Children’s literature
Much red reading books
The politics of children’s stories
Nov 28th 2015 | BEIJING | From the print edition
Ⅰ.IN CHINA in Mao Zedong’s day,frivolouschildhood pursuits such as readingwere frowned on. The few children’s books that were tolerated told stories of revolution and class struggle. These days,toddlersare allowed to have more fun. But though the message has changed, parents and the state still believe the primary role of such works is to shape young minds, not amuse them.
一．單詞解析
1.frivolous：having no useful or serious purpose? 無(wú)聊的拍鲤；不嚴(yán)肅的:
?frivolous pastimes / pleasures無(wú)聊的消遣/娛樂(lè)
2.語(yǔ)塊befrowned on不被贊同敞葛，不被認(rèn)可==》》4.26at a time when29 private enterprise was still frowned on in China
3.toddler：? a child who has only recently learnt to walk? 學(xué)步的兒童；剛學(xué)會(huì)走路的孩子
Ⅱ.Sales of children’s literature have risen by double digits in most of the past ten years, much faster than the growth of book sales overall. The number ofchildren’s titleshas more than tripled since 2005. This partly reflects a growing demand for products aimed at indulged only-children.A cost-conscious reluctance to have moreoffspring, which was reinforced by the country’s recentlyrelaxed one-child policy, helpedfuelthat demand. The richer parents are, the more theysplash outon children’s books.
4.children’s title替代標(biāo)題的children’s literature
Title--> a book書(shū)
5.offspring:a child of a particular person or couple? 孩子妙黍；子女；后代
6.Fuel:[VN] to increase sth; to make sth stronger增加词疼；加強(qiáng)俯树；刺激=stoke==》》4.26
7.語(yǔ)塊splash out （on）to spend a lot of money on something大把花錢(qián)
E.gHe’s just splashed out on a brand new car
Splash：[V +adv. / prep.] (of liquid) to fall noisily onto a surface? 潑灑；嘩啦嘩啦地濺贰盗；劈里啪啦地落
Ⅲ.Booksellers seea huge moneymaking opportunity. Most publishers of literature for adults now offer children’s titles too. Around half of the 100 best-selling books last year were for youngsters—a higher share than in Britain or America. There is a growing variety of genres. Picture books for under-fives have beentaking off; fiction for older teenagers is thriving.
8.taking off：（飛機(jī)）起飛==》》(產(chǎn)品许饿、活動(dòng)、事業(yè)等)騰飛舵盈，突然成功 If something such as a product, an activity, or someone's careertakes off, it suddenly becomes very successful.與后面的thriving相對(duì)應(yīng)
Ⅳ.Unsurprisingly, given the huge emphasis in China that is placed on passing exams, many titles aim purely to teach facts.Parents like to buy non-fiction, even for children still learning to read. Some books—printed onpaperboardand intended mainly for under-twos—aim to teach the Roman alphabet to infants. Volumes for toddlers with titles such as “How to be aMeteorologist” and “Superstars of Science” do well.
9.Meteorologist:a scientist who studiesmeteorology? 氣象學(xué)家
Ⅴ.The moral is often laid on thick10. One provincial publisher (state-owned, like all of them) has titled a six-volume set ofnursery rhymes“A Good Father is Better Than a Good Teacher”. Chinese-language versions of foreign classics often proclaim theirdidacticworth: Paddington, amarmalade-lovingbear from darkest Peru, is a model of “thoughtfulness, modesty and self-discipline”, proclaims theblurbon the cover of a translation of Michael Bond’s popular stories.
10語(yǔ)塊lay it on thick:to try to persuade someone that something is better, bigger, more important etc than it really is;to exaggerate sth過(guò)分夸大陋率，大肆吹噓
I think he laid it on a bit thick with all the compliments
11.nursery rhyme:a simple traditional poem or song for children? 童謠；兒歌
12.Didactic:designed to teach people sth, especially a moral lesson? 道德說(shuō)教的秽晚；教誨的瓦糟；教導(dǎo)的
13.Marmalade:橘子醬；酸果醬
14.Blurb:a short description of a book, a new product, etc., written by the people who have produced it, that is intended to attract your attention and make you want to buy it
? (書(shū)籍封面的)簡(jiǎn)介赴蝇；(生產(chǎn)商等的)產(chǎn)品推介
Ⅵ.China’s publishers remain profoundly conservative. Theyshunbooks with naughty or frivolous children, or where youngstersoutsmarttheir elders. Cute animals vastly outnumberrebelliousfigures such as pirates. Few books depictsiblings, aunts, uncles or cousins—relationships little understood by the young, thanks to the one-child policy.
