文本选自：The Economist（经济学人）
作者：Unknown
原文标题：What Barbie tells you about near-shoring
原文发布时间：25 Mar. 2023
What Barbie tells you about near-shoring
Chuckle if you will but Schumpeter is looking forward to the first live-action "Barbie" film, due out in July. It is directed by Greta Gerwig, maker of "Lady Bird" and "Little Women", two movies with strong characters. Its trailer is a parody of "2001: A Space Odyssey", which suggests that, love Barbie or loathe her, she will be treated with a knowing wink.
It is a business turnaround story, too. If the film is a hit, it could crown a comeback for Mattel, one of the world's biggest toymakers, with brands like Barbie, Hot Wheels and Fisher-Price in its toy box. Five years ago it was in a funk, having lost three CEOs in four years, and a decades-old licence to produce dolls for Disney to its rival, Hasbro. Under Ynon Kreiz, its CEO since 2018, its cost base, balance-sheet, manufacturing footprint and morale have all improved. Last year, to the joy of staff, it won back the Disney contract. A Barbie red-carpet blockbuster would put icing on the cake.
So it was with a Ken-like spring in his step that your columnist travelled to Monterrey, in northern Mexico, this month to witness the way Mattel has consolidated its North American manufacturing operations into a single Mexican factory, its biggest in the world. He was hoping that Barbie, as well as becoming a star of the silver screen, could also become emblematic of a hot new trend in trade: near-shoring. Among the brightly coloured toys on the assembly line, there was sadly not a Barbie in sight. The only one on display was a prop in the Barbie Dreamhouse, a Tinseltown-like mansion that is one of the plant's flagship products. In fact, Barbie is not made in Mexico at all. She is still made in Indonesia and China.
芭比能告诉你关于近岸外包的什么
精听党背景导读
据英国《太阳报》，“啪姐”杜阿·利帕和西尔莎·罗南也将加盟真人版《芭比》大电影！而且，真人芭比由玛格特·罗比、哈莉·尼夫和伊萨·雷扮演三个不同的版本，而真人版“芭比男友”由瑞恩·高斯林、刘思慕和舒提·盖特瓦扮演三个不同版本！
电影将由《小妇人》、《伯德夫人》的导演格蕾塔·葛维格执导，电影的故事时间设定在现代，玛格特·罗比饰演的“芭比”就像是一个现代版的“魔法保姆玛丽·波平斯”，她用自己的专业帮助他人改变自己的人生。
文本选自：The Economist（经济学人）作者：Unknown原文标题：What Barbie tells you about near-shoring原文发布时间：25 Mar. 2023关键词：芭比娃娃 外包 迪士尼
精听党带着问题听
1. 如何理解第二段中的“put icing on the cake”？2.“旗舰店”用英语可以怎么表达？3. 玩偶芭比娃娃是在哪被制造的？
精听党选段赏析
标题解读
What Barbie tells you about near-shoring
芭比能告诉你关于近岸外包的什么
Barbie n. 芭比（女子名）；芭比娃娃（商标名）；
near-shoring n. 近岸外包；1. offshore outsourcing 离岸外包；2. onshore outsourcing 在岸外包；
段一
Chuckle if you will but Schumpeter is looking forward to the first live-action “Barbie” film, due out in July. It is directed by Greta Gerwig, maker of “Lady Bird” and “Little Women”, two movies with strong characters. Its trailer is a parody of “2001: A Space Odyssey”, which suggests that, love Barbie or loathe her, she will be treated with a knowing wink.
