雅思口语：电视相亲.docx

雅思口语篇
电视相亲席卷中国
朗阁海外考试研究中心 王元

【时事聚焦】 6月30日，美国《时代》周刊以醒目的位置登载了一篇题为《中国电视相亲节目：为爱还是为钱？》的文章。作者贾斯汀·伯格曼撰文指出，对于一小撮中国现代年轻女性来说，真爱都是关于数字的。在要求求婚者必须拥有幽默感、英俊外貌的同时，她们更在乎的是对方是否有房子、房子的大小、银行卡的钱数，当然有豪华轿车更好。至少，这些都是近来中国电视相亲节目中的情景。这些节目吸引了数百万观众的眼球，也招来了批评人士的无情炮轰，批评这些节目导致消极的、非传统价值观在中国城市年轻人中盛行。在如今最为流行的“非诚勿扰”舞台上因负面言论走红的著名拜金女马诺，在一位爱好骑自行车且无业的男嘉宾问她是否愿意坐在他的自行车后座上欣赏风景时的回应被看作是当今中国80后一代价值观的一个缩影。

China's TV Dating Shows: For Love or Money?
(SHANGHAI)— For a small but increasingly high-profile number of young women in modern-day China, true love is all about the numbers. A potential suitor may have a good sense of humor and reasonable good looks, but what they say really matters is if he owns an apartment and how many square feet it is. A sizable bank account is also a must, and, some say, so is a luxury car.
Ma Nuo：
At least, that's the way things look if you watch Chinese television these days. Though China was slow to pick up on the reality-programming trend, a host of dating shows and American Idol copycats have emerged in recent years, capturing millions of viewers but angering critics who say the programs promote negative, non-traditional values among urban Chinese youth. The latest reality-TV scandal to transfix the nation involves Ma Nuo, a 22-year-old model from Beijing who appeared on China's most popular dating show, If You Are the One. She haughtily rejected an offer from a male contestant to take a ride on his bike, epitomizing the materialism that some say has come to define the nouveau riche of the post-1980s generation. "I'd rather cry in a BMW car than laugh on the backseat of a bicycle," Ma told her suitor with a giggle.
Smackdown：
The televised smackdown swept the Internet and made an instant celebrity of Ma, who left the show without a match but has since entertained numerous television offers and become one of the most talked-about women in the country. The backlash among young Chinese was especially severe, reflecting growing anxieties over the widening gap between rich and poor, shifting societal values and the difficulties of finding a mate in a country where men are expected to outnumber women by 24 million in a decade. (China's 30-year-old one-child policy has caused a disproportionate number of families to abort female fetuses in hopes of having a son.)
Chastity:
"A lot of people see chastity as important as one's own life, but Ma Nuo, a shallow, sharptongued, single girl, treats her chastity like used toilet paper because she wants to be a super star," one netizen, Wang Xi Jie, wrote on the popular Internet forum T. "Yes, the world needs money, but your idea that money is the master of everything is not right." Of If You Are the One and the handful of other dating shows like it, another blogger, Xie Yong, wrote on the Web portal S: "The most controversial aspect of these programs is the value contestants place on money worshipping and rich people. These opinions are so contrary to traditional values, like loving one's country and respecting one's elders ... But we can't do anything if these people just like ugly things." (See how online dating is entering the iPad age.)
New policies：
This is cause for concern for the government. In response to the public outcry over Ma's infamous quote — as well as comments from other money-obsessed contestants on If You Are the One and shows like it — the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) issued a harsh set of new rules in early June for matchmaking programs. "Incorrect social and love values such as money worship should not be presented in the shows," the notice read. It also banned "morally provocative hosts and hostesses" and demanded that participants undergo stricter screening procedures and "be cautious before mouthing venturous remarks." After the new policies were announced, all of China's dating shows said they would promptly comply.
Pressure from their parents：
As disgusted as viewers have been by some of the contestants, however, they continue to watch religiously. In fact, Jiangsu's If You Are the One has been joined on the airwaves by several competing programs in recent months, including Let's Go On a Date in Hunan province and Run for Love in Zhejiang province. Why are people still tuning in? "Audiences like the programs because they're honest. They show the current reality of Chinese society," says Yan Mu, one of the founders of B, an online dating service with 21 million registered users. Young people are so focused on making money and building their careers these days, they have little time to devote to dating — and contestants speak to these difficulties on the shows, he says. "Many people feel pressure from their parents and peers," Yan adds. "It can be a struggle to find a partner." Money may not buy you love. But on China's reality shows, it can at least get you a date.

