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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
本周"文化冲击"追踪到的新潮流来自日本。尼科尔·法奥为我们带来报道。尼科尔,据说日本的婚礼正在发生着变化。
注释:
ostentatious adj. 夸张的,虚饰的,外观美丽的
facsimile n. 精摹,复制
don v. 穿(衣),装出……的样子
perm n. 电烫的头发
Trends in Japan
THE HOST: Now this week's trend track down on Culture Shock comes from Tokyo where Nicole Fall is on the line. Nicole, I understand that weddings are changing in Japan.
NICOLE: That's right. Weddings have become more bespoke in Japan.
THE HOST: And I've heard that they are looking for a more Western-style ostentatious wedding, the big white dress wedding.
NICOLE: Absolutely. You may even see a Christian4 element, a Shinto element (Shinto being the local religion) and as many as four changes of dress in one wedding.
THE HOST: And churches are being built, not real churches, but I suppose facsimiles of churches. Some of them being built in shopping malls.
NICOLE: That's right. People can get married here in shopping malls that were built a few years ago and inside there will be a replica church taken from the middle ages in terms of image and while shoppers trudge around with bags of shopping, you'll see the happy couple walking down an aisle5 and crowds of people celebrating their wedding day.
THE HOST: Solves the problem for those quests who have forgotten to buy a present, I guess.
NICOLE: Absolutely. And I suppose their outfit6 too.
THE HOST: Next middle-aged7 men driving the fashion market in an unexpected direction.
NICOLE: Yes, these middle-aged men in Japan are known as Choi Waru Oyaji. And the translation of this is middle-aged men who are a bit naughty.
THE HOST: Aren't they all?
NICOLE: What these middle-aged men are doing that is different from their predecessors8 is instead of wearing boring grey suits and their comb-over hairstyles, they are all shaving their heads and donning things like lime green jackets
THE HOST: Why now? What's changed to make these men wake up and start dressing9 in this completely unexpected way?
NICOLE: I think one of their style leaders was the former prime minister Koizumi who was immensely proud of his perm and here was this politician, or the prime minister of the country standing10 there and all of a sudden you had a generation of middle-aged men thinking oh maybe there is hope for all of us.
THE HOST: They were really taking their fashion cues from their political leaders, were they?
NICOLE: Political leaders were one of the fashion cues. Another is that in Japan things really are changing here. Women traditionally would leave the workplace after getting married, but finally women are pushing the glass ceiling and staying in the work place. Now men are surrounded by women and it's vanity also playing a factor.
日本的新潮流
主持人:本周"文化冲击"追踪到的新潮流来自日本。尼科尔·法奥为我们带来报道。尼科尔,据说日本的婚礼正在发生着变化。
尼科尔:是的,这里的婚礼越来越繁琐,每一步都需要预先定制好。
主持人:我听说,人们都向往夸张华丽的西式婚礼,穿着大大白色礼服的婚礼。
尼科尔:没错,你甚至可以在一场婚礼中同时找到天主教跟神道教(日本独有的宗教)的元素,人们可能会换四套不同的礼服。
主持人:而且他们还在修建教堂,但不是真正的教堂,我想那只是精致的复制品,有些甚至被建在购物中心里面。
尼科尔:正是如此,人们可以在这里举行婚礼,购物中心落成才不过几年前,而里面的教堂却是仿中世纪的建筑。你可以看到,当顾客们拎着刚买的东西蹒跚而行时,快乐的新婚夫妇正走下侧廊,接受亲友们的祝福。
主持人:我猜,这倒是方便了那些忘记带礼物的宾客。
尼科尔:没错,他们的套装也有着落了。
主持人:下一条,中年男士正将时尚的潮流引往一个意想不到的方向。
尼科尔:是的,这些人在日本被称为"老小伙儿",意指有点调皮的中年男子。
主持人:所有中年男士都这样么?
尼科尔:这些中年男子区别于前人的地方在于,他们不再坚持固有的形象,穿死板的灰色西装,将头发梳得整整齐齐,相反,他们剃着光头,还穿朗姆绿色的夹克。
主持人:这种改变为什么在此时出现?是什么让这些男人突然转型,完全变换了着装方式?
尼科尔:我想,这一潮流的兴起,很大程度上要归功于前首相小泉纯一郎,那个陶醉于自己电烫卷发的政治家。他作为一个政客,一个国家首相,就那样站在众人面前,一夜之间,整整一代中年男人都开始琢磨,啊,也许我们都还有希望。
主持人:他们是从自己的政治领袖那里得到这个流行暗示的,是这样么?
尼科尔:政治领袖的形象只是暗示之一,还有一个在于日本的社会的确正在变化。传统观念上女人婚后都会辞掉工作,但是现在,她们打破了这一旧习,即使结了婚也仍然出来工作。所以,这些生活在女人们中间的男人,之所以努力改变形象,也有虚荣心作祟的因素。
1 bespoke | |
adj.(产品)订做的;专做订货的v.预定( bespeak的过去式 );订(货);证明;预先请求 | |
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2 replica | |
n.复制品 | |
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3 trudge | |
v.步履艰难地走;n.跋涉,费力艰难的步行 | |
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4 Christian | |
adj.基督教徒的;n.基督教徒 | |
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5 aisle | |
n.(教堂、教室、戏院等里的)过道,通道 | |
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6 outfit | |
n.(为特殊用途的)全套装备,全套服装 | |
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7 middle-aged | |
adj.中年的 | |
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8 predecessors | |
n.前任( predecessor的名词复数 );前辈;(被取代的)原有事物;前身 | |
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9 dressing | |
n.(食物)调料;包扎伤口的用品,敷料 | |
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10 standing | |
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
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