Society's preoccupation with beauty puts extra pressure on young people who are already busy trying to build a good career and enjoy life. Society says we have to be beautiful and slim if we want to be happy and successful. But do we? Does a pretty face and a good-looking body make you a better person? Better at your job? More important than someone who got hit with the ugly stick at birth and could afford to lose some weight? A hit TV show is certainly questioning our obsession with beauty. Ugly Betty， an American sitcom， is generating plenty of buzz with viewers around the world， not only because it is smart， funny， and easy for viewers to identify with， but also because it highlights the problems with society's obsession with beauty， all in an easy to digest and amusing TV show.

當(dāng)今社會(huì)對(duì)美麗的盲崇給那些疲于創(chuàng)業(yè)和享受生活的年輕人帶來(lái)了額外的壓力。社會(huì)輿論無(wú)時(shí)無(wú)刻不在叫囂：想要幸福和成功，天使臉孔和魔鬼身材是不二法門。但果真如此嗎？是不是有了姣好的面容和玲瓏的身段，我們的人格就能升華，我們的事業(yè)就能成功了？是不是外表完美了，我們就比那些天生相貌平凡、身材臃腫的人更有價(jià)值了呢？最近一部正在熱播的美國(guó)連續(xù)劇就對(duì)我們已經(jīng)走火入魔的“美麗”情結(jié)提出了質(zhì)疑?！冻笈惖佟吩谌蛴^眾中掀起熱潮，該劇之所以能成功，不僅因?yàn)槠鋭∏橛哪⒊錆M智慧、使觀眾容易產(chǎn)生共鳴，更重要的是，它用一種輕松詼諧的手法將我們這個(gè)社會(huì)對(duì)外在美近乎瘋狂的崇拜表現(xiàn)得淋漓盡致。

Betty Suarez (America Ferrera)， the star of the show， has just graduated from college and is looking for a job. With good qualifications and references， intelligence， a warm personality， and low expectations， she should easily be able to find a good position in her chosen industry - magazine publishing. But after knocking on every door， she still can't find a job. When she finally lands a job interview at Mode - the most important fashion magazine in the country， she is practically thrown out because her appearance doesn't cut it. However， through a unique turn of events， she is eventually hired by owner Bradford Meade to be his son's assistant， purely due to the fact that she is unattractive - Bradford Meade knows his son certainly won't make any moves on her， so he might finally get some work done.

該劇的主角貝蒂（亞美莉卡#8226;弗倫拉）是一個(gè)剛從大學(xué)畢業(yè)、正在四處求職的大學(xué)生。貝蒂有很好的學(xué)歷背景和推薦信，加上她聰明熱心，而且對(duì)第一份工作的要求也不高，按常理說(shuō)，她很容易就能在自己喜歡的行業(yè)內(nèi)找到一份好工作——雜志出版業(yè)。但事實(shí)上她卻到處碰壁，最后好不容易才得到一個(gè)去全國(guó)著名的時(shí)尚雜志社面試的機(jī)會(huì)，卻因長(zhǎng)相和氣質(zhì)平平而被拒之門外。但柳暗花明，機(jī)緣巧合，她最終被雜志社的老板布拉德福德#8226;米德相中，做了他兒子的助理。而雇傭貝蒂的原因竟是她毫無(wú)吸引力的長(zhǎng)相——布拉德福德#8226;米德相信他的兒子絕不會(huì)對(duì)貝蒂動(dòng)心，這樣就有可能專心工作。

Betty suffers all of the usual problems many of us suffer when starting a new job - working out how to fit in with her co-workers， trying to dress appropriately， and trying to make some new friends. However Betty's situation is exacerbated by the fact that almost all of her coworkers only care about appearances. With Betty's poor dress sense and \"ugliness\"， she becomes the laughing stock of the company， as well as a target for mean pranks and nasty jokes.