15.shun:?to avoid sb / sth? 避開(kāi)菩浙；回避；避免
16outsmart:?to gain an advantage over sb by acting in a clever way? 比…精明句伶；智勝=outwit
【out-】out-PREFIX 前綴（構(gòu)成動(dòng)詞）表示“超過(guò)”劲蜻，“勝過(guò)”
Outnumber：? (在數(shù)量上)壓倒,比…多
17.sibling：? (formalortechnical)a brother or sister? 兄；弟考余；姐先嬉；妹
sibling rivalry(= competition between brothers and sisters)
兄弟姐妹間的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)
Ⅶ.Though far less visible than it was in Mao’s day, politics stilllurks. Publishers haveinternallyappointedcensorswhose job is to ensure that the Communist Party’s line is nottransgressed. One executive says she avoids publishing history books for children where “the story does not match the narrative” approved by the party. Maps showing the island of Taiwan as a separate country areomittedfrom translations. Even a toddler’s bedtime story is part of a bigger political picture.
18.Lurk：when sth unpleasant or dangerouslurks, it is present but not in an obvious way? 潛在；隱藏著
19.Censor：? (書(shū)籍楚堤、電影等的)審查員,審查官
Censorship:審查制度
20.transgress? (formal) to go beyond the limit of what is morally or legally acceptable? 越軌疫蔓；違背(道德)；違犯(法律)
21.Omit:~ sth / sb (from sth)to not include sth / sb, either deliberately or because you have forgotten it / them? 刪除身冬；忽略衅胀；漏掉；遺漏
語(yǔ)塊be omitted from:從...中刪除
omit to do somethingformalto not do something, either because you forgot or because you deliberately didn't do it不做酥筝；未能做
?She omitted to mention that they were staying the night.
她沒(méi)說(shuō)他們當(dāng)晚要留宿的事
From the print edition: China
二．寫(xiě)作借鑒：
1.indulged only-children驕縱的獨(dú)生子女
2.“增長(zhǎng)”表達(dá)：.Sales of children’s literature have risen by doule digits
兒童文學(xué)書(shū)籍的銷(xiāo)量都保持了兩位數(shù)的增長(zhǎng)
The number of children’s titles has more than tripled since 2005
自2005年以來(lái)滚躯，兒童書(shū)籍的數(shù)量翻了三倍多
3.a huge moneymaking opportunity：一個(gè)巨大的商機(jī)
4.didacticworth：道德說(shuō)教
5.Picture books for under-fives have been taking off; fiction for older teenagers is thriving
Take off -->騰飛；thrive-->繁榮樱哼，興旺
6.Unsurprisingly, given the huge emphasis in China that is placed on passing exams, many titles aim purely to teach facts.學(xué)習(xí)狀語(yǔ)插入方式，“重要性”的被動(dòng)表達(dá)方式
7.The moral is often laid on thick：道德寓意常常被夸大
8.Though far less visible than it was in Mao’s day, politics still lurks.長(zhǎng)短句結(jié)合剿配，以及l(fā)urk的用法
三．文章脈絡(luò)：
Ⅰ.今昔對(duì)比搅幅，對(duì)待兒童讀物的不同態(tài)度，指出現(xiàn)在兒童讀物有更多的趣味性呼胚；
Ⅱ.過(guò)去的十年兒童讀物銷(xiāo)量大漲及其原因茄唐；
Ⅲ.兒童讀物有巨大商機(jī)，出版商都看好這一形勢(shì)；
Ⅳ.指出由于過(guò)關(guān)考試的存在沪编，兒童讀物也變成了傳播知識(shí)的載體呼盆；
Ⅴ.兒童讀物中的道德寓意被夸大；
Ⅵ.中國(guó)出版商保守的表現(xiàn)蚁廓；
Ⅶ.兒童讀物中的政治性說(shuō)教仍然存在访圃。
