VOA慢速英语2019 大阪直美代言广告"被漂白"惹争议

Naomi Osaka Sponsor Drops Ad after Criticism

Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka says she hopes companies she represents will talk with her about how to present her in future advertisements.

日本网球明星大阪直美表示，她希望自己代言的公司在未来的广告中能和她商讨如何展现她。

Osaka was asked about criticism of her sponsor, Nissin Foods Holdings. The company produced an animated¹ advertisement that showed Osaka with skin that looked lighter² than her real skin color.

大阪直美被问到了对她的赞助商日清食品控股有限公司的批评。该公司制作了一个动画广告，展现出的大阪直美的肤色比她的真实肤色要更白。

Critics said the ad does not represent Osaka’s darker skin, as well as her biracial background. Osaka was born in Japan to a Japanese mother and a Haitian-American father.

批评人士表示，这则广告没有展现出大阪直美的深肤色以及她的混血儿背景。大阪直美在日本出生，母亲是日本人，父亲是海地裔美国人。

Nissin has since removed the advertisement from YouTube.

日清公司已经从YouTube网站上撤下了这则广告。

“I’ve talked to them. They’ve apologized,” Osaka said. “I’m tan. It’s pretty obvious.”

大阪直美表示：“我问过他们了，他们也道歉了。我是深肤色，这很明显。”

Osaka said she did not think the company’s aim was to “whitewash” her. But she added, “I definitely think that the next time they try to portray³ me or something, I feel like they should talk to me about it.”

大阪直美表示，她认为该公司不是想“漂白”她。但是她补充说：“我确实认为下次他们试图给我画像之类时应该跟我商谈。”

Osaka spoke⁴ to reporters in Melbourne, where she is getting ready to play in Saturday’s Australian Open final.

大阪直美在墨尔本接受了记者采访，她正在此地备战周六的澳网公开赛决赛。

Osaka told the media, “I’m just focused on this right now. I’ve gotten to the final of a slam, and that’s sort of my main priority.”

大阪直美对媒体表示：“目前我只关注这场比赛，我已经进入了决赛，这是我首要任务。”

Osaka will face Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic in the final. A victory for Osaka would give her the number-one ranking in the world.

大阪直美将在决赛中迎战来自捷克共和国的科维托娃。大阪直美如果获胜，就会登上世界排名第一的宝座。

It is not the first time that a Japanese company has face criticism for how it deals with issues such as race and nationality.

这并非日本公司首次因为如何处理种族和国籍等问题而遭受批评。

Baye McNeil is an American who has lived in Japan for more than 10 years. He wrote an opinion article for The Japan Times, a local English-language paper. McNeil wrote, “I found a whitewashed⁵ representation of Osaka that could’ve easily been based off a TV personality like Becky or Rola.”

麦克尼尔是一位在日本生活超过10年的美国人。他为当地的英文报纸《日本时报》写了一篇评论文章。麦克尼尔写道：“我发现了大阪直美的美白形象可能是简单地基于贝基或罗拉这样的电视人物。”

McNeil told the Associated Press that Japanese companies need to become more inclusive if they hope to appeal to a worldwide market. “They are not thinking on that level,” McNeil said. “It may be painful, but Japan is going through growing pains right now.”

麦克尼尔对美联社表示，日本公司如果想要吸引全球市场，就必须变得更具包容性。他说：“他们没有考虑到那个层次。这可能很痛苦，但是日本目前正在经历这种成长的痛苦。”

Daisuke Okabayashi is a spokesman for Nissin Foods Holdings. He said Thursday the company did not mean to disrespect Osaka’s diversity. The ad also showed Kei Nishikori, another Japanese tennis star, with lighter skin.

冈林大辅是日清食品控股有限公司的发言人。他周四表示，该公司并非不尊重大阪直美的多样性。这则广告还展示了另一位日本网球明星锦知圭，肤色也很白。

Okabayashi said Osaka’s representative approved the ad but later asked to have the ad taken down. He said the company continues to support Osaka and does not want the issue to become a distraction⁶.

冈林大辅表示，大阪直美方代表批准了这则广告，但是后来要求删除该广告。他说，该公司会继续支持大阪直美，不希望这个问题让人分心。

Words in This Story

sponsor - n. an organization that gives money to an athlete for training, clothes, equipment, etc., in return for the right to use the athlete for advertising⁷

animated - adj. produced by the creation of a series of drawings, pictures

background - n. a person's experiences, knowledge, education, etc...

tan - n. a browning of the skin that is caused by the sun's rays

?obvious - adj. easy to see or notice

portray - v. to show or describe someone in a particular way

priority - n. something that is more important

distraction - n. something that makes it difficult to think or pay attention

diversity - n. the state of having people who are different races or who have different cultures in a group or organization

1 animated   

adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的

参考例句：

• His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
• We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。

2 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

3 portray   

v.描写，描述；画(人物、景象等)

参考例句：

• It is difficult to portray feelings in words.感情很难用言语来描写。
• Can you portray the best and worst aspects of this job?您能描述一下这份工作最好与最坏的方面吗？

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 whitewashed   

粉饰，美化，掩饰( whitewash的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The wall had been whitewashed. 墙已粉过。
• The towers are in the shape of bottle gourds and whitewashed. 塔呈圆形，状近葫芦，外敷白色。 来自汉英文学 - 现代散文

6 distraction   

n.精神涣散，精神不集中，消遣，娱乐

参考例句：

• Total concentration is required with no distractions.要全神贯注，不能有丝毫分神。
• Their national distraction is going to the disco.他们的全民消遣就是去蹦迪。

7 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。