最初貝蒂遇到了所有工作新手都無(wú)法逃避的問(wèn)題——絞盡腦汁和新同事打好關(guān)系，著裝得體，結(jié)交新朋友。但是幾乎貝蒂所有的同事都只在乎外表，這使得貝蒂陷入困境。因?yàn)榇┮路](méi)品以及“丑陋”，貝蒂成了全公司的笑柄以及各種惡作劇和下流笑話的攻擊對(duì)象。

Somehow， Betty manages to walk with her head held high and focus on what she's there to do - help her boss run the magazine， while also managing to foil attempts by her co-workers to make him fail so they can take over. Betty's confidence comes from deep in her heart - she has loving family members who care much more about looking after each other and focusing on the positive things in their life rather than worrying about superficial things such as appearance. It's this support from her family that helps her through her most difficult times.

但是貝蒂?gòu)奈聪虼煺鄣皖^，而是專心于自己的工作——幫助她的老板管理雜志社，這期間她還要小心那些覬覦她工作的人從中作梗。不難發(fā)現(xiàn)，貝蒂的自信源于內(nèi)心深處——家人對(duì)她的愛，每個(gè)家庭成員都相互照顧關(guān)心，珍惜生活中的美好，而不是像外表這樣膚淺的東西。也正是家人的支持幫助貝蒂戰(zhàn)勝生活中的各種困難。

While reluctant to have such an \"ugly\" assistant at first， Daniel Meade slowly starts to realise that he can't survive without Betty. New to the job himself， and with others in the company waiting gleefully for him to fail， Daniel needs all the help he can get， and Betty has great ideas and knows how to get things done. While she may not be beautiful to look at， Betty certainly is useful around the office.

丹尼爾#8226;米德最初并不原意接受這么個(gè)“丑”助理，不過(guò)漸漸地，他卻發(fā)現(xiàn)自己越來(lái)越離不開貝蒂了。對(duì)于工作，丹尼爾自己也是個(gè)菜鳥，公司里還有很多人在暗地里等著看他的笑話，所以丹尼爾需要多方求助。而貝蒂很有想法，辦事能力出眾?？赡芩嗝财狡?，但卻是辦公室里不可多得的人才。

Ugly Betty challenges us to look at ourselves and realise that beauty is not the most important thing in the world. While it's easy to laugh at the jokes and entertaining to see what Betty's co-workers are capable of， you'll quickly find yourself reflecting on the show's message long after you have turned off the TV. While many of the characters may be exaggerated， it sometimes takes an extreme portrayal to recognise elements of these same issues in society. In one scene， Betty walks into the company cafeteria， and we see tables of stick-thin girls eating tiny amounts of food and looking very serious and depressed - it looks like a form of self-torture: they are starving themselves thin. Between these thin-obsessed co-workers， it becomes almost a competitive sport to see who can consume the least amount of food. At Betty's table， we see everyone happily talking and laughing and each enjoying their meal - normal-sized portions of food - completely oblivious to the competitive weight-loss happening around them. Without the stress of worrying about how much weight they are going to put on just from eating lunch， Betty and her like-minded co-workers are able to enjoy their lunch break.

《丑女貝蒂》促使我們正視自己，讓我們意識(shí)到外表絕不是生活中最重要的東西。劇中的情節(jié)幽默，人物搞笑，關(guān)上電視后你會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)劇中傳遞的信息讓你久久不能平靜。雖然劇中很多人物都有點(diǎn)兒夸張，但重病須猛藥，似乎只有近乎極端的表述才能讓我們意識(shí)到現(xiàn)實(shí)中存在的問(wèn)題。劇中一個(gè)情節(jié)是這樣的：貝蒂走進(jìn)公司的自助餐廳，接著我們看到滿眼盡是骨瘦如柴的女生，表情僵硬沮喪，面前的食物少到不夠喂貓——與自虐沒(méi)什么區(qū)別：她們要把自己餓瘦。這些一門心思想著如何變瘦的女生正在進(jìn)行一場(chǎng)激烈的角逐，看誰(shuí)吃的東西最少。而在貝蒂的那張桌子邊，我們看到大家都有說(shuō)有笑，盡情享受午餐——正常分量的午餐——毫不在意周圍正進(jìn)行得火熱的減肥大賽。因?yàn)椴挥脫?dān)心吃頓午飯就會(huì)增加體重，所以貝蒂和與她想法類似的同事可以好好享受午餐。