【热点话题】 2010年6月7日，第十六届上海电视节在沪开幕，电视节目主持人30年发展历程高峰论坛当日上午也在上海举行，赵忠祥、王小丫、曹可凡以及一大批研究电视节目发展的专家齐聚一堂。让人颇有些意外的是，一向“有一说一”的学者们在本次活动中显得非常含蓄，对某些节目的批评也只是蜻蜓点水，而曹可凡却大胆直言，称“目前的许多相亲节目，为了收视率，不要脸！”

› “不是嘉宾说得好，是剧本写得好”
电视节目的恶性竞争已经引起了全国的关注，这也是本次论坛的研究题目。不过论坛的前半段却让人昏昏欲睡，专家学者都是避重就轻地谈了目前电视节目发展中遇到的问题。
曹可凡的发言让人颇为意外，他单刀直入，直接向相亲节目开炮。他表示，这些节目的
嘉宾都是经过严格的挑选，都是一些签约的艺人、模特，然后说设计好的台词。“今天
我们所看到的不是一个介绍男女认识的相亲节目，它是一个情景电视连续剧。”“不是嘉
宾说得好，是剧本写得好，以前是主持人念稿子，现在连嘉宾都念稿子了。”“我觉得现
在最可怕的就是虚假的可怕，它提供了一个范例是现在什么都可以虚假，这个世界什么
都是不真实的。”他还特别提到了马诺，他认为“愿在宝马车上哭，不在自行车上笑” （I'd
rather cry in a BMW car than laugh on the backseat of a bicycle．）的言论说出来，是
电视媒体极大的悲哀。而同时参会的《非诚勿扰》制片人王刚，则回避了记者的采访。
在接受记者采访时，曹可凡还预测，相亲节目一年就会死得差不多，而目前各个电视台的模仿竞争，会让这些节目死得更快，抢得先机的会稍微占一些便宜。有趣的是，曹可凡的这一番开炮，实际上也是将老东家东方卫视的相亲节目《百里挑一》也顺带骂了一通。他直言不讳地表示：“如果我是主事者，我不赞成做这样的节目，做节目的宗旨应该是超越，而不是跟从。”曹可凡还对以张悟本为代表的专家节目进行了批评，他认为：“这些所谓专家可能是欺骗了广大的观众，但是作为电视人、制作人，为什么基本的评判力和观察力都没有？”
› 马诺PK李宇春
马诺的这个现象之所以在今天出现，恰好说明了咱们国人，某一部分国人对于金钱物欲的追逐有一些过于急功近利了，5年前《时代周刊》评的那个人物是咱们是超女的歌手李宇春也是非常的引起咱们国人一种很大的关注，包括我很多朋友都是她的粉丝。不管怎么说，她是有自身的一些努力的，她是有非常刻苦的一些训练，有一些自我的一些学习过程是在里面的，她出来的这样一个现象凭借的还是她背后投入了很大的一个心血。

而电视相亲节目中的女嘉宾往往伶牙俐齿、言辞毒辣，更与以往不同的事，她们毫无顾忌地把财富、地位等敏感话题作为基本的择偶原则展示在公众面前。“宁愿坐在宝马里哭”诺和“死也要住豪宅”的朱真芳，她们的价值观和爱情观的确可以代表一部分85后的心态。她们不害怕被挑选、被拒绝甚至被攻击，她们年轻自信、豁得出去、抗击力强，她们把相亲交友节目当成张扬个性、搏名出位的平台，希望成为“凤姐时代”的草根偶像。这些特质，在不少参加节目的女孩身上可见一斑，如此方式的自我包装与推销，就算饱读各大商学院的MBA教材，也未必能做到。

你要是揣摩她们的动机，应该说是比较危险的。但是你看它的效果：毕竟能上这舞台的人还是很少，经济学家有一种非常荒唐的说法，叫做眼球经济，又叫做注意力经济，她们从来不看吸引的是所谓贼眉鼠眼还是美丽的大眼睛，他不判断价值，关键在于出名。这个炒作的后面缺失了一种价值判断，如果有钱就嫁，实际上就是把自己当成商品了。我们要市场经济，但是我们不要市场社会，市场经济那是对的，但你还有尊严，你是一个自由和负责任的人，你不是商品，或者说你有商品的属性，但是你还有人的属性。

› 各国相亲节目
美国是电视业大国，也被认为是电视相亲节目的原产地之一。美国广播公司(ABC)的“单身汉”在同类节目中最热门，每周一晚在全国播出，自2002年以来已播出了14季。它的模式很简单：制片方先选出一名单身汉，此人可能是欧洲某国的王子，也可能是事业有成的富翁或英俊帅气的海军军官。在节目中，这名单身汉和25名来自美国各州、肤色和职业各异的女性约会。地点往往在旅游名胜的一个封闭别墅里，拍摄女生们争风吃醋、甚至大打出手的场面。