chuckle vi. 轻声笑，暗自笑；1. n. 轻笑，暗笑；
She gave a chuckle of delight. 她高兴得轻声笑了出来。
live-action adj.（形容词）实景真人的；
due adj. 到期的，预期的；应有的，应得的；应付的，应给的；适当的；预期发生的；1. due out 待发；待公布；待上映；
character n. 性格，品质；特色，特征；人物，角色；
trailer n. 拖车，挂车；（卡车或货车的）载货挂车；（电影或电视节目的）预告片；
parody n. 滑稽模仿作品（文章、音乐作品或表演的滑稽仿作等）；拙劣的模仿，荒诞不经的事；
loathe vt. 讨厌，厌恶；1. They loathe each other. 他们相互讨厌。
knowing adj. 会意的；（尤指过分或过早地）世故的；明知的，故意的；1. Ron gave her a knowing smile. 罗恩向她报以一个会意的微笑。
wink n. 眨眼（示意），眼色；小憩；闪烁；1. I hardly slept a wink. 我几乎连个盹都没打。2. He gave her a knowing wink. 他向她会意地眨了一下眼睛。
参考译文
如果你想的话，就笑吧，但熊彼特可是满心期待着定于7月上映的第一部真人版《芭比娃娃》电影。该片由格雷塔·葛维格执导，她同时也负责《伯德夫人》和《小妇人》这两部角色鲜明的电影。它的预告片是对《2001：太空漫游》的搞笑模仿，暗示无论是爱芭比还是恨芭比，她总会得到一个会心的眨眼。
段二
It is a business turnaround story, too. If the film is a hit, it could crown a comeback for Mattel, one of the world’s biggest toymakers, with brands like Barbie, Hot Wheels and Fisher-Price in its toy box. Five years ago it was in a funk, having lost three CEOs in four years, and a decades-old licence to produce dolls for Disney to its rival, Hasbro. Under Ynon Kreiz, its CEO since 2018, its cost base, balance-sheet, manufacturing footprint and morale have all improved. Last year, to the joy of staff, it won back the Disney contract. A Barbie red-carpet blockbuster would put icing on the cake.
turnaround n. 转变；转向；突然好转；回车道；1. turnaround time 周转时间；周围时间；转回时间；换向时间；2. The company has been enjoying a turnaround in recent months. 这家公司在最近几个月里突然好转起来。
hit n. 受欢迎的人；流行歌曲；1. This song is a big hit. 这首歌风靡一时。
crown vt. 为…加冕；1. to crown sb. king/queen/emperor 加冕某人为国王/王后/皇帝；
comeback n. 恢复，复出；再度流行；1. make a comeback 再度复出；东山再起；卷土重来；2. His comeback fight will be televised on network TV. 他的复出之战将在网络电视上播出。
funk n. 恐惧；怯懦；恐怖；臭味；1. She's really helped me out of the funk I was in. 她真的给我了很大帮助，帮我从消沉的情绪中走出来。
footprint n. 脚印，足迹；占用空间；覆盖区；1. We all need to look for ways to reduce our carbon footprint. 我们都需要寻找减少我们碳足迹的办法。
morale n. 士气，精神面貌；1. boost morale 鼓舞士气；提升士气；
blockbuster n. 一鸣惊人的事物，（尤指）非常成功的书（或电影）；1. She's scored again with her latest blockbuster. 她的新作大获成功，再次引起轰动。
put icing on the cake 锦上添花；
参考译文
这也是一个商业转折（逆袭）的故事。如果这部电影一炮而红，它可能会为世界最大的玩具制造商之一美泰公司的回归加冕，这时候它的玩具组合里有：芭比娃娃、风火轮和费雪普莱斯等品牌。五年前这家公司陷入了恐慌，在四年内失去了三位首席执行官，还把过去十几年都为迪士尼生产玩偶的许可证，拱手给了竞争对手孩之宝。在自2018年起担任首席执行官的伊农·克瑞兹（Ynon Kreiz）的领导下，其成本基础、资产负债表、制造足迹和士气都有所改善。去年，令员工高兴的是，它赢回了迪士尼的合同。芭比娃娃红毯大电影也会锦上添花。
段三
So it was with a Ken-like spring in his step that your columnist travelled to Monterrey, in northern Mexico, this month to witness the way Mattel has consolidated its North American manufacturing operations into a single Mexican factory, its biggest in the world. He was hoping that Barbie, as well as becoming a star of the silver screen, could also become emblematic of a hot new trend in trade: near-shoring. Among the brightly coloured toys on the assembly line, there was sadly not a Barbie in sight. The only one on display was a prop in the Barbie Dreamhouse, a Tinseltown-like mansion that is one of the plant’s flagship products. In fact, Barbie is not made in Mexico at all. She is still made in Indonesia and China.
