VOA标准英语2009年-Tiger Woods Loses Major Sponsor

Accenture drops Woods in midst of controversy¹, analysts² say more could follow

Carolyn Presutti | Washington, DC 15 December 2009

 
Tiger Woods

The global consulting firm Accenture now says famed golfer Tiger Woods is "no longer the right representative" and is ending its relationship with him.   This follows a move by Gillette to drop Woods from its advertising³ campaigns for now, following the personal controversy surrounding the golfer. 

This Accenture advertisement reads, "It's what you do next that counts." These days it could be translated as a warning to Tiger Woods.  But instead, Accenture decided⁴ what to do next.  The global consulting firm dropped Woods from his six-year endorsement⁵ contract.

The world's highest paid athlete on Friday admitted to marital⁶ infidelity and announced he is taking an indefinite break from professional golf to work on his marriage.  This follows claims from several women who say they had a sexual relationship with him. Media estimates indicate his leave of absence could cost the golf industry $591 million in losses.

"Golf needs Tiger Woods a lot more than Tiger Woods needs the golf," British publicist Max Clifford said.

The numbers prove that.  In October, Forbes magazine named Woods the first athlete to earn $1 billion.  He makes $110 million a year.  But just a quarter of it from his golf matches, the rest from endorsements⁷. 

Fellow professional golfer John Daly says Woods has to return to the game. "Golf needs him, they need him.  Economic times as bad as they are, us trying to find sponsors for this, all over the world trying to find sponsors for golf tournaments.  Without Tiger Woods, it makes it very very difficult to do that," he said.

In addition to Accenture, Gillette chose to limit Wood's role in its $5 million yearly deal with him.  AT&T is evaluating its relationship.  Financial analysts say the decisions of these powerhouses could have a ripple⁸ effect on other company officials. 

"People who have paid among them more than $100 hundred dollars right now are going, 'Oh for crying out loud!'" Bob Garfield, editor of Advertising Age stated.

Garfield says they could eventually break their ties to golf's golden boy, while Woods takes his break from the sport.  And, that could drive the golfing industry into a tailspin.
 

1 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。

2 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

3 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 endorsement   

n.背书；赞成，认可，担保；签(注)，批注

参考例句：

• We are happy to give the product our full endorsement.我们很高兴给予该产品完全的认可。
• His presidential campaign won endorsement from several celebrities.他参加总统竞选得到一些社会名流的支持。

6 marital   

adj.婚姻的，夫妻的

参考例句：

• Her son had no marital problems.她的儿子没有婚姻问题。
• I regret getting involved with my daughter's marital problems;all its done is to bring trouble about my ears.我后悔干涉我女儿的婚姻问题, 现在我所做的一切将给我带来无穷的烦恼。

7 endorsements   

n.背书( endorsement的名词复数 )；（驾驶执照上的）违章记录；（公开的）赞同；（通常为名人在广告中对某一产品的）宣传

参考例句：

• He must make much money on those tennis shoe endorsements he does. 他替那些网球鞋珍重广告，就赚了不少钱。 来自互联网
• But celebrity endorsements remain an important promotional tool for marketers. 尽管如此，邀明星助阵仍是营销人员重要的推广手段之一。 来自互联网

8 ripple   

n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进

参考例句：

• The pebble made a ripple on the surface of the lake.石子在湖面上激起一个涟漪。
• The small ripple split upon the beach.小小的涟漪卷来，碎在沙滩上。