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Marketing Middle Earth 行销中土世界

课文朗读

课文讲解

繁體中文譯本

The Lord of the Rings movies have left cinema audiences worldwide captivated not only by the films’ characters, costumes and award-winning special effects, but also by the rugged New Zealand country-side where the movies were filmed. Unsurprisingly, tourists have been heading to New Zealand in record numbers, oftentimes to visit original shooting locations on Lord of the Rings theme tours. The popularity of Tolkien’s classic tale, along with New Zealand’s attraction as an untouched paradise, is proving a lucrative marketing marriage for the country.

魔戒系列电影不仅让全球影迷为电影的人物、服装、和获奖的特效如痴如醉，也为地势险峻、做为电影实景地的纽西兰乡野着迷不已。游客以创纪录的人数前往纽西兰并不令人意外，其中常常是造访实景拍摄地的魔戒主题旅游团。托尔金的经典故事，结合纽西兰宛如人间仙境的魅力景点，足以证明是可为这个国家带来钱潮的行销组合。

To ensure that the country’s economy continues to benefit from the tourist influx, the New Zealand government has earmarked US$2.25 million for a promotional campaign marketing New Zealand as Middle Earth. The country’s flagship airline, Air New Zealand, has even decked out one of its 747s – nicknamed “Frodo” – in Middle Earth style.

为了确保本国经济能持续从大量的外来游客中受益，纽西兰政府提拨两百廿五万美金来筹划一个行销活动，把纽西兰化身为中土世界。这个国家的主要航空公司──纽西兰航空──甚至把一架绰号叫佛罗多的747客机打扮成中土世界的风格。

There’s even a best-selling Lord of the Rings Location Guidebook – indispensable for locating Rivendell or Gondor. But to find some of the more isolated destinations, most tourists seek the guidance of a theme tour. Leading many of these tours are “insiders” who had a hand in the making of the films. These guides have been known to entertain tour groups with anecdotes pertaining to the epic task of producing the trilogy.

畅销的「魔戒拍摄地旅游指南」是寻访瑞凡戴尔或刚铎不可或缺的圣典。但为了找到较为偏僻隔绝的目的地，大部分的旅客会寻求主题式的旅游导览。带领这些游览的导游们大部分都曾参与过这些影片的制作。他们提供制作三部曲浩大工程的轶事来娱乐旅游团，这已是广为周知的。

Vocabulary

单词发音

captivate [ˋkæptə͵vet] v. 使着迷; 迷住﹐吸引

rugged [ˋrʌgɪd] adj. 高低不平的

oftentimes [ˋɔfn͵taɪmz] adv. 往往；常常

lucrative [ˋlukrətɪv] adj. 赚钱的，有利可图的

influx [ˋɪnflʌks] n.〔人﹑钱﹑货物等突然〕大量涌入

earmark [ˋɪr͵mɑrk] v. 指定…的用途

flagship [ˋflæg͵ʃɪp] n. 王牌; 主打产品; 旗舰产品

deck out 妆饰；打扮；装扮 put on special clothes to appear particularly appealing and attractive

deck [dɛk] v. 装饰，打扮[（+out/in/with）]

indispensable [͵ɪndɪsˋpɛnsəb!] adj. 必不可少的，必需的[（+to/for）]

insider [ˋɪnˋsaɪdɚ] n.〔团体〕内部的人﹐ 圈内人﹐ 业内人士

have a hand in 参与或介入……；participate, be involved

anecdote [ˋænɪk͵dot] n. 轶事，趣闻

pertain [pɚˋten] v.【正式】与…直接相关; 有关﹐ 关于[(+to)]

epic [ˋɛpɪk] adj. 英雄的；壮丽的

trilogy [ˋtrɪlədʒɪ] n.〔戏剧﹑图书﹑电影等的〕三部曲

Sentence of the Day

Natural beauty is its claim to fame.

自然美景是它饱富盛名的原因。

claim to fame  成名的原因

课文朗读

New Zealand’s road to tourism riches was not, however, as smooth as it would appear. It took some time to persuade New Line Cinema, the studio that backed the trilogy, to allow the marketing of New Zealand as Middle Earth. At first, the studio balked at the suggestion because they worried that associating its movies with a real country would detract from the mystique of Middle Earth as an imaginary setting.

然而，纽西兰想从旅游业上淘金的路走得不像表面上那般顺畅。他们耗费了一些时日才得以说服新线电影公司，即投资此三部曲的片厂，让他们把纽西兰当成中土世界行销。起初，片厂对这个建议踌躇不前，因为他们担心把电影和一个真实国家连结在一起，会让中土世界富含想象力的场景减损了神秘感。

Despite its initial reluctance, glowing praise for New Zealand from the actors involved in the making of the movies helped spark New Line’s enthusiasm. Once the films’ producers were satisfied that the tourism campaign would be mutually beneficial, they were more than happy to let New Zealand use The Lord of the Rings as a marketing tool.

