[E331]Twice bitten|经济学人
本文音频及原文摘自杂志The Economist《经济学人》2016年第4期，Asia版块。
East Asia’s talent agencies
Youngsters pay a high price for their stardom
Jan 23rd 2016|SEOUL,TAIPEI AND TOKYO
MILLIONS in Taiwan woke up on election day to a video of a 16-year-old pop star, Chou Tzu-yu, making an abject apology[求饶;告饶;低声下气地道歉;负荆请罪]. Her sin[罪恶;罪孽;过失] had been to seem to back Taiwan’s independence, by flaunting its national flag on television. “There’s only one China,” she parroted in the video. It smacked of[带有…味道，有点像] a lynching and did no harm to Tsai Ing-wen with her call for Taiwan to distance itself from[远离] China, whose hand many saw in the bullying[恃强欺弱;欺负;威吓].
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▷ abject ['æbdʒɛkt]
【释义】If it reeks of humiliation or looks like the lowest of lows, then you can safely describe it as abject.
adj. 卑鄙的;可怜的;不幸的
He is an abject liar.
他是一个卑鄙的说谎者/骗子。
▷ flaunt [flɔnt]
【释义】Flaunt is "to display proudly or show off," like when you flaunt your new Italian leather jacket by wearing it to the beach and pretending you're cold to make sure everyone sees it.
vt. 炫耀;飘扬
vi. 飘扬;夸耀
Flaunt your age and you must not have much longer to live.
卖老要活不长的.
▷ parrot ['pærət]
【释义】repeat mindlessly
n. 鹦鹉;学舌者;机械模仿别人的人
vt. 机械地模仿
▷ lynching ['lɪntʃɪŋ]
【释义】A lynching is an unlawful murder by an angry mob of people. Throughout history, dominant groups have used lynchings as a way of controlling minorities.
n. 处以私刑;处私刑杀害
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In fact, a more likely culprit was Ms Chou’s employer, JYP Entertainment, a South Korean talent agency. Its shares plunged[大跌/骤降(a steep and rapid fall)] after Chinese television cancelled a lucrative booking[(专业演出者)演出合同/契约] for Ms Chou’s group, Twice. With more contracts[=booking] under threat, it seems likely Ms Chou was pushed in front of the camera to smooth ruffled Chinese feathers.
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▷ culprit ['kʌlprɪt]
【释义】A culprit is a person who does something wrong, like committing a crime. When your wallet got stolen out of your pocket, there was a culprit to blame in the crowd.
n. 犯人，罪犯；被控犯罪的人
The culprit then may not be one angler, but all of them.
这样的话，元凶就可能不是一个垂钓者，而是他们所有人。
▷ lucrative ['lukrətɪv]
【释义】Use lucrative to refer to a business or investment that makes money. The drug trade has proved very lucrative, if dangerous, for people willing to risk their lives to take part in it.
adj. 有利可图的，赚钱的；合算的
It was quite a lucrative sideline.
这份兼职很赚钱。
▷ smooth (somebody's) ruffled feathers
【释义】to try to make someone feel less angry or upset, especially after an argument;to make oneself (or somebody else) feel less irritated or offended
平息怒气
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Like the Japanese companies they mimic[模仿,摹拟], South Korea’s talent agencies have a fearsome['fɪəs(ə)m][可怕的;害怕的;极大的] reputation for controlling their young stars. In 2014 the government set new rules to protect underage recruits. Many endure years-long boot camps[新兵训练营], living in dormitories; many have to undergo plastic surgery[整形手术].
Also dragged to[被拉去;拖去] say sorry this week were the five, now middle-aged, members of Japan’s most popular boy band, SMAP. They scotched rumours of a split, but the terseness of their apology for “causing trouble” made it clear they were not there entirely by choice. SMAP’s agency, Johnny & Associates, has for years been dogged by accusations[遭受指责;控告] that it exploits its young charges[被照料的孩子], commercially and even sexually. Japanese television depends heavily on the roster[花名册;名单(a list of names)]of stars it and other entertainment companies provide, and so is suspected of turning a blind eye to[对…故意视而不见;对…假装不见] their excesses[暴行;过分/越轨行为].
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▷ scotch [skɑtʃ]
【释义】Don't get your hopes up: The verb to scotch has nothing to do with the well-known liquor. Instead, it means to prevent or stop something from happening.
vi. 破除;挫败;扑灭;镇压
to scotch a rumour
戳穿谣言
▷ terseness ['tɝsnɪs]
【释义】a neatly short and concise expressive style
n. 简洁;精练
What strikes at a first reading is its vividness and terseness.
初读时它给人的印象是生动和简洁.
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Many young stars are banned from dating. In 2013 Minami Minegishi[峯岸南], of the all-girl group AKB48, shaved her head[剃光头] and made a tear-stained[带泪痕的;泪水沾湿的] act of contrition[痛悔;悔悟] after being snapped emerging from a tryst[幽会,约会] at her boyfriend’s apartment. The Tokyo District Court struck a blow for[帮助;支持,拥护;为…而战斗]her and others this week. It rejected a suit by a talent agency against one of its former stars for breaking her contract by dating a fan. The court said the contract “restricted her freedom to pursue happiness[限制了她追求幸福的自由]”.
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以上言论不代表本人立场，摘自《经济学人》杂志，仅外语学习之用。查看来源请点击“阅读原文”。