While ultimately we each decide what's important in life， the media certainly plays a huge role in shaping our opinions and producing role-models to whom we should aspire. So it's great to see such an entertaining show as Ugly Betty which has a positive underlying message and a great role model like Betty. But the media certainly can be a fickle-minded beast - on the heels of the recent Esquire magazine poll ranking the sexiest women alive， comes Maxim magazine's \"unsexiest women\" poll. At the top of this list of \"unsexiest\" women was none other than Sarah Jessica Parker， star of long-running hit show and upcoming movie Sex and the City. Rounding out the top five were singer Amy Winehouse， Grey's Anatomy's Sandra Oh， Madonna and Britney Spears. Even if these women are ugly (which many would contest)， they certainly are successful and most likely don't pay attention to such pathetic polls. They are probably too busy with their fabulous careers， or looking after their children， or enjoying life， because ugly or not， they are all successful women.

雖然我們最終都會(huì)認(rèn)識(shí)到生活中什么才是最重要的，但是媒體在影響我們的價(jià)值觀和塑造榜樣模范上的確起著很重要的作用。所以很欣慰能夠看到《丑女貝蒂》這樣一部既有趣又有積極深意，能夠塑造像貝蒂一樣榜樣的電視節(jié)目。但是媒體的心思總是變幻莫測(cè)——《紳士》雜志剛剛評(píng)出當(dāng)今世界最性感的女性排行榜不久，《風(fēng)度》就推出了一個(gè)“最不性感女人”調(diào)查。而高居這個(gè)“最不性感女人”調(diào)查榜首的不是別人，正是莎拉#8226;杰西卡#8226;帕克，長(zhǎng)篇熱播電視節(jié)目和即將上映的電影版《欲望都市》的女主角。排名前五位的另外四人分別是歌手艾米#8226;懷恩豪斯、《實(shí)習(xí)醫(yī)生格雷》的吳珊卓、麥當(dāng)娜和布蘭妮#8226;斯皮爾斯。如果這些女人都丑（當(dāng)然會(huì)有很多人不同意），可她們絕對(duì)算是功成名就了，根本不會(huì)在意這些無(wú)聊的調(diào)查榜單。她們可能正忙于自己蒸蒸日上的事業(yè)，或者是照看自己的子女，或者是享受生活，因?yàn)椴还艹舐c否，她們都是成功的女性。

In many ways， the publishing of this poll highlights society's sad obsession with beauty - the fact that we can take five successful women and try and make them feel bad because they are \"ugly\"， instead of highlighting their great achievements. Also， why is there only an \"unsexiest women\" poll? Why not \"unsexiest men\"? Is it only women who have to be beautiful to be successful? Alternately， we can look at this poll as highlighting the fact that no matter how \"ugly\" you are， you can still be successful and famous and star on a hit TV show! Who wouldn't want to be as famous as Sarah Jessica Parker and star in one of TV's most popular shows， not to mention have her great wardrobe of clothes?

這個(gè)民意調(diào)查其實(shí)從很多方面都反映出這個(gè)社會(huì)對(duì)外表可悲的盲崇——我們選了5名成功的女性，不為彰顯她們的成就，只是竭力想讓她們因?yàn)樽约洪L(zhǎng)得丑而難過(guò)悲傷。此外，為什么只有“最不性感女人”的調(diào)查而非“最不性感男人”？是不是只有女性才必須靠美艷的外表獲得成功？換個(gè)角度看這次調(diào)查，我們也可以認(rèn)為，無(wú)論你的相貌多么平凡無(wú)奇，你都有機(jī)會(huì)成功、出名，以及主演熱播電視節(jié)目！有誰(shuí)不想像莎拉#8226;杰西卡#8226;帕克那樣有名呢，有誰(shuí)不想出演最火熱的電視節(jié)目呢，更不用說(shuō)擁有她滿櫥柜的流行時(shí)裝了！

At different periods in history and in different parts of the world， beauty does not have the same definition - because beauty is subjective. Even from one person to the next， we do not all agree on who is beautiful. So why should we chase after an ideal that is constantly changing? It is the luck of our genes that we are born the way we are， and it's our responsibility to make the most of the opportunities that come our way. Being born \"beautiful\" is simply luck - there are about 20 supermodels in the whole world and over 6 billion of us \"non-supermodels\"， so the chances of being born a true \"beauty\" are pretty slim. But the chances of being successful at what you want to do are much higher， and certainly don't rely on whether you are beautiful or not.