spring n. 跳跃；弹性；1. With a spring he was up on the wall. 他纵身跃上了墙头。
columnist n. 专栏作家；
consolidate vt. 加固；巩固；使…合并；
emblematic adj. 象征的；可当标志的；1. The results are emblematic of changes in our society. 这些结果象征着我们社会的变化。
assembly line 装配线；流水线；生产线；
prop n. 支柱；支持者；（戏剧或电影中的）道具；1. a pit prop 坑柱；
flagship n. 旗舰；1. flagship store 旗舰店；
参考译文
如肯一般矫捷的步伐，你们的专栏作家在本月前往墨西哥北部的蒙特雷，见证美泰公司如何将其北美制造业务整合为一家墨西哥工厂，这是其世界上最大的工厂。希望芭比娃娃在成为银屏明星的同时，也能成为贸易新趋势的象征：近岸外包。在流水线上色彩鲜艳的玩具中，遗憾的是看不到芭比娃娃。唯一展出的是芭比梦工厂的道具，这是一座类似好莱坞的豪宅，是该工厂的旗舰产品之一。事实上，芭比娃娃根本不是墨西哥制造的。她仍然是印度尼西亚和中国制造的。
精听党每日单词
Barbie
/ˈbɑːrbi/ n. 芭比（女子名）；芭比娃娃（商标名）；
near-shoring
/nɪr ˈʃɔːrɪŋ/ n. 近岸外包；
chuckle
/ˈtʃʌkl/ vi. 轻声笑，暗自笑；
live-action
/ˌlaɪv ˈækʃn/ adj.（形容词）实景真人的；
due
/duː/ adj. 到期的，预期的；应有的，应得的；应付的，应给的；适当的；预期发生的；
character
/ˈkærəktər/ n. 性格，品质；特色，特征；人物，角色；
trailer
/ˈtreɪlər/ n. 拖车，挂车；（卡车或货车的）载货挂车；（电影或电视节目的）预告片；
parody
/ˈpærədi/ n. 滑稽模仿作品（文章、音乐作品或表演的滑稽仿作等）；拙劣的模仿，荒诞不经的事；
loathe
/loʊð/ vt. 讨厌，厌恶；
knowing
/ˈnoʊɪŋ/ adj. 会意的；（尤指过分或过早地）世故的；明知的，故意的；
wink
/wɪŋk/ n. 眨眼（示意），眼色；小憩；闪烁；
turnaround
/ˈtɜːrnəraʊnd/ n. 转变；转向；突然好转；回车道；
hit
/hɪt/ n. 受欢迎的人；流行歌曲；
crown
/kraʊn/ vt. 为…加冕；
comeback
/ˈkʌmbæk/ n. 恢复，复出；再度流行；
funk
/fʌŋk/ n. 恐惧；怯懦；恐怖；臭味；
footprint
/ˈfʊtprɪnt/ n. 脚印，足迹；占用空间；覆盖区；
morale
/məˈræl/ n. 士气，精神面貌；
blockbuster
/ˈblɑːkbʌstər/ n. 一鸣惊人的事物，（尤指）非常成功的书（或电影）；
put icing on the cake
锦上添花；
spring
/sprɪŋ/ n. 跳跃；弹性；
columnist
/ˈkɑːləmnɪst/ n. 专栏作家；
consolidate
/kənˈsɑːlɪdeɪt/ vt. 加固；巩固；使…合并；
emblematic
/ˌembləˈmætɪk/ adj. 象征的；可当标志的；
assembly line
装配线；流水线；生产线；
prop
/prɑːp/ n. 支柱；支持者；（戏剧或电影中的）道具；
flagship
/ˈflæɡʃɪp/ n. 旗舰；
精听党文化拓展
Montoi工厂现在是美泰公司自营规模最大的工厂，因为它将墨西哥蒂华纳和加拿大蒙特利尔的制造业务整合在一个屋顶下。新扩建的工厂占地面积超过200万平方英尺，生产芭比梦工厂（Barbie Dreamhouse）等玩具，以及费雪（Fisher-Price Power Wheels）和MEGA Bloks品牌的产品。
美泰表示，扩张和整合有助于公司“使其制造足迹多样化，优化生产的就近地转移，减少系统的复杂性，并推动更高的性能”，符合公司的“轻资本”战略。
美泰董事长兼首席执行官伊农·克瑞兹（Ynon Kreiz）表示:“Montoi在我们重新构想的全球供应链运营中发挥着核心作用，为我们在美洲的网络提供了战略足迹，并支持我们的转型战略，使我们成为一家知识产权驱动的、高性能的玩具公司。”“我们感到自豪的是，这一整合和定向投资帮助推动了该地区的经济，我们相信，墨西哥拥有一个独特的机会，将自己定位为全球玩具生产制造中心。”
员工人数相应有调整，从2019年的1600名员工到2022年的3500名员工。Montoi位于新莱昂的工厂正在成为一个工业4.0设施，连接人和机器的过程，以减少浪费和停机时间，提高生产力和效率，生产一些世界领先的玩具。
为了履行其可持续发展的承诺，美泰公司出资改善了Montoi的废水处理系统。废水系统的改进将使现场用水量减少20%，因水中油污染而产生的危险废物减少25%。
精听党每日美句
Life is a horse, and either you ride it or it rides you.
人生像一匹马，你不驾驭它，它便驾驭你。