新奇事件簿 Hello Kitty不是猫，是小女孩

The creators of one of the world's most widely-recognised cartoon characters have set the record straight. Japanese toymaker Sanrio have declared that its iconic creation Hello Kitty is not a cat. The bombshell came to light following publicity¹ for an upcoming exhibition on the character at the Japanese American National Museum. The curator of the exhibition, anthropologist² Christine R Yano, said she received a mail from Sanrio correcting her script for the show. Ms Yano confirmed that: "Hello Kitty is not a cat. She is a little girl. She is a friend….She's never depicted³ on all fours. She walks and sits like a two-legged creature." The Sanrio website states Kitty is "a bright little girl with a heart of gold."

世界上被广泛认可的卡通形象的设计者澄清了事实。日本玩具制造商三丽鹏公司宣布，公司的图标作品Hello Kitty并不是一只猫。这一惊人事件为即将开始的日美国立博物馆的形象展览会做了宣传。展会的管理者，人类学家克丽丝汀称，她收到了一封来自三丽鹏的邮件，内容是展览脚本的修改版。亚诺女士坚定地说，Hello Kitty不是猫。她是一个小女孩，是我们的朋友，但她不是猫。她从来没有四只脚走路的形象，始终都保持着小姑娘的站姿和坐姿。三丽鹏网站称，Hello Kitty是有着美丽心灵的小女孩。

Hello Kitty has taken the world by storm since its introduction in 1974. It has become ubiquitous worldwide, adorning⁴ everything from chopsticks to airplanes. The Japanese carmaker Daihatsu even sold a specially⁵ branded Hello Kitty car. It had Kitty-emblazoned upholstery, a speedometer with the character's face etched into the glass and a Kitty-shaped gear stick. The creators designed the character's face to epitomise cuteness. Sanrio account for her lack of a mouth, saying she doesn't have one because she speaks with her heart. Social media has been abuzz with the revelation that Kitty is a girl. Rapper Mike Shinoda tweeted: "This is worse than finding out Pluto⁶ is not a planet."

Hello Kitty在1974年产生之后就风靡全球。Hello Kitty在世界上无处不在，成为了从筷子到飞机等一切事物的装饰物。日本汽车制造商大发，甚至出售了一款特殊的以Hello Kitty冠名的汽车。这款汽车的垫衬物是以Hello Kitty形象装饰的，里程计的设计是由Hello Kitty的形象嵌在玻璃内部，变速杆也是Hello Kitty的形状。设计师对面部形象的设计是为了体现可爱。三丽鹏为Hello Kitty没有嘴巴做了解释，她没有嘴巴，是因为她用心灵与人交流。社会媒体对Hello Kitty是小女孩的揭露议论纷纷。说唱歌手麦克在微博上称，这比发现冥王星不是猩猩还要糟糕。

1 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

2 anthropologist   

n.人类学家，人类学者

参考例句：

• The lecturer is an anthropologist.这位讲师是人类学家。
• The anthropologist unearthed the skull of an ancient human at the site.人类学家在这个遗址挖掘出那块古人类的颅骨。

3 depicted   

描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述

参考例句：

• Other animals were depicted on the periphery of the group. 其他动物在群像的外围加以修饰。
• They depicted the thrilling situation to us in great detail. 他们向我们详细地描述了那激动人心的场面。

4 adorning   

修饰，装饰物

参考例句：

• Many have gems adorning their foreheads, and gold bands on their arms. 许多人在前额上挂着宝石，手臂上戴着金饰。
• The commandments, or rules, are like pure white pearls adorning the wearer. （喻）戒律洁白，可以庄严人身，好像晶莹可爱的宝珠。

5 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

6 Pluto   

n.冥王星

参考例句：

• Pluto is the furthest planet from the sun.冥王星是离太阳最远的行星。
• Pluto has an elliptic orbit.冥王星的轨道是椭圆形的。