【英语时差8,16】超级英雄的本色

 Ethnic diversity is worming its way into the panels of superhero comic books and into the legions of people who love them, judging by the "diversity" of superheroes, storm troopers and anime Samurai who descended¹ on midtown Manhattan for the New York Comic Con². The throng³ of comics fans clad in homemade tributes to their favorite characters now includes heroes of color such as Mr. Terrific, Static Shock and Black Panther.

A Stan Lee creation who first appeared in 1966, Black Panther is the mainstream⁴ comics world's first black superhero.

Aiming to capitalize on the changing demographics of comic book fans, author Reggie Hudlin has been penning "Black Panther" as a side gig, bringing a racial sensibility to Marvel⁵ Comics that is helping⁶ to attract a more diverse audience.

"There's these other people who don't come into the comic book store, who come into it now because of Black Panther," boasts Hudlin.

And when it comes to race in comics, the big questions are not as other-worldly as one might think. Even at Comic Con, post-racialism rears its nagging⁷, pleading head. One middle-aged⁸ man tells Hudlin how much he liked Black Panther as a kid, "because he wasn't just another black guy. You know, when you put on a mask, you don't have skin color, you're just a hero like everybody else." 

1 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

2 con   

n.反对的观点，反对者，反对票，肺病；vt.精读，学习，默记；adv.反对地，从反面；adj.欺诈的

参考例句：

• We must be fair and consider the reason pro and con.我们必须公平考虑赞成和反对的理由。
• The motion is adopted non con.因无人投反对票，协议被通过。

3 throng   

n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集

参考例句：

• A patient throng was waiting in silence.一大群耐心的人在静静地等着。
• The crowds thronged into the mall.人群涌进大厅。

4 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

5 marvel   

vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事

参考例句：

• The robot is a marvel of modern engineering.机器人是现代工程技术的奇迹。
• The operation was a marvel of medical skill.这次手术是医术上的一个奇迹。

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

7 nagging   

adj.唠叨的，挑剔的；使人不得安宁的v.不断地挑剔或批评（某人）( nag的现在分词 )；不断地烦扰或伤害（某人）；无休止地抱怨；不断指责

参考例句：

• Stop nagging—I'll do it as soon as I can. 别唠叨了—我会尽快做的。
• I've got a nagging pain in my lower back. 我后背下方老是疼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 middle-aged   

adj.中年的

参考例句：

• I noticed two middle-aged passengers.我注意到两个中年乘客。
• The new skin balm was welcome by middle-aged women.这种新护肤香膏受到了中年妇女的欢迎。