奇速英语阅读：参与电视节目后死亡：是真人秀还是斗兽场？

阅读量：22482 2019.07.25 作者: 奇速小牛

奇速英语阅读理解：今天和广大英语阅读爱好者分享的主题是参与电视节目后死亡：是真人秀还是斗兽场？作为美国热门节目《幸存者》的前身，它是所谓真人秀的最早例子之一，也是第一场关于此类节目对参与者影响的辩论“公开展览”。

　　Jeremy Kyle and the media’s treatment of mental health

　　杰瑞米·凯尔和媒体对心理健康的治疗

　　A death calls into question the ethics of television’s human bear-pits

　　一场死亡，让人们对电视节目中“人类斗兽场”的道德产生质疑

　　THE FIRST episode of“Expedition Robinson”,a Swedish television programme,aired in September 1997.A precursor to“Survivor”,a hit American show,it was one of the first examples of so-called reality television,and the first exhibit in a debate on the effects of such shows on those who take part.

英语阅读理解

　　air/ɛə/|CET4 TEM4

　　V-T If a broadcasting company airs a television or radio programme,they show it on television or broadcast it on the radio.播放

　　precursor/prɪˈkɜːsə/

　　N-COUNT A precursor of something is a similar thing that happened or existed before it,often something that led to the existence or development of that thing.前兆，前身，先驱

　　瑞典电视节目《鲁宾逊探险队》的第一集于1997年9月播出。作为美国热门节目《幸存者》的前身，它是所谓真人秀的最早例子之一，也是第一场关于此类节目对参与者影响的辩论“公开展览”。

　　【拓展理解】

　　Survivor

　　《幸存者》(英文:Survivor)是一个在遍布世界许多国家进行的电视真人实境秀节目。这个节目中，参与者被限定在一个特定的环境下依靠有限的工具维持生存，并参与竞赛，最终胜出者将赢得100万美元的奖金。

　　Two months before the series aired,one of its cast,Sinisa Savija,had committed suicide after becoming the first person to be voted off.The producers responded by mostly editing him out of the broadcast.

　　broadcast/ˈbrɔːdˌkɑːst/|CET4 TEM4

　　N-COUNT A broadcast is a program,performance,or speech on the radio or on television.(无线电或电视)广播节目

　　该剧播出前两个月，剧组成员之一西尼萨·萨维贾成为第一个被淘汰的演员，随后自杀身亡。作为对事件的响应，制片人把他在节目中的片段基本上删除了。

　　【搭配与表达】

　　vote off

　　淘汰出局

　　&Viewers will be encouraged to vote off the candidates they dislike.

　　观众们则可以让不喜欢的选手被淘汰出局。

　　Two decades later,attitudes have changed.On May 15th,in the middle of“mental-health awareness week”,ITV announced that it would cancel“The Jeremy Kyle Show”,a popular daytime programme that featured real people arguing furiously about infidelity,alcoholism,drug use and the like.

　　furious/ˈfjʊərɪəs/|CET6 TEM4

　　ADJ Someone who is furious is extremely angry.狂怒的

　　infidelity/ˌɪnfɪˈdɛlɪtɪ/|TEM8

　　N-VAR Infidelity occurs when a person who is married or in a steady relationship has sex with another person.私通

　　20年后，人们的态度发生了变化。5月15日，在“心理健康意识周”进行到一半时，ITV（英语独立电视台）宣布将取消“杰里米·凯尔秀”。这是一档很受欢迎的日间节目，其特色是邀请真实嘉宾就出轨、酗酒、吸毒等问题进行激烈辩论。

　　【长难句分析】

　　On May 15th,in the middle of“mental-health awareness week”,ITV announced that it would cancel“The Jeremy Kyle Show”,a popular daytime programme that featured real people arguing furiously about infidelity,alcoholism,drug use and the like.

　　此句中，“On May 15th,in the middle of“mental-health awareness week”为时间状语从句，“that it would cancel“The Jeremy Kyle Show”是announced的宾语从句；“a popular daytime programme”则是“The Jeremy Kyle Show”的同位语，“that featured real people arguing furiously about infidelity,alcoholism,drug use and the like.”是修饰“The Jeremy Kyle Show”的定语从句。“the like”表示“类似的”，相当于(and)so on.

　　A week earlier a participant,Steven Dymond,had been found dead,shortly after failing a lie-detector test on camera.

　　participant/pɑːˈtɪsɪpənt/|CET6 TEM4 N-COUNT The participants in an activity are the people who take part in it.参加者

　　在此一周前，一位名叫史蒂文·戴蒙德的参与者，在未能通过相机测谎仪的测试后不久被发现死亡。

　　【搭配与表达】

　　lie-detector

　　测谎仪

　　&Asked if he would submit to a lie-detector test,he said he would,but only if he had a"good reason".

