2007年VOA标准英语-British Reality TV Show Becomes All Too Real

By Peter Fedynsky
Washington, DC
19 January 2007
 
watch Big Brother Bollywood

Accusations¹ of racism² leveled at a British television program have sparked outrage³ on the streets and in the highest levels of government in both Britain and India. 

The staged reality of Britain's "Celebrity⁴ Big Brother" television show has morphed into an unpleasant political reality in India.

Keith Vaz, a member of the British Parliament questions, "Would the prime minister join me in condemning⁵ racism and xenophobia in any form?"

At issue are comments that participants on the TV reality show "Celebrity Big Brother" made to and about Shilpa Shetty, a popular Indian film actress. 

Shilpa Shetty

Over the past few days the 31-year-old Shetty has broken down in tears on the program when other contestants⁷ have made cutting remarks about her accent and skin color, and expressed other remarks considered to be derogatory.  She says she is being racially abused and the story has appeared on the front pages of Indian and British newspapers. In India, the controversy⁸ has prompted recollections of British colonial rule.

One viewer expressed his concern. "They should not have said such things against Indians.  The issue was discussed in their parliament, which is a good thing.  The discrimination taking place against Indians for a long time is still prevalent today."

In Britain's Parliament, lawmaker Keith Vaz forced Prime Minister Tony Blair to comment on the controversy. "I have not seen the particular program in question and therefore cannot comment on it, but of course, I would agree entirely⁹ with the principle he has outlined which is that we should oppose racism in all its forms," said Blair.

The Indian government has asked Britain to investigate the alleged¹⁰ racism against Shilpa Shetty. 

Each installment¹¹ of "Celebrity Big Brother" runs three weeks, and during that time the program's participants live together and agree to have their interactions televised.  They also decide who must leave until only one remains¹².  That contestant⁶ wins a prize.

The contestants are cut off from the outside world and are unaware¹³ of the current controversy surrounding the Bollywood actress.  The controversy has generated about 30,000 complaints to British TV regulators.  And the main sponsor of the show, mobile phone retailer¹⁴ Carphone Warehouse¹⁵, has suspended its support of the program.

The program's broadcaster, Channel 4, has denied the racism charges, saying there had been a "cultural and class clash" among the show's contestants.

1 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

2 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

3 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

4 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

5 condemning   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done. 我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 contestant   

n.竞争者，参加竞赛者

参考例句：

• The company will furnish each contestant with a free ticket.公司将为每个参赛者免费提供一张票。
• The personal appearance and interview of the contestant is another count.参加比赛者的个人仪表和谈话也是一项。

7 contestants   

n.竞争者，参赛者( contestant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The competition attracted over 500 contestants representing 8 different countries. 这次比赛吸引了代表8个不同国家的500多名参赛者。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency. 两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

9 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

10 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

11 installment   

n.(instalment)分期付款；(连载的)一期

参考例句：

• I shall soon pay the last installment of my debt.不久我将偿付我的最后一期债款。
• He likes to buy things on the installment plan.他喜欢用分期付款法购买货物。

12 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

13 unaware   

a.不知道的，未意识到的

参考例句：

• They were unaware that war was near. 他们不知道战争即将爆发。
• I was unaware of the man's presence. 我没有察觉到那人在场。

14 retailer   

n.零售商(人)

参考例句：

• What are the retailer requirements?零售商会有哪些要求呢？
• The retailer has assembled a team in Shanghai to examine the question.这家零售商在上海组建了一支团队研究这个问题。

15 warehouse   

n.仓库；vt.存入仓库

参考例句：

• We freighted the goods to the warehouse by truck.我们用卡车把货物运到仓库。
• The manager wants to clear off the old stocks in the warehouse.经理想把仓库里积压的存货处理掉。