国宴上的范思哲 米歇尔传递的强烈信号

 　　On Tuesday night, at her final state dinner as first lady, Michelle Obama solidified¹ her legacy² as perhaps the most adept³ and successful practitioner⁴ of the art of political dressing⁵ that any administration has seen.

　　周二晚上，米歇尔?奥巴马(Michelle Obama)以第一夫人的身份参加她的最后一个国事晚宴时，巩固了她的政治遗产——她是历届政府中最熟练、最成功的政治着装艺术实践者。

　　Her choice of an Atelier Versace gown for the Italy state dinner was not only a nice bit of sartorial⁶ diplomacy⁷ — Versace being an Italian success story, a company often touted⁸ as a candidate for a public offering — but, coming less than a week after her magnetic speech in New Hampshire on women and respect, it went far beyond being simply an ambassadorial nod to a guest country’s talent and made a powerful subliminal⁹ statement.

　　她身着范思哲高定(Atelier Versace)参加意大利国宴，这不仅是很出色的时装外交——范思哲是意大利的成功品牌，一直传说要上市——不到一周前，她刚在新罕布什尔州就女性和尊重议题发表了一个非常精彩的演讲，她选择这件礼服远远不止是对来访国家的人才所做的外交致意，同时也是在下意识地表达一个强有力的声明。

　　The dress, after all, was made of rose gold … chain mail.

　　要知道这件衣服还是玫瑰金色的……护身铠甲。

　　As much as it was gracefully¹⁰ cut and draped, it also spoke¹¹ of armor and female strength, of the need to gird yourself to fight for what you believe in.

　　它不仅拥有优雅的裁剪和褶裥，同时也是对防御和女性力量的表达，暗示需要做好准备，为信仰而战。

　　And it was designed by Donatella Versace, a woman who was famously thrust into one of the most difficult situations of all: having to take over and preserve the company founded by her brother after his murder in Miami.

　　而且大家都知道，它的设计师多娜泰拉?范思哲(Donatella Versace)是一个挺身而出、直面困境的女性：当哥哥在迈阿密遇害后，她不得不接手并扛起他所创办的这家公司。

　　And who, despite a fair number of doubts, has ultimately triumphed — in part by transforming the aesthetic¹² of her company from one built on the power of sex to one built on the power of self.

　　尽管面临着相当多的质疑，她最终还是取得了成功——部分是因为她将这个品牌的美学标准从基于性的力量转移了自我的力量上。

　　After all, Ms Versace did describe her most recent women’s wear collection, shown in Milan last month, as, all about a woman’s freedom: freedom of movement, freedom of activity, freedom to fight for their ideas, freedom to be whomever you want to be.

　　要知道，对于上个月在米兰亮相的范思哲最新女装系列，范思哲女士进行过这样的描述，它们完全关乎女人的自由：行动自由、活动自由、为自己的理念而战的自由，你想要成为什么人的自由。

　　And she set it to a soundtrack by the trance duo Violet + Photonz that featured the statement that it was time for women to take the lead.

　　她为这个系列选择的背景音乐是迷幻音乐二人组Violet+ Photonz的作品，里面表达的是让女性带头的时候到了。

　　Given the current political conversation in the United States, think that’s a coincidence? Think that escaped the East Wing?

　　鉴于美国目前的政治对话，你认为这是巧合吗？你认为这没有被白宫东翼注意到吗？

　　Especially given that Mrs Obama has worn other Italian labels, including Gucci (on The Ellen DeGeneres Show last month), Missoni (during her 2013 trip to Italy and Britain with her daughters) and a black-and-white print Giambattista Valli earlier in the day when she and the president greeted Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and his wife, Agnese Landini.

　　特别是考虑到奥巴马夫人曾穿过其他意大利品牌，包括Gucci（上个月的《艾伦秀》上），Missoni（2013年她和两个女儿去意大利和英国旅行的时候），以及她和总统迎接意大利总理马泰奥?伦齐(Matteo Renzi)及夫人阿涅塞?兰迪尼(Agnese Landini)的当天，她穿的是一件黑白印花的Giambattista Valli。

　　But, until Tuesday evening, she had not appeared in Versace.

　　但在本周二晚上之前，她从没有公开穿过范思哲。

　　Especially because Ms Versace designed the gown specifically for Mrs Obama, according to a company spokeswoman.

　　尤其是因为范思哲女士专门为奥巴马夫人设计了这身礼服——该公司发言人说道。

　　Especially because Ms Versace then said, I am humbled¹³ and honored to have the opportunity to dress the first lady of the United States, Michelle Obama.

　　尤其是因为范思哲女士说：有机会为美国第一夫人米歇尔?奥巴马设计衣服，本人深感谦卑与荣幸。

　　Thank you Michelle for all the things you did for America and for the rest of the world, for the women in the U.S. and the rest of the world.

　　谢谢米歇尔，谢谢你为美国和世界其他地方，为美国和世界其他地方的女性所做的一切。

　　The first lady’s wardrobe adviser¹⁴, Meredith Koop, is on record as telling Harper’s Bazaar¹⁵ that when engaging in cross-border events, Mrs Obama always takes into account a country’s cultural norms and attempts to pay tribute.

　　第一夫人的着装顾问梅雷迪思?科普(Meredith Koop)有一次告诉《哈泼斯芭莎》杂志(Harper’s Bazaar)，在参与国事活动时，米歇尔总是会考虑到对方国家的文化范式，并试图向其致以敬意。

　　During her eight years in the White House and 14 state dinners, Mrs Obama has not always hewed¹⁶ to this policy (at the Nordic state dinner in May she wore the Indian-American designer Naeem Khan), but for the majority of the time it has proved the rule.