仅管先前举措不定，参与拍摄的演员对纽西兰赞不绝口，激发起新线的热情。只要影片制作人对旅游行销的加乘效果感到满意，他们很乐意让纽西兰把魔戒当成行销工具。

In December, the marketing campaign will receive its final boost when the third installment of the trilogy, The Return of the King, premieres in the Kiwi capital of Wellington. With a bevy of movie stars and international journalists expected, New Zealand will soon be hogging the spotlight again and making its claim as the “real” Middle Earth.

十二月时，将在「奇异」【注】之都威灵顿首映第三部曲：「王者再临」，把行销活动推向高潮。预计将有一群电影明星及国际记者光临，纽西兰会很快地占据镁光灯的焦点，并自许为「真正的」中土世界。

【注】：”kiwi” 这个代表所有纽西兰事物的绰号来自「鹬鸵」，一种纽西兰原生鸟。

Vocabulary

单词发音

riches [ˋrɪtʃɪz] n. 财富，财产

balk [bɔk] v. 畏怯，犹豫[（+at）]

detract [dɪˋtrækt] v. 减损，降低[（+from）]

mystique [mɪsˋtik] n. 神秘性﹐ 神秘色彩

glowing [ˋgloɪŋ] adj. 强烈的；热情的

spark [spɑrk] v. 激励；鼓舞

mutually [ˋmjutʃʊəlɪ] adv. 互相，彼此

boost [bust] n. 推动；帮助；促进

installment [ɪnˋstɔlmənt] n.（分期连载的）部分

premiere [prɪˈmɪr] v. 初次上演

Kiwi [ˋkiwɪ] n.【非正式】新西兰人

bevy [ˋbɛvɪ] n. 一羣人〔尤指少女或年轻女子〕

hog [hɑg] v.【俚】贪心地攫取；霸占

Sentence of the Day

It's practicallya license to print money.

简直就是印钞执照。

a license to print money: A means of generating a large income with little effort.

课文讲解

Lord of the Ringsfans John and Cheryl are on a plane bound for a Middle Earth tour of New Zealand:  电影「魔戒」的影迷约翰和雪瑞正坐着飞机，前去造访纽西兰的中土世界：

J: It says in my program that a small farm in the center of New Zealand’s North Island is home to Hobbiton. Our tour goes there on the second day.

我的行程表说纽西兰北岛的一个小农场是哈比人的家园。我们第二天的行程会在那里。

C: Visiting Bag End will be nice, but I’m really interested in seeing those majestic mountains that had so much visual presence in the movie.

游览贝金兜底是很棒的，但我对在电影中极具视觉光采的巍巍群山特别感兴趣。

J: Ah, the Southern Alps. We’ll see them during our second week, after we’ve visited the Lord of the Rings exhibition in Wellington.

南阿尔卑斯山。我们会在第二周看到，之前会先参观在威灵顿的「魔戒」展览。

C: Did you know that we’ll see the handmade swords used for close-ups at the exhibition?

你可知道，我们会在展览中看到特别为镜头特写而手工制作的刀剑？

J: Sure do. The director, Peter Jackson, had thousands of people making every imaginable prop to make the films look as much like Middle Earth as possible.

当然。导演彼德杰克逊带领数千人制作每一种能想象得出来的道具，以使电影尽可能像中土世界般栩栩如生。

C: I guess the exhibition will be the highlight for a die-hard Tolkien fan like yourself.

我猜这项展览是像你这样死忠的托尔金迷最哈的。

J: Yeah; but personally, I’m hopeful the whole trip will give me the chance to get to know more about “the Land of the Long White Cloud.”

是啊；但我个人希望在整个行程中，让我有机会去深入认识「长白云之地」【注】。

C: Me, too. I’ve always wanted to visit New Zealand, and now I have double the reasons to do so.

我也是。我一直就想游览纽西兰，而现在我造访此地的理由又加倍了。

【注】：Aotearoa，或「长白云之地」，是原住民毛利人对纽西兰的称呼。

－by Eddie Cameron

Vocabulary

单词发音

bound [baʊnd] adj. 正在前往的，打算前去的[（+for/to）]

presence [ˋprɛzns] n. 风采；风度

exhibition [͵ɛksəˋbɪʃən] n. 展览（会）

close-up（电影、电视等的）特写镜头，特写

prop [prɑp] n.【口】道具（= property）

highlight [ˋhaɪ͵laɪt] n. 最突出（或最精彩）的部分；最重要（或最有趣）的事情

die-hard  忠实追随的; 顽固的, 死硬的

personally [ˋpɝsn!ɪ] adv. 就本人而言，就个人而言

Sentence of the Day

It is really something to write home about.

这桩美事特别值得一提。

something to write home about  值得大书特书的事; 非常出色(或精彩)的事

Middle-earth Pure New Zealand - extended edition