美国国家公共电台 NPR Trump Organization Says It Is Closing Its Modeling Agency

 

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

President Trump¹ has said a lot over the years about illegal immigration. So last year when reports surfaced that his modeling agency had hired women without documents to do fashion work, it generated a lot of controversy². Now that agency is closing its doors, as NPR's Jim Zarroli reports.

JIM ZARROLI, BYLINE³: The Trump Organization said in a statement that it was shutting down its modeling operation to focus its energies on real estate and golf courses. Trump Model Management was part of the eclectic mix of businesses housed under the Trump brand name. And like other Trump businesses, it found itself pulled into the vortex of politics once Trump decided⁴ to run for president.

The liberal magazine Mother Jones did a much-discussed story last year saying that for all Trump's rhetoric⁵ about undocumented workers, some of the models hired by Trump weren't authorized⁶ to work in the United States. Here was one of them, Canadian Rachel Blais, who told CNN she began working for Trump in 2004.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

RACHEL BLAIS: I spent most of my time in New York and worked - did a lot of jobs, but I didn't have a visa until September. I didn't actually start the visa process until August.

ZARROLI: The Trump Organization denied the allegations. Mother Jones also described tough working conditions with models as young as 14 forced to live in crowded apartments. The National Organization for Women accused the company of exploiting its young models. Terri O'Neill is NOW's president.

TERRI O'NEILL: His modeling agency is shutting down. From everything I've read about how that organization operated, I say good riddance to bad rubbish.

ZARROLI: In recent months, the agency was the target of a fashion-industry boycott⁷, and several of its top performers left. One model announced she was leaving on Instagram because she opposed Trump's politics. And a senior manager announced last month he was leaving to start his own firm called Anti Management and taking several of the agency's models with him. He said the name had nothing to do with his feelings about Trump. Jim Zarroli, NPR News, New York.

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

6 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

7 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。