在德国，RTL电视台的“给农民找老婆”是最受欢迎的电视相亲节目。节目每次挑选10位农民，然后为每位农民公开挑选女性候选人回家。据称为了达到出位效果，电视台与候选人签订了秘密合约：双方每接吻一次，农民和女性候选人可得到数百到数千欧元；结婚的话，得到的将更多。难怪这些老实巴交的农民在电视机前都成了“情场高手”。当然，节目过后大多数女性都离开了他们。

大家一开始还是懵懂地去充分相信这些电视节目的功能性。因为以往不管是哪个国家，电视都是以服务于大众作为传媒的一个标志的。但突然有一天电视节目单纯地为了收视率拉广告等等，那它就和最初大家以为的那些准则是相悖的。大众会愤怒，因为感觉到被欺骗了，谁也不愿意被人当傻子似的被涮着走。如果真的这些农民都相信：我上这节目就能娶回这么一如花似玉的老婆。那么农民们全都到电视上找漂亮媳妇儿，结果把农活也荒废了，把该干的正事也不干了，结果玩一溜够以后，回家发现这女的结完账走人了，自个儿回家秋收也耽误了，结果还是孑然一身。这些电视节目真是无所不用其极，给农民找老婆那节目，连接吻都明码标价，所以上来一片批评之声，不管是在中国还是国外。
而中国更是有过之而无不及，参与这些交友节目的男女嘉宾，几乎个顶个年轻貌美，伶牙俐齿，甚至非富则贵。通过《非诚勿扰》节目而成为网络热点人物的“富二代”刘云超，最近被人肉搜索出原来是一位参加过歌唱比赛的选秀明星，所谓的昂贵服饰也被网友揭露非常廉价。对此刘云超还专程出面接受采访澄清，但对真实身份又避而不谈。据知情人透露，节目组在找到这些嘉宾时，为了让节目更好看，因此对嘉宾身份的要求本着“越优越好”的原则，甚至不惜请来艺术院校的学生来“体验学习”。 Liu Yunchao, a male contestant, was also condemned in the blogosphere for his arrogance after he bragged about having 6 million yuan ($880,000) in the bank and three sports cars. Rumors have since surfaced online that he's actually an aspiring actor who just pretended to be rich to get on the show.

【真题预测】 电视相亲节目的争论给我们的雅思口语发展方向也带来了诸多启示，请看下面的真题预测：

› Some critics are beginning to wonder whether the dating shows’ shortcomings will outweigh its benefits. Would you agree or disagree with this opinion? Why?
很多评论家就在考虑：电视相亲的弊是否会大于利。你是否认同这种观点？

› Describe some TV shows that you don’t like.
描述一下你不喜欢的电视节目。
› Do you think blind dates are becoming more commonplace?
你认为相亲越来越普遍了吗？

【惊世绝句】 电视相亲会引发的众多精彩话题为我们的雅思口语提供了丰富的谈话素材。下面的佳句不妨来学习一下：

› Now the state is going after money worshippers and gold diggers — and Ma Nuo (nicknamed "BMW Lady" by bloggers) isn't the only target. Zhu Zhenfang, another contestant on If You Are the One, caused a stir when she refused to shake hands with a prospective suitor, saying he "must pay 200,000 yuan [about $29,000] for the privilege." "Why 200,000 yuan?" she continued. "Because my basic criteria for my future boyfriend is that he must earn this amount of money each month."
如今整个国家都在追捧拜金者和“淘金者”（以美色骗取男人钱财的女人）。马诺（被网友称为“宝马女”）不是唯一的讨论目标。《非诚勿扰》中另一个女嘉宾 —— 朱真芳拒绝和一个男嘉宾握手时引起了轰动。“他必须付20万才有和我握手的资格，”她说“因为20万是我未来男友每月工资的最基本标准”。
l money worshipper 拜金者
l gold digger “淘金者”（以美色骗取男人钱财的女人）
l prospective未来的，预期的
l suitor 求婚者
l privilege 权利

› As disgusted as viewers have been by some of the contestants, however, they continue to watch religiously.
尽管观众对很多嘉宾都很厌恶，但他们仍然虔诚地观看。
l disgust 厌恶

l contestant 嘉宾，选手
l viewer 观众
l religious 虔诚的

› Although a huge departure for a show known for its controversial and at times confrontational style, the changes came as little surprise following the notice last month from the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) that banned "fake participants, morally provoking hosts and comments that allude to sex" in television dating shows.
尽管对一个电视节目来说，去掉它有争议和偶尔对立的风格，是很大的改变。但在广电总局上个月发出的禁令（禁止“虚假嘉宾，道德败坏的主持人和涉及‘性话题’的言论”）后，这样的改变也不会引起很大的震惊了。
l controversial 有争议的

l confrontational对立的
l ban 禁止
l fake participant虚假参赛者
l morally道德上