外刊逐句精读｜《卫报》：等待奇迹的英国戏剧业｜CATTI一级译员外刊精读｜...

红色：主句  蓝色：从句  黄色：从句连词、关系代词  灰色：插入语、例句、同位语  绿色：长难句分析  紫色：词根词缀  （）：修饰成分，包括定语、状语等  下划线：词汇词组  高亮：连词

思考题

积累到哪些戏剧相关词汇？

The Guardian view on the West End: a perilous business

卫报对伦敦西区的社论：一项危险的生意

The closure (of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cinderella) is a sign (of the fragility (of theatre) (in the wake of Covid-19)

安德鲁·劳埃德·韦伯的《灰姑娘》的停演标志着疫情后剧院的脆弱性

• West End 伦敦西区（伦敦市中心西部的戏院、商店和旅馆聚集区。它是与纽约百老汇（Broadway）齐名的世界两大戏剧中心之一，是英国戏剧界的代名词）
• perilous a. 危险的
• Andrew Lloyd Webber
• Cinderella n. 灰姑娘
• fragilityn. 脆弱

fragile a. 脆弱的

• in the wake of sb./sth. 随....后而来

Cinderella will not, after all, be going to the ball.

毕竟，灰姑娘不会去参加舞会。

• after all 终归
• ball n. （大型正式的）舞会

The big new Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, with its book by Emerald Fennell, has been cancelled, less than a year into its run.

这部由 Emerald Fennell 的编剧的Andrew Lloyd Webber的最新大型音乐剧连续上映了不到一年就被取消了。

• musical n. 音乐剧
• book n. （音乐剧）剧本

= libretto

• Emerald Fennell
• run n. （在相同地方）连续上演

His first play had a three-month run in the West End.

他的第一部戏在伦敦西区连续上演了三个月。

The cast and crew were told the news (in person) (over the weekend), but a similar courtesy was not accorded to all the actors (due to take over roles), some of whom found out that they faced sudden unemployment (by social media), or (via text messages (from concerned friends), while notes to their agents sat unread (over the bank holiday weekend).

演职人员在周末被当面告知了这个消息，但那些即将接手角色的演员却没有得到同样的礼貌对待。其中一些演员通过社交媒体或亲近朋友的短信才发现他们面临着突然失业，而在共同假期的周末发给他们经纪人的消息却还是未读状态。

定语从句some of whom found out....修饰actors，found out后面是一个that引导的宾语从句。

• cast n. 全体演员
• crew n. 技术人员团队

a film/camera crew 电影摄制组；摄制组

• courtesy n. 礼貌
• accord A to B 将A授予/赋予B
• due to do sth. 预期、预计做某事

Rose is due to start school in January. 罗斯一月份就要开始上学了

• take over 接收、接任
• concerned a. 关切的
• agent n. 经纪人
• bank holiday 公众假期

bank holiday weekend 带公众假期的周末

It was shabby, and it should have been done better.

这种做法太卑鄙了，他们应该做得更好。

• shabby a. 不公正的，卑鄙的

It is a cruel irony that they were treated thus after the pandemic cast such clear light on the fragility (of the livelihoods (of self-employed creative workers).

在疫情摆明自由职业创意工作者的生计之脆弱后，他们还遭受了这样的对待，这真是一个残酷的讽刺。

It is + n. + that....的结构中，it是形式主语，that引导的主语从句做真正的主语，after引导时间状语从句做整个句子的时间状语。

• irony n. 具有讽刺意味的事
• thus ad. 以这种方式，就这样
• cast light on 阐明某事
• livelihood n. 生计
• self-employed a. 单干的

段落大意：

音乐剧《灰姑娘》停演，部分演员的权益没有得到保障，让本就艰难的创意工作者雪上加霜。

Cinderella is a clear reminder of the perils of mounting a West End show.

《灰姑娘》清楚明白地提醒着人们在西区组织演出的危险。

• a reminder of sh. 提醒....
• peril n. 危险
• mount v. 安排，组织

The risks would be unacceptably high (to businesses (operating in most other fields); investors are wise to be lovers of the art form rather than hard-nosed lovers of the bottom line.

对于大多数在其他领域经营的企业而言，这里的风险高得让人无法接受； 投资者最好是真的喜欢这种艺术形式，而不是只关心最终盈亏。

• be wise to do sth. 做某事是明智的
• hard-nosed a. 坚定地，不屈不挠的
• bottom line 最终盈亏；底价

There is a long and inglorious history (of West End flops) that looked viable enough on paper: Lord of the Rings, in 2007, cost £25m and closed after a year; the Spice Girls jukebox musical, Viva Forever, which had a script (by Jennifer Saunders) and was produced (by Mamma Mia!’s Judie Craymer), lasted only six months.

有很多理论上看似可行的作品最终却失败了，西区长久以来有很多这样不光彩的历史，如： 2007 年耗资 2500 万英镑的《指环王》仅在一年后就停演； 辣妹组合的点唱机音乐剧《辣妹万岁》由詹妮弗·桑德斯编剧，《妈妈咪呀》的朱迪·克雷默出品，只持续了六个月。

• inglorious a. 可耻的，不光彩的
• flop n. 失败之作
• viable a. 切实可行的
• on paper 理论上
• Lord of the Rings 《指环王》
• Spice Girls 辣妹组合
• jukebox 投币氏自动点唱机

jukebox musical 点唱机音乐剧

• script n. 剧本
• Mamma Mia! 《妈妈咪呀》

段落大意：

投资戏剧的风险太高，伦敦西区不乏失败案例。

The costs (of putting on a show) are enormous, and the returns slow and uncertain.