在歷史上不同時(shí)期，世界各地對(duì)于美的定義也不盡相同——因?yàn)槊辣旧砭褪呛苤饔^的東西。即使是身邊的人，我們對(duì)于誰(shuí)比較美麗這個(gè)問(wèn)題也不是總能達(dá)成一致。那么我們?yōu)槭裁匆分鹨粋€(gè)不斷變化的觀念呢？身體發(fā)膚，受之父母。我們能做的就是充分利用我們身邊的各種機(jī)會(huì)。“天生麗質(zhì)”只是運(yùn)氣而已——全世界也不過(guò)只有大約20個(gè)超級(jí)名模，可像你我這樣的普通人卻有60億。所以，生來(lái)就是美女的幾率太小。但是在自己的事業(yè)上做出些成就的幾率可要大得多，而且和你的外表美麗與否沒(méi)有關(guān)系。

There are many sayings about beauty such as \"beauty is only skin deep\" and \"beautiful on the inside\" which help to remind us that being beautiful is really a state of mind. Don't let society's narrow definition of beauty fool you - you are beautiful， you just need to believe it and keep telling yourself so. Now that you know you are beautiful， that's one less thing to worry about， so relax!

有很多關(guān)于美麗的說(shuō)法，比如“美貌止于外表”和“內(nèi)在美”，這些都提醒我們，美麗其實(shí)是一種精神面貌——不要被社會(huì)對(duì)于美麗的狹隘觀點(diǎn)所蒙蔽——你很美麗，對(duì)此，你只需要深信不疑。既然你已經(jīng)意識(shí)到自己是美麗的了，那就沒(méi)必要再擔(dān)憂，所以輕松點(diǎn)吧！

Links

1. throw out

原意指“拋棄、扔出、派出”，在文中指貝蒂在面試中被淘汰。

2. reflect on

意思為“思考、反省、懷疑”，在文中指我們看完了電視劇，但仍然在思索電視劇里的一些情節(jié)。

3. fickle-minded

意思為“易變的，不專一的”，文中用來(lái)形容新聞媒體的報(bào)道總是變化無(wú)常。

4. Ugly is in fashion. “丑陋”正流行

可以說(shuō)幾乎所有的女孩都曾經(jīng)為自己平凡無(wú)奇的相貌、毫無(wú)曲線的身材而自卑，如今，你大可不必對(duì)心儀的衣服卻步，面對(duì)誘人的美食退縮。因?yàn)?，Ugly已然成為時(shí)尚，直指社會(huì)流行最前端。這一切始于Betty的出現(xiàn)。自從美劇《Ugly Betty》播出以后，整個(gè)社會(huì)的審美觀在瞬間受到震撼，“Ugly”并不丑陋，它代表著一種不矯揉造作的、簡(jiǎn)單、自信、積極向上的人生態(tài)度。所以，盡管抬頭驕傲地說(shuō)，我丑我美麗！

5. Be ugly like Betty! 像貝蒂一樣“丑陋”！

Betty是生活中大多數(shù)人的縮影，在她的身上可以看見自己已經(jīng)擁有或者想要擁有的東西。平凡，有夢(mèng)想，朝著目標(biāo)不斷奮斗，但又在現(xiàn)實(shí)中遭受挫折，然后爬起來(lái)繼續(xù)前進(jìn)，直到美夢(mèng)成真的那天。據(jù)說(shuō)現(xiàn)在美國(guó)女孩都穿著印有Betty頭像的T恤，這已經(jīng)成為備受追捧的時(shí)尚潮流。每個(gè)人都羨慕Betty的那份執(zhí)著和堅(jiān)持，生活不會(huì)因?yàn)樗南嗝捕裾J(rèn)她的努力。正如陶晶瑩大唱著：我知道我不夠漂亮，沒(méi)有愛情不會(huì)怎樣，回家的路上風(fēng)景更長(zhǎng)，欣賞我要有獨(dú)特的眼光。Be ugly like Betty！就是要像Betty一樣活出屬于自己的精彩。