2020年经济学人 家庭娱乐专栏--笑料百出(2)

Much of Ylvis’s comic appeal lies in the way they treat everyday, even banal¹, themes with deadpan² gravity. They wrote a song about animal noises, asking “What does the fox say?” and parodying³ European electronic pop, because they “wanted to make a very good production about something very stupid,” Vegard explains. It is an irresistible⁴ earworm, topping the charts in Norway and reaching number six on the Billboard⁵ chart in America. The video has been watched nearly 1bn times online.

Ylvis的喜剧魅力很大程度上在于他们对待日常生活，甚至是平淡严肃的主题的方式。他们写了一首关于动物叫声的歌，唱道“狐狸叫什么？”并模仿了欧洲电子流行乐，因为他们“想要创作一个主题很蠢，但很好的作品，”维加德解释说。这首歌就是让人无法抗拒的耳虫，在挪威音乐排行榜上高居榜首，在美国告示牌排行榜上排名第六。这段视频在网上被观看了近10亿次。

“Jan Egeland”, a rock track with thundering electric guitars and falsetto vocals⁶, pays tribute to a Norwegian diplomat⁷ involved in the Oslo accords. The country-inflected “Massachusetts” is a tongue-incheek ode to America’s 15th-most-populous state (it angered some Bay Staters by suggesting that they were homophobic). “Russian Government Process”, in the style of a traditional folk song, pokes⁸ fun at that country’s opaque⁹ bureaucracy—as the music increases in tempo¹⁰, the list of instructions becomes harder to understand.

“Jan Egeland”是一首用电吉他和假声演唱的摇滚乐，这首歌是向一位参与奥斯陆协议的挪威外交官致敬。“Massachusetts”是对美国的人口第十五大洲的颂歌（这首歌激怒了一些海湾州的人，因为认为他们是同性恋恐惧症）。“Russian Government Process”这首歌的风格是传统民歌，它取笑了俄罗斯不透明的官僚机构，随着音乐节奏加快，伴奏变得越来越难以理解。

Bard¹¹ says the pair have “an appetite for all sorts of genres”. They have also written lampoons¹² of sultry R’n’B (“The Cabin”), misogynistic¹³ hip-hop (“Work It”) and dubstep (“Someone Like Me”). Besides their sheer range, what sets Ylvis apart from other comedy groups is the catchiness¹⁴ of the melodies and the brothers’ versatile¹⁵ and prodigious¹⁶ talents. You will try—and fail—to hit their high notes in the shower. In these dull, repetitive days, their work is a heartening reminder¹⁷ that even anodyne¹⁸ things can be a source of inspiration.

巴德表示，两个人对“各种流派的音乐都有兴趣”。他们还写了讽刺的R’n’B（“The Cabin”），厌女的hip-hop (“Work It”)以及回响贝斯（“Someone Like Me”）。不同于其他喜剧团体，Ylvis的创作范围广泛、音乐旋律优美、两兄弟多才多艺。你会在淋浴时试着去唱他们的高音，但是会失败。在这些沉闷、千篇一律的日子里，他们的作品令人振奋，而且提醒人们，即使是乏味的东西也可以成为灵感的源泉。

1 banal   

adj.陈腐的，平庸的

参考例句：

• Making banal remarks was one of his bad habits.他的坏习惯之一就是喜欢说些陈词滥调。
• The allegations ranged from the banal to the bizarre.从平淡无奇到离奇百怪的各种说法都有。

2 deadpan   

n. 无表情的

参考例句：

• Some people don't catch his deadpan humor,that makes it even funnier.有些人不能了解他那种无表情的幽默，因此更有趣。
• She put the letter on the desk in front of me,her face deadpan,not a flicker of a smile.她把那封信放在我面前的桌子上，故意一 脸严肃，没有一丝的笑容。

3 parodying   

v.滑稽地模仿，拙劣地模仿( parody的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They are called deviant hypertexts parodying zero-degree hypo-texts in the intertextuality theory. 在互文性理论中，它们仿拟的零度原词即是底文，而它们自己则是偏离了的超文。 来自互联网
• Dahua shows the trivialness and absurdness of life through parodying and has deep society connotation. 大话语言通过嬉戏、调侃表现生活的琐碎、荒诞，具有较深刻的社会内涵。 来自互联网

4 irresistible   

adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的

参考例句：

• The wheel of history rolls forward with an irresistible force.历史车轮滚滚向前，势不可挡。
• She saw an irresistible skirt in the store window.她看见商店的橱窗里有一条叫人着迷的裙子。

5 billboard   

n.布告板，揭示栏，广告牌

参考例句：

• He ploughed his energies into his father's billboard business.他把精力投入到父亲的广告牌业务中。
• Billboard spreads will be simpler and more eye-catching.广告牌广告会比较简单且更引人注目。

6 vocals   

（乐曲中的）歌唱部份，声乐部份( vocal的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Also look out for soaring vocals on The Right Man. 另外，也可留意一下《意中人》中的那高亢的唱腔。
• Lazy bass line, lazier drums, lush violins, great piano and incomparable vocals. 懒惰的低音线，较懒惰的鼓，饮小提琴，棒的钢琴和无比的声音。

7 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

8 pokes   

v.伸出( poke的第三人称单数 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交

参考例句：

• He pokes his nose into everything. 他这人好管闲事。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Only the tip of an iceberg pokes up above water. 只有冰山的尖端突出于水面。 来自辞典例句

9 opaque   

adj.不透光的；不反光的，不传导的；晦涩的

参考例句：

• The windows are of opaque glass.这些窗户装着不透明玻璃。
• Their intentions remained opaque.他们的意图仍然令人费解。

10 tempo   

n.(音乐的)速度；节奏，行进速度

参考例句：

• The boss is unsatisfied with the tardy tempo.老板不满于这种缓慢的进度。
• They waltz to the tempo of the music.他们跟着音乐的节奏跳华尔兹舞。

11 bard   

n.吟游诗人

参考例句：

• I'll use my bard song to help you concentrate!我会用我的吟游诗人歌曲帮你集中精神！
• I find him,the wandering grey bard.我发现了正在徘徊的衰老游唱诗人。

12 lampoons   

n.讽刺文章或言辞( lampoon的名词复数 )v.冷嘲热讽，奚落( lampoon的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

13 misogynistic   

参考例句：

• And it brings out everything that is most noxious and misogynistic about the right. 而且，这种情绪也流露出右派思想中最为保守有害，歧视女性的那一面。 来自互联网

14 catchiness   

吸引性； 断续性； 迷惑性； 欺骗性

参考例句：

15 versatile   

adj.通用的，万用的；多才多艺的，多方面的

参考例句：

• A versatile person is often good at a number of different things.多才多艺的人通常擅长许多种不同的事情。
• He had been one of the game's most versatile athletes.他是这项运动中技术最全面的运动员之一。

16 prodigious   

adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的

参考例句：

• This business generates cash in prodigious amounts.这种业务收益丰厚。
• He impressed all who met him with his prodigious memory.他惊人的记忆力让所有见过他的人都印象深刻。

17 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

18 anodyne   

n.解除痛苦的东西，止痛剂

参考例句：

• It was their delight,their folly,their anodyne,their intellectual stimulant.这是他们的人生乐趣，他们的一时荒唐，他们的止痛药，他们的脑力刺激剂。
• Friendship is not only the condiment but also the anodyne of life.友谊是人生的调味品，也是人生的止痛药。