　　当被问及是否同意使用测谎仪时，他答道：会的，但得有个“正当的理由”。

　　【背景介绍】

　　英国综艺节目“The Jeremy Kyle Show”引发悲惨命案，惊动了首相府

　　据《卫报》，英国老牌脱口秀节目《杰瑞米·凯尔脱口秀》（The Jeremy Kyle Show）本周被勒令无限期停播，网络上所有节目被撤，原因就是一名来宾在参加完节目后自杀。

　　《杰瑞米·凯尔脱口秀》是英国本土人气颇高的脱口秀，由杰瑞米·凯尔主持。这档节目自2005年7月4日开始在独立电视台（ITV）播出，是电视台长期的王牌节目，每期节目平均吸引100万人次观看。与其说它是脱口秀，将它形容为“情感纠纷”调解类节目更恰当。该节目每期都会邀请需要调解纠纷的当事人，大多数时候是情感纠纷，比如父子抢老婆、姐妹为男友互撕。节目中经常出现来宾对骂、甚至大打出手的场面，非常drama。

　　63岁的英国人戴蒙德（Steve Dymond）于5月2日参加了《杰瑞米·凯尔脱口秀》的录制，目的是为了挽回交往2年、原本已打算结婚的女友卡拉汉，向她证明自己没有出轨。在节目中，戴蒙德接受了测谎仪测试，当被问到是否曾背叛女友时，他给出否定答案，但是测谎仪却显示他在撒谎，现场一片唏嘘。戴蒙德当场就哭了，卡拉汉感到非常失望，两人的感情就此画上句号。

　　在节目录制结束后一周，戴蒙德5月9日被发现服用过量药物死在家中。他的房东雪莉称，节目结束后，戴蒙德情绪崩溃，几乎没有离开房间半步，他怀疑测谎仪的结果，并表示痛恨这个节目，觉得自己被羞辱了。

　　此事件曝光后引发英国网友热议，不少人认为这种通过炒作他人痛苦来赚取收视率的节目该关停了。

　　推特网民认为，《杰瑞米·凯尔脱口秀》是史上最恶心、最剥削的节目之一，如果英国人把快乐建立在嘲笑别人的痛苦上，那么英国人不配说自己关注心理健康、毒瘾、贫穷和弱势群体。不过也有节目的忠实观众对于节目被停感到难过。

　　Worry about the welfare of reality-TV subjects is not new.Two former contestants on“Love Island”,another ITV show,have killed themselves in the past year.In 2016 the New York Post counted 21 suicides by American reality-TV participants since 2004.

　　contestant/kənˈtɛstənt/|CET4 TEM4

　　N-COUNT A contestant in a competition or game show is a person who takes part in it.参赛者

　　suicide/ˈsuːɪˌsaɪd/|CET4 TEM4

　　N-VAR People who commit suicide deliberately kill themselves because they do not want to continue living.自杀

　　对真人秀节目状况的担忧并不是什么新鲜事。去年，英国独立电视台另一档节目《爱情岛》的两名前参赛者自杀身亡。2016年，《纽约邮报》统计了自2004年以来21名美国真人秀节目参与者的自杀行为。

　　Yet the Jeremy Kyle episode may be a“watershed moment”,as one MP put it.Parliament this week launched an inquiry into reality TV.

　　inquiry/ɪnˈkwaɪərɪ/|CET4 TEM4 N-COUNT An inquiry is an official investigation.(官方的)调查

　　然而，正如一位议员所说，杰里米•凯尔事件可能是一个“分水岭时刻”。英国议会本周回对真人秀节目展开调查。

　　【搭配与表达】

　　watershed moment

　　分水岭，转折点

　　&The 2008 Beijing Olympics will likely be a watershed moment for Digital.

　　2008年北京奥运会可能是数字世界的一个分水岭。

　　One reason may be the programme’s vulnerable subjects.The families berating each other in episodes such as“My transgender love rival is trying to steal my husband!”are softer targets than the young wannabes who go on“Love Island”.

奇速英语阅读

　　vulnerable/ˈvʌlnərəbəl/|CET6 TEM4

　　ADJ Someone who is vulnerable is weak and without protection,with the result that they are easily hurt physically or emotionally.易受伤害的

　　rival/ˈraɪvəl/|CET4 TEM4

　　N-COUNT Your rival is a person,business,or organization who you are competing or fighting against in the same area or for the same things.对手

　　wannabe/ˈwɒnəˌbiː/

　　N-COUNT If you call someone a wannabe,you are saying in an unkind way that they are trying very hard to be like another person or group of people.效颦者

　　节目中的弱势群体是造成这种现象的原因之一。在诸如“我的跨性别情敌想偷走我的丈夫!”这样的剧集里，家庭之间相互指责，比那些想要去“爱情岛”的年轻效颦者更容易成为关注对象。

　　【拓展理解】

　　“Love Island”

