VOA标准英语2011--Hispanic TV Networks Ramp Up Telenovela

Hispanic TV Networks Ramp¹ Up Telenovela Production

Hispanic television networks in the United States are ramping² up domestic production of Spanish-language programming. Traditionally, most Spanish-language programs were brought-in from Central and South America. But now, talk shows and telenovelas (serialized dramas in Spanish) are increasingly being made in the US.
Mi Corazon Insiste is a telenovela currently being filmed in Miami. The soapy love-story airs on the US network Telemundo.
Cynthia Olavarria has starred in four telenovelas and is playing in this one. She says, for viewers, the shows are a form of escapism.
"I think that's part of the magic of the novellas," said Olavarria. "We have many problems in our personal lives or your job or anything else, and then you go to see something different."
Mi Corazon is one of a growing number of dramas being produced in the United States in Spanish.
Some have even become among the top ten most watched shows.
Media analyst³ Adam Jacobson says census⁴ figures show that Hispanics account for 16 percent of the US population and their numbers account for the growth in Spanish-language TV.
"[The] Hispanic population today is really being fueled by US births," said Jacobson. "We still see that, even though there are people that are speaking English mainly, if they do speak some Spanish, they are going to tune⁵ in to some Spanish-language television."
Telemundo used to import most of its telenovelas. Now it is making many of its own. Two are currently in production at its Miami studios.
Each televovela has about 120 episodes and takes six months to complete. Mi Corazon Insiste's director is Leonardo Galavis. He says even though subtitles⁶ are sometimes offered, people who speak only English have not for the most part embraced telenovelas.
"Americans, they have a different culture, they have a different approach to television," said Galavis. "Their primetime shows are like series. For us we don't have series, we have soap-operas."
Nevertheless, telenovelas are often the most popular shows in America with young adults, a coveted⁷ demographic.
Kantar Media, a research company, says Hispanic TV advertising⁸ totaled $5.3 billion in 2010, up almost 11 percent from 2009 and outpacing growth in other types of commercials.
With the ability to produce programming in a hurry, Spanish-language networks appear happy to follow a formula that continues to pull in big audiences.

1 ramp   

n.暴怒，斜坡，坡道；vi.作恐吓姿势，暴怒，加速；vt.加速

参考例句：

• That driver drove the car up the ramp.那司机将车开上了斜坡。
• The factory don't have that capacity to ramp up.这家工厂没有能力加速生产。

2 ramping   

土堤斜坡( ramp的现在分词 )； 斜道； 斜路； （装车或上下飞机的）活动梯

参考例句：

• The children love ramping about in the garden. 孩子们喜欢在花园里追逐嬉戏，闹着玩。
• Have you ever seen a lion ramping around? 你看到过狮子暴跳吗？

3 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

4 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

5 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

6 subtitles   

n.说明字幕，印在外国影片上的对白翻译字幕，译文对白字幕；小标题，副标题( subtitle的名词复数 )；（电影的）字幕

参考例句：

• subtitles for the deaf and the hard of hearing 为耳聋和听力不佳者打出的字幕
• a Polish film with English subtitles 附有英语字幕的波兰影片

7 coveted   

adj.令人垂涎的；垂涎的，梦寐以求的v.贪求，觊觎(covet的过去分词)；垂涎；贪图

参考例句：

• He had long coveted the chance to work with a famous musician. 他一直渴望有机会与著名音乐家一起工作。
• Ther other boys coveted his new bat. 其他的男孩都想得到他的新球棒。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 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。