2005年NPR美国国家公共电台三月-"Fat Actress" Makes Big Debut

This is Day to Day, I am Alex.C.If you've been in the supermarket lately,looking at the tabloid¹ covers,you must be aware of the weight problems of Kirstie Alley²,the former star of the sitcom³ "Cheers" is no longer so slender as she once was.But Day to Day TV critic Andrew Wallenstein has seen her new Showtime series "Fat Actress"and he says Kirstie is at least still funny.

There are two unpardonable things for a woman in Hollywood,getting old and getting fat. 54-year-old,200-pound Kirstie Alley has done both.But lo and behold⁴ it's actually a pretty good career move.In "Fat Actress" Alley basically transforms her own life into a TV show.We watched her try to restart a television career while desperately⁵ trying to keep her weight down.And as I watched her pluck hamburger crumbs⁶ from her cleavage in the first episode,I lost my appetite.You see, no actress has come across this unabashedly repellent since Charlize Theron uglified herself for Monster,the film she won an Oscar for last year.And it is not just surface beauty we are talking about here.Alley whines⁷ and whimpers endlessly,even when doing business with her talent agent.

"I do television,Sam.I want my own television show.I mean is it so much to ask if I have my own television show again since that's what I do for a living?"

"The reality is if you want to get your own show,you're gonna have to lose some weight."

"Well,why can't I just get a show first and then lose the weight?"
"That's not way it works, my friend"

"You know what,my friend, it does work that way with the guys.I mean,look,Drum Goodsman's got his own show and Janson Alexander looks like a crack bowling⁸ ball indeed."

Well, I'm not sure Alley's shamelessness here is incredibly brave or incredibly stupid.But the question becomes irrelevant⁹."Fat Actress" hooks you because you wanna see just how far Alley would go for laughs at her own expense.That's pretty down and far,because Showtime is a premium¹⁰ cable channel,which has few content restrictions¹¹. For instance,"Fat Actress" proves its political incorrectness from the start,when Alley gets some dieting advice.

"Get some cigarettes."
"Oh, I don't want to smoke.I just quit"
"Not to smoke.You idiot , to eat."
"Eat?"
"Tobacco digested causes severe acidity¹² and brings holes in your stomach lining¹³.That's a good thing."

Alley has always been a solid comic performer,but that's not the real novelty of this show."Fat Actress" is refreshingly¹⁴ funny because body image issues are usually off limits for laughs.Just wait and see this become a trend when the show becomes a big hit.But as much as I enjoy Alley's wild sense of humour,I am a little worried about the future of the show.She's already signed a sponsorship deal with the Jenney Crag diet plant,which begs an obvious question:what will "Fat Actress" be if Alley isn't fat? Unless the show becomes more than just one-note jokes about her weight,it's the comedy that could begin to wear thin.

Andrew Wallenstein is an editor at the Hollywood reporter,the new Showtime series "Fat Actress" debuts¹⁵ next week.

1 tabloid   

adj.轰动性的，庸俗的；n.小报，文摘

参考例句：

• He launched into a verbal assault on tabloid journalism.他口头对小报新闻进行了抨击。
• He believes that the tabloid press has behaved disgracefully.他认为小报媒体的行为不太光彩。

2 alley   

n.小巷，胡同；小径，小路

参考例句：

• We live in the same alley.我们住在同一条小巷里。
• The blind alley ended in a brick wall.这条死胡同的尽头是砖墙。

3 sitcom   

n.情景喜剧，（广播、电视的）系列幽默剧

参考例句：

• This sitcom is produced in cooperation with Hong Kong TV.这部连续剧是同香港电视台联合制作的。
• I heard that a new sitcom is coming out next season.我听说下一季会推出一个新的情境喜剧。

4 behold   

v.看，注视，看到

参考例句：

• The industry of these little ants is wonderful to behold.这些小蚂蚁辛勤劳动的样子看上去真令人惊叹。
• The sunrise at the seaside was quite a sight to behold.海滨日出真是个奇景。

5 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

6 crumbs   

int. (表示惊讶)哎呀 n. 碎屑 名词crumb的复数形式

参考例句：

• She stood up and brushed the crumbs from her sweater. 她站起身掸掉了毛衣上的面包屑。
• Oh crumbs! Is that the time? 啊，天哪！都这会儿啦？

7 whines   

n.悲嗥声( whine的名词复数 )；哀鸣者v.哀号( whine的第三人称单数 )；哀诉，诉怨

参考例句：

• The colony whines a centerless loud drone that vibrates the neighborhood. 蜂群嗡嗡喧闹的哀鸣振动邻里。 来自互联网
• The web whines with the sound of countless mosquitoes and flies trapped in its folds. 蜘蛛网内发出无数只被困在蜘蛛丝间的蚊子与苍蝇所发出来的声音。 来自互联网

8 bowling   

n.保龄球运动

参考例句：

• Bowling is a popular sport with young and old.保龄球是老少都爱的运动。
• Which sport do you 1ike most,golf or bowling?你最喜欢什么运动，高尔夫还是保龄球？

9 irrelevant   

adj.不恰当的，无关系的，不相干的

参考例句：

• That is completely irrelevant to the subject under discussion.这跟讨论的主题完全不相关。
• A question about arithmetic is irrelevant in a music lesson.在音乐课上，一个数学的问题是风马牛不相及的。

10 premium   

n.加付款；赠品；adj.高级的；售价高的

参考例句：

• You have to pay a premium for express delivery.寄快递你得付额外费用。
• Fresh water was at a premium after the reservoir was contaminated.在水库被污染之后，清水便因稀而贵了。

11 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

12 acidity   

n.酸度，酸性

参考例句：

• This plant prefers alkaline soil,though it will readily tolerate some acidity.这种植物在酸性土壤中也能生存，但硷性土壤更加适宜。
• Gastric acidity would not prevent the organism from passing into the gut.胃的酸度不能防止细菌进入肠道。

13 lining   

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

• The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
• Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。

14 refreshingly   

adv.清爽地，有精神地

参考例句：

• Hers is less workmanlike than the other books and refreshingly unideological. 她的书不像其它书那般精巧，并且不涉及意识形态也让人耳目一新。 来自互联网
• Skin is left refreshingly clean with no pore-clogging residue. 皮肤留下清爽干净，没有孔隙堵塞残留。 来自互联网

15 debuts   

演员首次演出( debut的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He never really debuts the idea of taking money from his parents any longer. 他从此就再也没有认真起过向父母要钱的念头。
• This young soprano debuts next month at the metropolitan opera. 这位年轻的女高音歌唱家下个月将在纽约大都会歌剧院举行首演。