【华盛顿邮报2016.01.29期】原文+翻译+精读笔记.docxVIP

本文选自本文选自华盛顿邮报2016.01.29期，是有关美泰公司推出芭比娃娃新造型的一篇文章，下面给出参考译文，如有不妥，欢迎指出！【原文】Mattel gets real about bodies and expands Barbie lineupBody types petite, tall and curvy join the standard Barbie in a makeover announced by toy giant Mattel. Company executives said the dolls are intended to better reflect real women.Sarah Halzack | 666 wordsFor years now, theres been a familiar refrain about Barbie dolls: What kind of message are we sending to girls when the beloved toy comes with body proportions that are unrealistic even for a supermodel?On Thursday, Mattel announced a major makeover to the doll that is squarely aimed at addressing those concerns. And, to be sure, its also a bid to boost sales at a pivotal moment for the toymaking giant.Mattel has added three new body types to the line: petite, tall and curvy. The traditional Barbie body, with its tiny waist, big bust and outsize head, will remain in the lineup, but the roster of Barbies will include seven skin tones, 22 eye colors and 24 hairstyles. It is an effort to bring some diversity to the dolls.In a video announcing the changes, Mattel executives cast the move as an act of progressivism, an acknowledgment that they think it is simply the right thing to do to have their doll collection better reflect real women.This is radical. Because were saying there isnt this narrow standard of what a beautiful body looks like, Robert Best, senior director of product design, says in the video.The video includes shots of a diverse group of girls playing with the dolls, echoing similar sentiments.Its important for Barbies to look different. You know, like the real people in the world, one little girl says.Another girl, toting a Barbie in each hand, declares, I like them, because this one looks like me and this one looks like my mom.The line of dolls with varied body types was available for order on Mattels website Thursday and will be hitting store shelves throughout the spring.Mocking Barbies body proportions had become something of a sport in recent years, with viral stories abounding online about how clownish they would look if replicated on a real person.The dolls shape has long been held up as an emblem of persistent, unrealistic beauty standards for women.By adding new body types, Mattel is aiming to change that conversation around one of its flagship products.I dont know why Mattel waited this long, but Im glad theyre doing it, said Arun Jain, a marketing professor at the University at Buffalo. And it should help them.Barbies new body shapes are part of a broader effort by Mattel to recalibrate its toy assortment for a confluence of cultural changes, for a moment when Americas nonwhite population is growing, when plus-size clothing brands are challenging traditional standards of beauty, and when parents are deeply conscious of gender-based stereotypes.For example, this spring, Mattel plans to roll out a toy line called DC Super Hero Girls. The collection of action figures, which portrays DC Comics