阅读训练

The Other Face You Don't Know About Madonna

Of all the many faces Madonna presents to the world, the one she tries most assiduously2 to disguise is that of successful businesswoman. Once she said:"Part of the reason for my success is that I'm a good business woman but I don't think it necessary for people to know that."

The girl who arrived in New York with a fistful of dollars is — and has been — a publisher, music mogul, TV executive, merchandising magnate, film producer and is one of the richest women on the planet. She is a typical self-made tycoon: cautious in her investments, conservative in her spending, controlling her multi-million dollar empire.

Indeed Madonna is a classic capitalist — conforming to2 all the rules, never putting a foot wrong, running her life like clockwork. Like a typical cigar-chomping company chairman, she is the first to arrive and the last to leave while every evening she sits down and lists her goals for the next day.

She likes to present a hard-boiled, sassy image but her maternal and compassionate instincts are much in evidence — and not only in the way she dotes on her two children.

She has quietly paid for drug rehabilitation therapy for numerous friends and family members. Indeed, much of her charity work is discreet3 and unshowy. A well-known supporter of Aids charities, she is also a donor to a charity for breast cancer, the disease which killed her mother.

For while she may employ bodyguards, chauffeurs, maids and cooks, old habits die hard. The girl who survived by bumming meals from friends and acquaintances has not changed too much. When she is out with a group of friends, Madonna is rarely the one to reach for the bill. She will wait to see someone else is going to pick up the tab and then, as a last resort, will break down4 the bill so that everyone pays their share.

On tour she will personally haggle with hotels for cut-price rates and she checks every bill. This obsessive need for control goes way beyond the parameters of a typical business manual.

练习题：

Questions:

1. What is the identity that she intends to hide from her audience ?

2. Why do we say she is a classic capitalist?

参考答案

1. Her identity as a successful businesswoman.

2. Because she conforms to all the rules, never puts a foot wrong, lives a temperate life and, above all, works very hard to run her company.

参考译文

麦当娜的另一张脸

在麦当娜向世人展现的众多面孔中, 作为成功商人的一面是她最想竭力隐藏的。她曾经说过这样的话:“ 我成功的部分原因在于我是一个好商人, 但是我认为没必要让人们知道这一点。”

这个赤手空拳来到纽约的姑娘, 如今身兼出版商、乐坛巨头、电视经理、推销大王、电影制片人, 是世界上最富有的女人之一。她是典型传统的白手起家的巨头: 谨慎投资、节制花销、掌控着自己的亿万家产。

事实上, 麦当娜是个传统的资本家——循规蹈矩、小心谨慎、生活极有规律。她像口里叼着雪茄的典型的公司董事长那样, 第一个上班, 最后一个走; 每天晚上都要坐下来, 列出第二天的工作计划。

她喜欢表现出冷峻、前卫的样子, 本人却不乏母爱和怜悯之心, 这不仅仅体现在她对自己两个孩子的溺爱上。她还私下为许多朋友和家人支付戒毒费用。实际上, 她的许多慈善工作都是小心谨慎、不事张扬的。她是著名的艾滋病慈善事业的支持者, 也是乳腺癌( 她母亲死于该病) 慈善机构的捐款者。

她雇佣保镖、司机、女佣和厨师, 却旧习不改。那个常在朋友和熟人那里蹭饭吃的女孩也没多少改变。与一群朋友出去吃饭, 麦当娜很少主动买单。她会等着看是否有人付账,最后不得已, 就大家各自付账。

旅行时, 她会为了砍价亲自和旅馆讨价还价, 检查每一张账单。这种着魔似的控制欲甚至超过典型商业手册的标准。

阅读解释

1. assiduously adv. ( fml) 专心致志地, 勤勉地, 其形容词形式是assiduous, 如: be assiduous in one’s duty ( 认真执行任务) ; The book is the result of ten years’assiduous research. ( 那本书是十年苦心钻研的成果。)

2. conform v. 符合或遵守( 公认的规则和准则等) , 如: She refuses to conform to the normal social conventions. ( 她拒绝遵从正常的社会习俗。) The building does not conform to the safety regulations. ( 这座建筑不符合安全条例。)

3. discreet adj. 言谈举止谨慎的, 言行审慎的, 如: We should make a few discreet enquires about the firm before you sign the contract. ( 我们应该先审慎打探一下这家公司的底细, 然后你再签合同。)

4. break down ( 尤指将金钱花费) 分成几部分, 细分, 如: Expenditure on the project breaks down as follows: wages ￡10m, plant ￡4m, raw material ￡5m. ( 该工程费用可分成如下几 部分: 工人工资一千万英镑, 厂房四百万英镑, 原料五百万英镑。)