　　爱情岛英国综艺

　　《爱情岛》是ITV Studios为ITV2制作的一档恋爱真人秀。节目中所有的参与者（统一称呼为islanders岛民们）被安排生活在一个小岛上的别墅中展开恋爱之旅，观众将有权决定岛民们的去留，最后留下来的一对情侣，将能获得五万英镑的巨额奖金。《爱情岛》第三季的平均观众数为250万，该节目也帮助ITV2被票选为最受英国16至34岁观众喜爱的数字频道。

　　Ten years of austerity have made poor-bashing less fashionable than elite-bashing.Viewers with an appetite for public shaming can nowadays get it on Twitter.And canning“Kyle”costs ITV less than ending“Love Island”.

　　austerity/ɒˈstɛrɪtɪ/|TEM8

　　N-UNCOUNT Austerity is a situation in which people's living standards are reduced because of economic difficulties.经济紧缩

　　can/kən,kæn/|CET4 TEM4

　　V-T If you are canned,you are dismissed from your job.解雇

　　十年的财政紧缩，使得人们对精英的抨击比对穷人的攻击更为流行。现在，喜欢公开羞辱他人的观众可以在Twitter上找到归宿。对电视台而言，解雇“凯尔”（“杰里米·凯尔秀”）的成本比结束“爱之岛”的成本要低。

　　But there may be a more optimistic explanation.There has been a“sea change”in attitudes to mental health,says Paul Farmer,the boss of Mind,a charity.Public figures,from MPs to royals,have opened up about their mental battles.

　　但或许还有一个更为乐观的解释。慈善机构Mind的老板保罗•法默说，人们对心理健康的态度发生了“巨大的变化”。那些公众人物，从国会议员到皇室成员，都对外公开了他们的心理斗争。

　　【搭配与表达】

　　sea change

　　（态度）巨大转变

　　&It is a sea change in the way the industry works.

　　这是行业工作模式的彻底性改变。

　　“What starts off invisible,moves towards taboo,becomes acceptable.We’ve seen it in cancer,race,sexuality,disability and we see it in mental health,”says David Crepaz-Keay of the Mental Health Foundation,another charity.

　　invisible/ɪnˈvɪzəbəl/|CET4 TEM4

　　ADJ If you describe something as invisible,you mean that it cannot be seen,for example,because it is transparent,hidden,or very small.看不见的

　　taboo/təˈbuː/|CET6 TEM4

　　N-COUNT A taboo against a subject or activity is a social custom to avoid doing that activity or talking about that subject,because people find them embarrassing or offensive.禁忌

　　sexuality/ˌsɛksjʊˈælɪtɪ/|TEM4

　　N-UNCOUNT You can refer to a person's sexuality when you are talking about whether they are sexually attracted to people of the same sex or a different sex.性倾向

　　另一个慈善机构心理健康基金会的David Crepaz-Keay说：“这（心理问题/斗争）一开始是看不见的，后来变成了一种禁忌，但现在已被人接受。我们已经在癌症、种族、性倾向、残疾方面都看到了这种现象，现在我们在心理健康中也看到了类似的现象。

　　The number of people saying they were willing to live with someone who suffered from mental illness increased from 57%in 2009 to 72%in 2016.

　　在2016年，表示愿意和患有精神疾病的人一起生活的人数从2009年的57%上升到了72%。

奇速英语阅读

　　【长难句分析】

　　The number of people saying they were willing to live with someone who suffered from mental illness increased from 57%in 2009 to 72%in 2016.

　　此句中，句子主干是“The number of people increased from 57%in 2009 to 72%in 2016.”，中间的全为修饰的成分。“saying they were willing to live with someone”是现在分词作后置定语，修饰people;“who suffered from mental illness”则是修饰someone的定语从句。

　　Those willing to work with them rose from 69%to 80%.And the media’s framing of mental-health issues shifted to being mainly non-stigmatising in 2016,according to Time to Change,a campaign.The end of“The Jeremy Kyle Show”will presumably do this balance no harm.

　　framing/ˈfreɪmɪŋ/

　　N a frame,framework,or system of frames框架

　　stigmatize/ˈstɪɡməˌtaɪz/

　　V-T If someone or something is stigmatized,they are unfairly regarded by many people as being bad or having something to be ashamed of.侮辱

　　presumably/prɪˈzjuːməblɪ/|CET4 TEM4

　　ADV If you say that something is presumably the case,you mean that you think it is very likely to be the case,although you are not certain.很可能，大概

　　愿意和他们一起工作的人从69%上升到了80%。媒体对心理健康问题的框架在2016年总体上转变为“非羞辱”的态度。《杰里米·凯尔秀》的结局应该不会破坏这种平衡。

　　【表达与搭配】

　　do no harm

　　（做某事）没有坏处，有益;不妨（做某事）

　　&You can do no harm by paying a woman compliments

　　对女人说些恭维话没有坏处。