characters such as Wonder Woman, is meant to offer to girls an alternative to the uber-girly, dainty dolls that are typically marketed to them.There is a clear dollars-and-cents incentive for Mattel to change its iconic doll: The company is desperately looking to regain momentum after it lost the license to produce Disney Princess toys. Disney took that business to toymaking rival Hasbro, leaving Mattel without one of its key cash cows. There have been other signs of unease at the company, too, including a chief executive shake-up about a year ago after profits slumped and some of Mattels big brands stumbled.There have been signs for some time that the Barbie brand was not quite connecting with shoppers the way it once did. Barbie remains one of the best-selling dolls in the world, but sales have been soft recently.By giving Barbie a variety of body types, Mattel is making a two-pronged gamble: Its hoping to appeal directly to girls who might be more enticed by a doll that looks more like them, and its hoping to persuade parents to open their wallets by creating a feel-good, progressive halo around the dolls.The company has also moved to revitalize Barbie by taking her high-tech: This holiday season, it began selling Hello Barbie, a doll that uses voice-recognition software to have conversations with a child.【参考译文】美泰公司采用真人体型，芭比娃娃扩阵容玩具行业巨头美泰公司宣布将对标准体型的芭比娃娃进行改造，娇小型、高挑型和丰腴型娃娃加入芭比阵容。公司管理层表示，这些玩具娃娃能够更好地展现真实的女性形象。多年来，芭比娃娃一直存在一个饱受争议的问题：女孩们心爱的玩具不切实际、拥有超模都无法具备的身体比例，这究竟在向她们传达什么信息呢？上周四，美泰公司宣布对芭比娃娃进行“大改造”，正是为了解决以上问题。当然，这也是美泰公司在此关键时刻用来促销的举措。美泰推出了三种新体型：娇小型、高挑型和丰腴型。传统的有着纤细的腰身，丰满的胸部，以及不相称的大头的芭比娃娃仍会继续生产，而芭比娃娃的阵容将包括7种肤色、22种眼眸颜色和24种发型，来展现娃娃的多样性。在通告视频中，公司高层们称此次改变为进步的举措，他们认为这是为体现女性真实形象所做的一件正确的事。“这是一次重大的改变。因为我们想表达的是完美身材的标准并不是狭隘单一的，”资深产品设计总监罗伯特贝斯特在视频中说道。视频中出现了不同的女孩玩洋娃娃的镜头，恰好印证了上述观点。“芭比娃娃设定形态各异很有必要。你知道的，就像现实世界中的人们各不相同，”一个小女孩说。另一个女孩双手各拎着一个芭比娃娃说道，“我很喜欢他们俩，因为这一个看起来像我，这一个像我的妈妈。”上周四，这一系列身形各异的芭比娃娃已在美泰官网预售，今年春季将会在实体店上架销售。近几年来，人们对芭比娃娃身材的打趣已成为一种娱乐形式，网络上疯传着这类言论芭比娃娃的身体比例如果变成真人，看起来将会非常滑稽。芭比的身材一直以来都被视为女性一贯不切实际的审美标准的象征。美泰公司通过增加新产品来改变人们对其主打产品芭比娃娃的看法。一位来自布法罗大学的市场营销学教授阿伦杰恩谈到：“我不知道为什么美泰等了这么久才做出改变，但我很高兴他们正在改变，这会对他们有所裨益。”现如今，美国的非白人人口日渐增多，各类大码服装品牌挑战着传统的审美标准，家长们也深刻意识到基于性别指向的陈腐观念。美泰为了适应这种文化变迁，从而对玩具类型重新定位，努力打造出了芭比的新造型。例如，今年春季，美泰公司计划推出“DC超级英雄少女”系列产品。这一系列人偶刻画了DC漫画中如神奇女侠之类的人物形象，为女孩们提供了另一种选择，跟之前专门为她们设计的女性化的、娇美的公仔不同。毋庸置疑，美泰公司对其主打产品芭比娃娃作出改型是出于经济原因。美泰失去迪士尼公主系列玩偶的生产授权后，急于寻找机会重整旗鼓。迪斯尼把业务移交到美泰的竞争对手孩之宝（Hasbro）手中，美泰从而失去了一个关键的利润源。其实还有很多迹象表明美泰公司经营不利，包括一年以前因利润下滑、一些大品牌运营不当，导致公司高层进行重组。近年来可以看出芭比的品牌形象不再像以前那样深受消费者的喜爱。虽然芭比依旧是世界上最畅销的玩偶之一，但其近期销量一直很不景气。美泰为芭比打造出各类体型，是一个双管齐下的战略：一是希望吸引到那类更喜欢与自己容貌相似的芭比的女孩，二是希望为芭比营造出一种良好的、向上的氛围，促使家长花钱购买。美泰还利用高科技技术让芭比娃娃更加神灵活现。这个假期，公司新推出的“你好芭比”(Hello Barbie)即可应用语音识别软件与孩子们进行对话。【词汇短语】Mattel n. 美泰公司（全球最大的玩具生产商之一；生产芭比娃娃的制造商）lineup n. Alineupis a group of people or a series of things that have been gathered together to be part of a particular event. 阵容; 阵列例：This is Brazils strongest lineup since the 1994 World Cup. 这是自1994年世界杯以来，巴西最强的选手阵容。petite adj. If you describe a woman aspetite, you are politely saying that she is small and is not fat. 