阅读训练

Sex And The City-state1

On a small downtown stage, two men kiss passionately. Visitors to a nearby museum look at provocative nudes on the wall, while readers scour local magazines for the best place to buy sex toys. Think you're in New York? Guess again. This is Singapore, the famously uptight city-state better known for banning films like Eyes Wide Shut and Lolita, 2 not to mention magazines like Playboy3.

There's not exactly a free -love revolution going on, but Singapore has in recent years loosened its restrictions on sex in the arts. And more freedom is on the horizon: this month the government's Censorship Review Committee ( CRC) is expected to issue a report further easing the guidelines governing what Singaporeans read, watch and listen to. That means it may not be long before Singaporeans can enjoy Cosmopolitan magazine, and maybe even racy TV shows like HBO's Sex and the City.

The new rules are part of Singapore 's efforts to bolster its art scene . In 2002, it opened a world-class performing-arts center, the Esplanade -Theatres on the Bay, which has quickly become a visual icon and is tackling ambitious programs like the 19-hour opera The Peony Pavilion4 .

Singapore still has a long way to go to become a true bastion of artistic freedom. Sexually explicit scenes were recently cut from Chicago to give it a PG rating5. Certain topics remain very sensitive .

In the end, the CRC is expected to recommend relatively small changes: loosening controls on pay-per-view TV6 and clarifying the rating system for films and plays so viewers know exactly what to expect. Such incremental change seems to be in step with public tastes. Indeed, a recent survey by the CRC found that most people favored remaining true to existing Asian values. So don't expect to see Penthouse on newsstands any time soon.

练习题：

Ⅰ. True or False:

1. Singapore has been famous for its conservative attitude towards its sex.

2. There is exactly a free -love revolution in the city.

3. The new report means that Singaporeans can enjoy Cosmopolitan magazine at once .

Ⅱ. Questions:

1. Why the CRC issues new rules to ease the guidelines governing what Singaporeans read and watch?

2. Is there artistic freedom in Singapore? What is the present situation?

3. What is the CRC expected to do?

参考答案

Ⅰ. 1. T 2. F 3 . F

Ⅱ. 1 . To bolster its arts scene.

2 . Yes, there is. It still has a long way to go to become a true bastion artistic freedom.

3 . It is expected to issue report further easing the guidelines governing what Singaporeans read, watch and listen to.

参考译文

欲望之都——新加坡

在市区一个小台阶上, 两名男子正在热吻。到附近的博物馆参观的游客们看着贴在墙上的煽情的裸像, 读者则在浏览当地杂志搜索购买性玩具的最佳地点。以为你身在纽约?

再猜猜。这里是新加坡, 一个闻名遐迩的保守城市, 曾禁查过《大开眼界》、《洛丽塔》之类的电影, 更不用提像《花花公子》那样的杂志。

虽然没有发生性解放运动, 但近几年来, 新加坡放宽了对艺术中“ 性”的限制。而且将有更多的自由: 预计这个月新加坡制度审核委员会将发布一个报告, 进一步放宽管理新加坡人民的书籍、电视、广播的规定。那将意味着, 不久新加坡人也能阅读《大都市》杂志, 甚至收看到像美国有线电视频道播放的《欲望城市》那样有失体统的电视节目。

这些新规则是新加坡为支持本国艺术发展所作努力的一部分。2002 年, 新加坡一家世界级的表演艺术中心——— 滨海艺术中心开放了, 它迅速成为一个视觉图标, 长达19 个小时的歌剧《牡丹亭》也在此隆重上演。

新加坡要成为一个真正的艺术自由的堡垒, 仍有很长一段路要走。电影《芝加哥》中的大胆赤裸场景都被剪切成为适合儿童观看级别的电影。某些话题仍十分敏感。最后, 新加坡制度审核委员会预计将会做出相对小的变化: 放宽对按次收费电视的管制, 明确电影、电视剧级别的划分, 使观众对节目有所预期。这些渐进式的变化看来与民众 味步调一致。的确, 制度审核委员会新近的一次调查显示: 大多数人都喜欢保持现存的亚洲价值观。因此, 别期望不久会在报亭看到《阁楼》杂志。

阅读解释

1. 美国有线电视频道于1998 年推出系列剧《欲望城市》( Sex and the City) 。该剧的主人公是四个年过30 的单身女子。她们对爱与性的渴望与迷茫反映了许多都市人的心声。

2. 这个句子中的uptight 的意思是“ 极端保守的, 过分拘谨的”;《大开眼界》( Eyes Wide Shut) 和《洛丽塔》( Lolita) 都是美国电影大师斯坦利·库布里克( Stanley Kubrick) 执导的影片。两部影片均以性欲的混乱与迷茫为主题。其中后一部电影是1997 年库布里克根据著名的小说家弗拉基米尔·纳波科夫( Vladimir Nabokov) 的同名小说《洛丽塔》改编的。

3.《花花公子》杂志于1953 年由休·赫夫纳( Hugh Hefner) 创办, 是世界上最具影响力的杂志之一。半个世纪以来, 该杂志已经成功地由淫秽刊物转型为集时尚和前卫于一体的国际性杂志。

4. The Peony Pavilion 是《牡丹亭》的英译。《牡丹亭》, 中国明朝戏剧家汤显祖的四大剧作之一。

5. PG 是Parental Guidance ( 在父母引导下) , 这里PG rating 是美国电影的一个级别, 指的是“10 岁以下儿童在家长陪同下观看”。G 级适合所有观众观看; PG-13 级( 涉及黄色笑话、性及粗言和影射毒品等镜头) 指13 岁以下少年须在家长陪同下观看; R 级( 涉及暴力、性、粗言等镜头) ———17 岁以下青年必须在家长或监护人的陪同下观看; NG-17级———17岁以下青年不得观看。

6. pay-per-view ( PPV) 是有线电视网络常用术语, 意思是“ 按次收费”。相关的词汇还有:pay-TV ( 收费电视) ; pay-per-channel ( 或PPC) ( 按频道收费) ; VOD( 视频点播) 即video on demand 的缩写。