考研英语时文赏读(81): 香港电影的穷途末路
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The rise and fall of Hong Kong showbiz ... and how fans still hold on to stars of yesteryear
香港娱乐圈的兴衰…以及粉丝们对昔日明星的留恋
The meteoric rise of Hong Kong’s entertainment industry took place in the 1970s to ’80s, propelled by the city’s rapid economic growth.
得益于经济的腾飞,香港娱乐业在上个世纪70至80年代迅速崛起。
At its zenith, Hong Kong stars were household names among the Chinese community worldwide, a source of pride for the city. In the past decade, however, with fans’ attention turning to K-pop and local artistes taking their acts to the more lucrative mainland market, some of this lustre has been lost.
在鼎盛时期,香港明星在全球华人社区家喻户晓,他们是这座城市的一大骄傲。然而,过去10年里,随着粉丝将注意力转向韩国流行音乐,以及香港艺人转向更有利可图的内地市场发展,这种光环已经褪去了一些。
In the 1980s and ’90s, Hong Kong’s film industry was the third-largest in the world after Bollywood and Hollywood. By then, names such as Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee and filmmaker Wong Kar-wai had gained international stardom.
在上个世纪80至90年代,香港电影业仅次于宝莱坞和好莱坞,排在全球第三。那时,成龙、李小龙和导演王家卫等人已经成为国际巨星。
But the blossoming of showbiz in Hong Kong came a decade before such heights. Canto-pop took rise in the mid-1970s when “God of Songs” Sam Hui Koon-kit began singing love songs in Cantonese. Marrying the tones of Western music with modern Chinese lyrics sung in Cantonese, the emerging style immediately captured the hearts of Hongkongers.
但香港娱乐圈的蓬勃发展比这一高峰早了10年。粤语流行音乐兴起于20世纪70年代中叶,当时“歌神”许冠杰开始用粤语演唱情歌。这种将西方音乐的声调与现代粤语歌词结合起来的新兴风格立即抓住了香港人的心。
The city’s entertainment industry came together, as television, film and music formed a collective empire.
这座城市的娱乐业集聚,电视、电影和音乐形成了一个集体帝国。
In the 1980s, all-rounded film, television, and music performers such as Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing, Maggie Cheung Man-yuk, and Anita Mui Yim-fong spread Hong Kong’s culture to the world. In an industry where stars can rise and fall with the sun, Hong Kong’s first superstars have remained well-loved and revered, some even in death.
20世纪80年代,香港电影、电视及音乐艺人张国荣、张曼玉、梅艳芳等将香港文化传播到了世界各地。在一个明星可以随太阳起落的行业,香港的第一批巨星仍然受到人们的喜爱和尊敬,尽管有些人已经不在了。
Over the last two decades, however, annual music record sales have dropped from HK$1.6 billion to HK$200 million.
但在过去20年,音乐唱片的年销售额从16亿港元降至了2亿港元。
Sadly, this is not an isolated trend. The film industry has also seen decline in the past decade. The city produced more than 400 films a year in the early ’90s, but this figure dropped to as low as 60 in 2017. In 1996, five of the top 10 grossing films in Hong Kong were local productions. Twenty years on, only one quasi-home-made flick made the top 10.
遗憾的是,这并非一种孤立的趋势。过去的十年里,电影业也经历了衰退。上个世纪90年代初,香港每年制作400多部电影,但到2017年,已经降至60部了。1996年,香港票房前十的电影中有五部是本地制作的。20年过去了,如今前十中仅有一部准香港电影了。
Some blamed the slump on a talent drain to mainland China, with its soaring new-found wealth. Canto-pop started to be overshadowed by Mando-pop as the mainland opened up and groomed its own stars.
一些人将这种衰落归咎于人才外流至暴富的中国内地。随着中国内地的开放以及本土明星的培养,粤语流行音乐开始被华语流行音乐所掩盖。
With the dimming of Hong Kong’s showbiz star came more joint productions with mainland counterparts. More worryingly for the local sector though, the flavour for fans seems to have shifted to South Korea in recent years.
香港娱乐圈的没落导致香港明星更多地选择与内地明星进行合作。然而,更令其担忧的是,近年来,粉丝似乎更喜欢韩国明星了。
(全文共426个词,南华早报)
►重难点词汇:
showbiz n. 娱乐界;娱乐性行业
meteoric adj. 大气的;流星的;疾速的
zenith n. 顶峰;顶点;最高点
lucrative adj. 有利可图的,赚钱的;合算的
lustre n. 光泽,光彩 vi. 有光泽,发亮 vt. 使有光泽
revere vt. 敬畏;尊敬;崇敬
isolate v. 隔离,孤立;将……剔出;分离;区别看待 n. 被隔离的人 adj. 孤独的,孤立的
slump vi. 下降,衰落;倒下;大幅度下降,暴跌 vt. 使降低;使衰落;使倒下 n. 衰退;暴跌;消沉
overshadow v. 使失色;使蒙上阴影;遮阴;比……更显眼
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