03 忘记复联和哪吒，这两部黑马电影背后，你忽略了这个中国金主【朗读版】

Alibaba Mines for Oscar Gold at the Chinese Box Office

Looking past action blockbusters, e-commerce giant finds big-screensuccess with critically acclaimed movies

Everyone in Hollywood knew “Avengers: Endgame” would be a hit at the Chinese box office. No one there had the same hunch about “Capernaum,” a Lebanese drama that—despite being nominated for best foreign-language film in this year’s Oscars—hadn’t cracked $2 million in any market before capturing $54 million in China.

Behind the unlikely performance: Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., the e-commerce giant that has succeeded in promoting critically lauded movies to Chinese audiences once used to getting only big-budget offerings from Hollywood.

It is a shift for a company and a country whose taste in Hollywood imports until recently ran mainly to comic-book adaptations like “Spider-Man” or action spectaculars like “The Fast and the Furious.” In recent months, Alibaba has successfully marketed several Academy Award-winning and -nominated movies, a strategy that points to diversifying tastes in the world’s No. 2 box-office market.

【参考译文】

阿里巴巴在中国电影市场“淘金”奥斯卡金像奖影片

回顾过去那些动作大片，电商巨头凭借备受好评的电影，在影坛大获成功。

整个好莱坞的人都知道，《复仇者联盟：终局之战》在中国一定会很卖座。但对于黎巴嫩影片《何以为家》，他们就不这样认为了。尽管这部影片获得了今年的奥斯卡最佳外语片提名，但在中国斩获5400万美元的票房之前，它在其他国家的票房均未突破200万美元。

《何以为家》在中国令人惊艳的表现，离不开电商巨头阿里巴巴的助力。阿里巴巴已成功向中国观众安利了这些备受好评的文艺片，而在以前，中国观众更习惯看的是好莱坞那些大制作影片。

这对阿里巴巴这家公司来说是个转变，对整个中国来说也是。直到最近，中国对好莱坞影片的引进，还主要限于像《蜘蛛侠》这样的改编自漫画的电影，或是像《速度与激情》这样的动作大片。最近几个月，阿里巴巴成功推出了几部获得奥斯卡金像奖或者获奥斯卡提名的电影，旨在使世界第二大票房市场——中国观众的品味更加多样化。

【课文注释】

mine /maɪn/ v.（在某地）开矿，采矿

to dig holes in the ground in order to find and obtain coal, diamonds, etc. 

• They were mining for gold. 他们在开采黄金。

Oscar /'ɒskə/ n. 奥斯卡金像奖〔一年一度颁发的美国电影奖〕

a prize that is given each year in the US for the best film, actor etc. in the film industry. It is officially called an Academy Award.

• The film won five Oscars. 这部影片荣获五项奥斯卡奖。

box office 售票处；票房    

the place at a theatre, cinema/movie theater, etc. where the tickets are sold 

• The movie has been a huge box-office success. 那部电影十分卖座。

blockbuster /ˈblɒkˌbʌstə/ n. 轰动一时的书籍（或电影）

a book or film that is very good or successful

• the latest Hollywood blockbuster 好莱坞最新大片

big screen n. 大银幕；电影

the cinema (when contrasted with television) 

• her first big-screen success 她在影坛的初次成功

acclaimed /əˈkleɪmd/ adj. 备受推崇的，广受欢迎的

publicly praised by a lot of people

• His work was critically acclaimed (= praised by people who are paid to give their opinion on art, music etc.). 他的作品备受评论家推崇。

Avengers: Endgame 《复仇者联盟：终局之战》

hit /hɪt/ n. 风行一时的事物〔如电影、戏剧、歌曲等〕

something such as a film, play, song etc. that is very popular and successful

• the hit musical ‘Phantom of the Opera’ 风靡一时的音乐剧《歌剧魅影》

hunch /hʌntʃ/ n. 直觉，预感

if you have a hunch that something is true or will happen, you feel that it is true or will happen

• I had a hunch that something like this would happen. 我早有预感会发生这样的事情。

Capernaum《何以为家》（单词本义为迦百农，《圣经》中一地名）

Lebanese /ˌlɛbəˈniːz/ adj. 黎巴嫩的; 黎巴嫩人的; 黎巴嫩文化的

means belonging or relating to Lebanon, or to its people or culture

nominate /ˈnɒmɪneɪt/ v. 提名；推荐 

to formally suggest that sb. should be chosen for an important role, prize, position, etc. 

• He was nominated (as) best actor. 他获得了最佳男演员的提名。

crack /kræk/ v. 成功获得

to break through (something, such as a barrier) so as to gain acceptance or recognition

• She is going to crack Hollywood. 她打算进军好莱坞。

capture /ˈkæptʃə(r)/ v. 夺得；赢得；争得

to succeed in getting control of sth that other people are also trying to control 

• The company has captured 90% of the market. 这家公司已争取到九成的市场份额。

laud /lɔːd/ v. 嘉许; 称赞

to praise someone or something

• They lauded the former president as a hero. 他们称颂前总统为英雄。

big-budget    大制作

Spider-Man 《蜘蛛侠》

spectacular /spek'tækjʊlə/ n. 盛况，壮观的场面；盛大的演出

an event or performance that is very large and impressive

• a television spectacular 场面盛大的电视节目

furious /'fjʊəriəs/ adj. 猛烈的，强烈的，激烈的

done with a lot of energy, effort, or speed

• The action is fast and furious . 行动很迅猛。

The Fast and the Furious 《速度与激情》

market /ˈmɑːkɪt/ v. 推销；促销

to advertise and offer a product for sale; to present sth in a particular way and make people want to buy it 

• It is marketed as a low-alcohol wine. 它作为一种低度酒投放市场。

diversify /daɪ'vɜːsɪfaɪ/ v.（使）多元化，（使）多样化

to change something or to make it change so that there is more variety

• User requirements have diversified over the years. 这几年来，用户需求已经多样化。