举办演出的成本巨大，但回报却缓慢且不确定。

• put on 上演，举办
• enormous a. 巨大的
• return n. 回报，利润

return on investment(POI) 投资收益率

Recouping the investment is predicated on box-office sales – themselves dependent on the fickle, intangible and largely unpredictable magic of artistic alchemy, and whether a show just happens to catch the public mood.

收回投资取决于票房销售——而销售额本身取决于易变的、不可捉摸的，并且在很大程度上不可预测的艺术魔力，以及一场演出是否恰好抓住了公众的情绪。

whether引导的宾语从句作介词on的宾语。

• recoup v. （收回）成本
• be predicated on sth. 取决于...
• box-office n. 票房；售票处
• fickle a. 易变的
• intangible a. 不可捉摸的
• alchemy n. 改变事物的魔力
• mood n. 心情，心态

段落大意：

解释投资戏剧容易失败的原因：投入高，收成慢，不确定性高。

Lord Lloyd-Webber led the charge to refill West End theatres last summer.

去年夏天，劳埃德·韦伯勋爵拼命想要重新填满西区剧院的坐席。

• led the charge to do sth. 拼命做.....
• refill v. 重新装满 n. 续杯

Owning such venues, as he does [through his company LW Theatres], makes sense if you are able to fill them, [especially with your own work] (finding slots [in big West End houses] is one of the perennial challenges [for producers [mounting these big, expensive shows]).

就像他通过他的公司 LW Theatres所做的那样，如果你能够填补它们，尤其是用你自己的作品，那么拥有这样的场馆就很有意义（对于制作这些大型、昂贵的节目的制作人来说，在西区的场地里找到空档来安插自己的剧目是永恒的难题之一 ）。

灰色部分是插入语，用来补充说明前面的动作。

（PS：当原文中已有()时，原本做笔记标注修饰成分所用的()改为[]）

• venue n. 活动场地
• slot n. （节目表里的）一段时间
• house n. （各类功能）活动场地
• perennial a. 长久的，持续的

But, empty during the pandemic, his seven stages were costing £1m a week, he told the Guardian last year.

但是，去年他告诉卫报，疫情期间他名下7家剧院空无一人，每周要亏损100万英镑。

(Despite his gung-ho attitude to getting shows back on) – perhaps unwise (given the projected length and depth (of the pandemic) – the premiere of Cinderella was delayed, (derailed by last summer’s “pingdemic”).

尽管他非常卖力地想要恢复演出——考虑到疫情的预计持续时间和深度，这样的做法可能不太明智——但由于去年夏天“隔离通知大流行”的影响，《灰姑娘》的首映还是被推迟了。

• gung-ho a. 卖力的，莽撞的
• given prep. 鉴于
• project v. 预计
• premiere n. 首次公演
• derail v. 破坏，干扰
• pingdemic 隔离通知大流行

ping v. [不正式]发送（邮件、短信）

After it finally opened to excellent reviews (in late August), Britain was already slipping (towards another sharp rise (in case) and then the emergence of the Omicron variant, which closed theatres down again. It has been a rough ride.

在它终于在8 月下旬上演并等待获得好评后，英国的病例数已经再次激增，随后奥密克戎变种的出现使得剧院再次关闭。 这是一段艰难的旅程。

• review n. 评介，评论
• emergence n. 出现
• variant n. 变种
• a rough ride 举步维艰

an easy ride 一帆风顺

have a rough ride/give sb a rough ride

段落大意：

劳埃德·韦伯拥有多家剧院，尽管他费力张罗，还是抵不住疫情对剧院的冲击，仍然没能让业务恢复正常。

The closure of Cinderella – it may fare better on Broadway, where it is headed – is also a reminder of the long tail of Covid, which may have created the most difficult and uncertain period for the performing arts since the 1665 plague shut London’s playhouses.

原本要前往百老汇的《灰姑娘》可能会取得更大的成功，它的停演也提醒了人们疫情的遥遥无期。新冠肺炎可能给表演艺术创造了自 1665 年瘟疫关闭伦敦剧院以来最困难和不确定的时期。

灰色部分是插入语起补充说明作用，where it is headed是定语从句修饰Broadway。which引导的定语从句修饰Covid。since引导时间状语从句时，主句用现在完成时态，从句用一般过去时。

• fare v. 成功
• Broadway n. 百老汇
• be headed/head 前往....
• tail n. 结尾，末梢
• performing art 表演艺术
• plague n. 瘟疫
• playhouse n. 剧院（用于名称）

Some hoped that the economic disruption would precipitate more fairness and equality (in the way cultural workers are employed).

一些人希望经济混乱能够促进文化工作者的就业方式更加公平和平等。

• disruption n. 扰乱，混乱
• precipitate v. 加速，促成

(Like many hopes of change (to come out of the pandemic), that seems overly optimistic. But the least producers could do is treat their employees with courtesy.

就像许多人希望疫情能带来改变一样，那似乎过于乐观。 但至少制作人能做的就是礼貌地对待他们的员工。

• come out of sth. 是....的结果

One or two excellent ideas came out of the meeting.

这次会议产生了一两个很好的想法。

段落大意：

伦敦的戏剧行业遭遇几百年来的重创，短时间内很难恢复，但行业员工还是应该被善待。

积累到哪些戏剧词汇？

剧院：

theatre, playhouse, house, venue

West End, Broadway

人员：

cast, crew, actor, producer

剧本：

book, libretto, script

演出：

jukebox musical, show, premiere

mount, put on

box-office sales