访谈录 2009-12-10&12-12 中国玩具zuzu身在曹营心在汉

The most popular toys this holiday season, as you know, if you're a parent, are zhu zhu pets. They're little robot hamsters that move around or something and there're people going crazy for them. Zhu zhu pets are manufactured¹ in China, and over the weekend a consumer group raised concerns that they might contain high levels of a dangerous metal called antimony. Now today the government now said they do not contain a dangerous level of antimony, but, you know, they said they're safe and they're just as stupid as you imagine they would be when you spend the money on them.

 

But I want to make sure still, because I got one for my niece. And especially since they're made in China, I want to make sure they don't contain harmful amounts of lead, you know, some Chinese toys do. So we did our own test. Superman, as you know, cannot see through lead. It's the one substance that blocks his vision². So we got our Hollywood Boulevard superman and we taped a zhu zhu pet to, over each one of his eyes. And now let's see. If superman can make it across the street, they are safe. Right across the way from us here on Hollywood Boulevard. So maybe there is, maybe there isn't lead, no offence³.

 

But dangerous or not, zhu zhu pets are the hottest toy out there. They're selling on eBay for like seven times the retail⁴ price and they even found their way into the newest installment⁵ of a very popular movie franchise⁶. Oh, that's… I gotta go see that again.

1 manufactured   

adj.人造的v.（大规模）制造( manufacture的过去式和过去分词 )；捏造；加工；粗制滥造（文学作品）

参考例句：

• a news story manufactured by an unscrupulous journalist 一位不道德的记者编造的一篇报道
• We want the machine manufactured to our own spec. 我们要求这台机器按我们自己的规格来制造。

2 vision   

n.视觉，先见之明，光景，视力，眼力，幻想，影像；vt.幻想

参考例句：

• The wall cuts across our line of vision.那面墙挡住了我们的视线。
• Much reading has impaired his vision.大量读书损害了他的视力。

3 offence   

n.犯法（行为），罪过，过错

参考例句：

• She felt she had committed an offence against the right of others.她觉得自己侵犯了他人的权利。
• I agree with the theorem that the best defence is offence.我同意最好的防御是进攻的理论。

4 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

5 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。

6 franchise   

n.特许，特权，专营权，特许权

参考例句：

• Catering in the schools is run on a franchise basis.学校餐饮服务以特许权经营。
• The United States granted the franchise to women in 1920.美国于1920年给妇女以参政权。