娇小的 例：She was of below average height, petite and slender. 她低于平均身高，娇小且苗条。a familiar refrain 耳熟能详的老调（此处引申为饱受争议的问题）refrain n. Arefrainis a comment or saying that people often repeat. 一再重复的话例：Rosas constant refrain is that she doesnt have a life.罗莎总是不断重复的一句话就是她生活得很无聊。v. If yourefrainfromdoing something, you deliberately do not do it. 忍住; 克制例：Mrs. Hardie refrained from making any comment.哈迪太太忍住了没做任何评论。addressconcern 解决问题Toaddressthisconcern,hewouldhave tofurtheranalysesubjectsbrainresponsestoindividualitems.为了解决这些问题，他将会进一步分析受试者观看各种事物的大脑反应。be a bid to 为了 ; 力求 ; 试图 ; 以便例：The paymentisabidtoavoidprotracteddeportationbattles. 这笔款项是为了避免驱逐出境的战斗越拖越长。boost sales 促销，推动销售例：HesaidgettingmoreNapawinesonrestaurant listsinChinawould helpboostsales. 他说，让更多纳帕产葡萄酒进入中国餐馆有助于促进销售。pivotal adj. Apivotalrole, point, or figure in something is one that is very important and affects the success of that thing. 关键的例：The elections may prove to be pivotal in Colombias political history. 这些选举也许会证明其在哥伦比亚政治史上是至关重要的。radicaladj. Radicalchanges and differences are very important and great in degree. 重大的; 彻底的例：The country needs a period of calm without more surges of radical change. 这个国家需要一段平静的时期，不再有重大变化所引发的动荡。mockv. If someonemocksyou, they show or pretend that they think you are foolish or inferior, for example by saying something funny about you, or by imitating your behaviour. 嘲笑; (为了取笑) 模仿例：I thought you were mocking me. 我以为你在嘲笑我。replicatev. If youreplicatesomeones experiment, work, or research, you do it yourself in exactly the same way. 复制; 重做(试验、工作或研究)例：He invited her to his laboratory to see if she could replicate the experiment.他邀请她到他的实验室看她能否复制该实验。flagship n. Theflagshipof a group of things that are owned or produced by a particular organization is the most important one. 王牌产品,旗舰例：The company plans to open a flagship shop in New York this month.该公司计划本月在纽约开一家旗舰店。assortment n. Anassortmentis a group of similar things that are of different sizes or colours or have different qualities. 花色品种例：.an assortment of cheese. 一堆各式各样的奶酪。confluence n. Theconfluenceoftwo rivers is the place where they join and become one larger river. 合流处; 汇合处例：The 160-metre falls mark the dramatic confluence of the rivers Nera and Velino.这处160米的瀑布是维拉河和维里诺河壮观的汇合处的标志。stereotypes1.n. Astereotypeis a fixed general image or set of characteristics that a lot of people believe represent a particular type of person or thing. 模式化形象; 成见例：Theres always been a stereotype about successful businessmen. 对成功的商人们总有一种成见。2.v. If someoneis stereotypedas something, people form a fixed general idea or image of them, so that it is assumed that they will behave in a particular way. 把模式化; 对产生成见例：He was stereotyped by some as a renegade. 他被一些人带着成见视为一名叛逆者。roll out 推出 (新产品或服务)例：On Thursday Microsoft rolls out its new operating system. 在星期四微软推出了它的新操作系统。uber-girly 特别女性化的Dainty adj. If you describe a movement, person, or object asdainty, you mean that they are small, delicate, and pretty. 娇小漂亮的例：The girls were dainty and feminine.m 这些女子们