǒng)治合法性的前提和基礎(chǔ)。

　　4.platinum n.白金;鉑

　　Platinum is used to make jewelry.

　　白金常常用來做珠寶飾物。

　　5.limb n.肢體;枝干;樹枝

　　Men and women have four limbs; two arms and two legs.

　　人都有四肢，兩只胳膊兩條腿。

　　Barbie at 50

　　芭比50年

　　In the pink

　　風(fēng)韻猶存

　　The versatile pink princess has moved with thetimes

　　千面女郎 與時(shí)共進(jìn)

　　Mulling another career change

　　考慮職業(yè)生涯的另一次改變

　　FROWNED upon by feminists but fought over by five-year-olds, Barbie has been a victim ofcontroversy as much as fashion ever since her birth, 50 years ago this month.

　　1959年3月9日，從誕生之日起就一邊作為時(shí)尚寵兒被5歲兒童爭(zhēng)奪而飽受爭(zhēng)議，一邊受到女權(quán)主義者的不滿。

　　The charge-sheet against the pint-sized piece of plastic is long.

　　這個(gè)塑料小人的罪行真是罄竹難書。

　　She teaches the supremacy of looks over substance;

　　她過分推崇外貌重于內(nèi)涵;

　　she stereotypes outdated gender roles;

　　她刻意強(qiáng)調(diào)過時(shí)的性別差異;

　　she celebrates an impossible body ideal;

　　她以超完美身材為榮，

　　and she spreads platinum hair, plastic limbs and a nauseating shade of pink intohouseholds from Honolulu to Hamburg.

　　她把天生的金發(fā)，塑料四肢，令人厭惡的粉紅色調(diào)從檀香山傳到漢堡的千萬戶家庭里。

　　Yet could it be that Barbie,

　　然而，這就是芭比娃娃，

　　far from being a relic from another era, is in fact a woman for our troubled economic times?

　　她并非是舊時(shí)的遺留，事實(shí)上，她也許是我們?cè)谂e步維艱的經(jīng)濟(jì)時(shí)代里一名女性的形象?

　　For a start, she may benefit from having a strong, reassuring brand in a downturn.

　　首先，在經(jīng)濟(jì)低迷期，她受益于擁有一個(gè)強(qiáng)勁的，令人放心的品牌。

　　Although global Barbie sales fell by 9% in 2008, battering profits at Mattel, her maker,Barbie topped the 2008 survey by America s National Retail Federation of the most populargirls toys, relegating even the Nintendo Wii to fifth place.

　　2008年，雖然全球的芭比娃娃銷量下降了9 % ，消弱了她的生產(chǎn)商美泰公司的利潤(rùn)，但在美國(guó)全國(guó)零售商聯(lián)合會(huì)評(píng)選的最受歡迎的女孩玩具中名列榜首，而任天堂Wii降級(jí)至第五位。

　　And she has just seen off her hipper rivals, the Bratz.

　　她送別了她競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手， 布拉茲娃娃。

　　After a long legal battle, a federal judge recently ordered their maker, MGA, to transfer thetrademark rights to Mattel.

　　經(jīng)過了漫長(zhǎng)的官司，一位聯(lián)邦法官最近下令其制造商，垂詢MGA ，轉(zhuǎn)讓商標(biāo)權(quán)給美泰。

　　Barbie is once again the queen of the toyshop.

　　芭比娃娃再次問鼎玩具商店。

　　In previous recessions toy sales held up reasonably well, as parents cut back elsewhere.

　　在以往經(jīng)濟(jì)衰退歲月里，當(dāng)父母削減其他地方的開支時(shí)，玩具銷售都相當(dāng)不錯(cuò)。

　　As the recession deepens, Barbie s conservative values are also back in vogue.

　　隨著經(jīng)濟(jì)衰退的加深，芭比娃娃保守價(jià)值觀又重新流行。

　　Amid concern about rampant individualism and excess, she evokes a simpler, gentler era.

　　由于擔(dān)心個(gè)人主義猖獗泛濫，芭比開創(chuàng)了一個(gè)較簡(jiǎn)單，溫和的時(shí)代。

　　And since staying in is the new going out, little girls will have more time for old-fashionedplay.

　　暫時(shí)的停下來是為了迎接一個(gè)新的開始，小女孩們將有更多的時(shí)間與芭比娃娃玩耍。

　　Barbie also embodies career flexibility, a valuable attribute in difficult times.

　　其次，芭比娃娃也體現(xiàn)了職業(yè)生涯的靈活性，這在困難時(shí)期非常珍貴。

　　Having starting out as a fashion model in a black-and-white striped bathing suit, she tiptoedinto other professions as fast as they were invented.

　　從一開始身穿黑白條紋游泳衣的時(shí)裝模特，她永遠(yuǎn)踮著腳尖準(zhǔn)備穿上高跟鞋到任何新的職業(yè)領(lǐng)域。

　　She was an air hostess in the 1960s as mass aviation took off, an aerobics instructor withleg-warmers in the 1980s, and even a black presidential candidate four years before BarackObama.

　　在上世紀(jì)60年代，民用航空起飛時(shí)，她是一名空中小姐。80年代，她是一個(gè)穿著暖腿襪的健美操指導(dǎo)員。甚至四年前在奧巴馬當(dāng)選前，她就是一名黑人總統(tǒng)候選人了。

　　Time for a new Barbie, dressed as a distressed-debt investor?

　　時(shí)間賦予了全新的芭比，下次她也許打扮成一名受債務(wù)困擾的投資者?

　　詞語(yǔ)解釋

　　1.versatile a.多才多藝的;通用的

　　Versatile actors can play all kinds of roles.

　　多才多藝的演員能演各種類型的角色。

　　2.controversy n.爭(zhēng)議;爭(zhēng)論

　　The mayor will try to accord the controversyover the housing scheme.

　　市長(zhǎng)試圖調(diào)解住房規(guī)劃方面的爭(zhēng)議。

　　3.supremacy n.至高;主權(quán);最高權(quán)力或地位

　　The indirect democracy, the representative government, is based on the principle ofpopular supremacy.

　　人民主權(quán)原則作為代議制民主建立的主要理論根據(jù)，成為現(xiàn)代國(guó)家政治統(tǒng)治合法性的前提和基礎(chǔ)。

　　4.platinum n.白金;鉑

　　Platinum is used to make jewelry.

　　白金常常用來做珠寶飾物。

　　5.limb n.肢體;枝干;樹枝

　　Men and women have four limbs; two arms and two legs.

　　人都有四肢，兩只胳膊兩條腿。