　　她在白宫8年，参加过14次国宴，虽然并非总是遵行这种做法（在今年5月的北欧国家晚宴上，她穿着印裔美国设计师纳伊姆?汗[Naeem Khan]的服装），但大多数时候都是如此。

　　As a result, it has changed expectations about the role of dress in apparently¹⁷ ceremonial situations.

　　这就改变了人们对女装在仪式类场合中发挥的作用的期望。

　　Every look the first lady wears to a state dinner practically breaks the internet and is described with adjectives such as stuns¹⁸ and wows and slays¹⁹.

　　第一夫人在国宴上的每个造型都引爆了互联网，人们用惊艳、超赞和必杀这样的词汇来描述它们。

　　But the fact is, what makes them really notable is that they go beyond the simply pretty (though they are also pretty).

　　但其实真正值得注意的是，这些造型不仅仅是漂亮（虽然也很漂亮）。

　　They demonstrate, in the same conscious way that characterizes so many of Mrs Obama’s choices, that even the most seemingly superficial detail, when considered, can have a meaningful resonance²⁰.

　　这些造型，就像奥巴马夫人其他很多有意识的选择一样，即使看似最表面的细节，如果琢磨一下，也能产生有意义的共鸣。

　　Whether the next person to occupy her position is a first gentleman or a first lady, he or she should take note.

　　无论接下来接替她位置的是第一丈夫还是第一夫人，都应该注意到这一点。

1 solidified   

（使）成为固体，（使）变硬，（使）变得坚固( solidify的过去式和过去分词 )； 使团结一致； 充实，巩固； 具体化

参考例句：

• Her attitudes solidified through privilege and habit. 由于特权和习惯使然，她的看法变得越来越难以改变。
• When threatened, he fires spheres of solidified air from his launcher! 当危险来临，他就会发射它的弹药！

2 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

3 adept   

adj.老练的，精通的

参考例句：

• When it comes to photography,I'm not an adept.要说照相，我不是内行。
• He was highly adept at avoiding trouble.他十分善于避开麻烦。

4 practitioner   

n.实践者，从事者；(医生或律师等)开业者

参考例句：

• He is an unqualified practitioner of law.他是个无资格的律师。
• She was a medical practitioner before she entered politics.从政前她是个开业医生。

5 dressing   

n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料

参考例句：

• Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
• The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。

6 sartorial   

adj.裁缝的

参考例句：

• John has never been known for his sartorial elegance.约翰从来没有因为衣着讲究而出名。
• Jeans a powerful egalitarian message,but are far more likely to a sartorial deathtrap for politicians.政客们穿上牛仔裤是传递亲民的讯息，但也更容易犯穿衣禁忌。

7 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

8 touted   

v.兜售( tout的过去式和过去分词 )；招揽；侦查；探听赛马情报

参考例句：

• She's being touted as the next leader of the party. 她被吹捧为该党的下一任领导人。
• People said that he touted for his mother and sister. 据说，他给母亲和姐姐拉生意。 来自辞典例句

9 subliminal   

adj.下意识的，潜意识的；太弱或太快以至于难以觉察的

参考例句：

• Maybe they're getting it on a subliminal level.也许他们会在潜意识里这么以为。
• The soft sell approach gets to consumers in a subliminal way.软广告通过潜意识的作用来影响消费者。

10 gracefully   

ad.大大方方地；优美地

参考例句：

• She sank gracefully down onto a cushion at his feet. 她优雅地坐到他脚旁的垫子上。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line. 新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

11 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

12 aesthetic   

adj.美学的，审美的，有美感

参考例句：

• My aesthetic standards are quite different from his.我的审美标准与他的大不相同。
• The professor advanced a new aesthetic theory.那位教授提出了新的美学理论。

13 humbled   

adj. 卑下的，谦逊的，粗陋的 vt. 使 ... 卑下，贬低

参考例句：

• The examination results humbled him. 考试成绩挫了他的傲气。
• I am sure millions of viewers were humbled by this story. 我相信数百万观众看了这个故事后都会感到自己的渺小。

14 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

15 bazaar   

n.集市，商店集中区

参考例句：

• Chickens,goats and rabbits were offered for barter at the bazaar.在集市上，鸡、山羊和兔子被摆出来作物物交换之用。
• We bargained for a beautiful rug in the bazaar.我们在集市通过讨价还价买到了一条很漂亮的地毯。

16 hewed   

v.（用斧、刀等）砍、劈( hew的过去式和过去分词 )；砍成；劈出；开辟

参考例句：

• He hewed a canoe out of a tree trunk. 他把一根树干凿成独木舟。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He hewed out an important position for himself in the company. 他在公司中为自己闯出了要职。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

17 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

18 stuns   

v.击晕( stun的第三人称单数 )；使大吃一惊；给（某人）以深刻印象；使深深感动

参考例句：

• But sometimes, a moment stuns us as it happens. 但总有那么一个瞬间让我们惊喜。 来自互联网
• Shield Stun: Stuns the top of the aggro chart, 3s stun. 盾牌昏迷：最大眩晕，3秒钟晕眩。 来自互联网

19 slays   

杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• No other infection so quickly slays. 再没有别的疾病会造成如此迅速的死亡。
• That clown just slays me. 那小丑真叫我笑死了。

20 resonance   

n.洪亮；共鸣；共振

参考例句：

• Playing the piano sets up resonance in those glass ornaments.一弹钢琴那些玻璃饰物就会产生共振。
• The areas under the two resonance envelopes are unequal.两个共振峰下面的面积是不相等的。