VOA常速英语2008年-Foreign Publishers Set Up Shop in India

By Anjana Pasricha
New Delhi
10 February 2008

Foreign book and magazine publishers are making a beeline for India, which has a growing population of affluent¹, English-speaking customers. Anjana Pasricha has the story from New Delhi.

The sugar-candy romances published by Mills and Boon², the British publisher of romantic fiction,have long been popular in India, where watching Bollywood films woven around love stories is a favorite past time.

But the high prices of imported books meant more people borrowed than bought them.

Mills and Boon hopes to change that, and turn India, with its 300 million English-speaking people, into its biggest market.

The company recently established an Indian subsidiary. Its head in Mumbai, Andrew Go, says it will offer books to Indian readers for an affordable³ two and a half dollars.

Go says the romances are tailor-made for a country where the theme of love dominates the entertainment industry.

"Whether I turn on the TV here, or I watch a Bollywood film, or listen to the radio, everything is about love here and so I think that really resonates with our product," he said. "If you really look at a base Bollywood storyline where it is boy meets girl, maybe some kind of conflict, but always a happy, uplifting ending, that really just nears what is in a Mills and Boon book."

The publishers plan to add some Indian content to some of their romances, one story for example features a billionaire Indian hero.

Mills and Boon is not the only one making a foray into the Indian market.

Last September, the publishers of Vogue⁴ magazine introduced an Indian edition, which features India and international fashion, and has Indians on its cover.

Vogue publisher, Conde Nast, also plans to bring other magazines, such as Glamour⁵, to India.

Studies estimate that about one million homes in India have annual incomes of over $100,000,  with the potential to buy high-end clothes and accessories.

Other publications that have come to India include the style magazine Cosmopolitan⁶ and the celebrity⁷ news weekly Hello.

These publishing houses have been able to set up Indian operations after the country changed the law three years ago, allowing foreign groups full ownership of non-news publications.

1 affluent   

adj.富裕的，富有的，丰富的，富饶的

参考例句：

• He hails from an affluent background.他出身于一个富有的家庭。
• His parents were very affluent.他的父母很富裕。

2 boon   

n.恩赐，恩物，恩惠

参考例句：

• A car is a real boon when you live in the country.在郊外居住，有辆汽车确实极为方便。
• These machines have proved a real boon to disabled people.事实证明这些机器让残疾人受益匪浅。

3 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

4 Vogue   

n.时髦，时尚；adj.流行的

参考例句：

• Flowery carpets became the vogue.花卉地毯变成了时髦货。
• Short hair came back into vogue about ten years ago.大约十年前短发又开始流行起来了。

5 glamour   

n.魔力，魅力；vt.迷住

参考例句：

• Foreign travel has lost its glamour for her.到国外旅行对她已失去吸引力了。
• The moonlight cast a glamour over the scene.月光给景色增添了魅力。

6 cosmopolitan   

adj.世界性的，全世界的，四海为家的，全球的

参考例句：

• New York is a highly cosmopolitan city.纽约是一个高度世界性的城市。
• She has a very cosmopolitan outlook on life.她有四海一家的人生观。

7 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。