今天分享的这篇文章The rise of the influencer economy ，来自4月2日《经济学人》Business版块，先给大家出几道思考题：
“网红”“一线明星”“行走的种草机”英文怎么说？
如何形容一个人“口风很紧”？
“张三、李四、王二麻子”英文怎么说？
01 A-list stars
Luxury brands used to speak in monologues. News about their latest collections flowed one way—from the boardroom, via billboards and editorial spreads in glossy magazines, to the buyer. In the age of social media, the buyers are talking back. One group, in particular, is getting through to fashion bosses: influencers. These individuals have won large followings by reviewing, advertising and occasionally panning an assortment of wares. Their fame stems not from non-digital pursuits, as was the case with the A-list starswho used to dominate the ranks of brand ambassadors, but from savvy use of Instagram, Snapchat or TikTok. Their posts seem frivolous. Their business isn’t.
「A-list」 意思是“第一等的、最出名的”，所以 A-list starts 也就是常说的“一线明星”。那些知名度更低的二流、三流的演员或者明星也可以用 B-list 、C-list actors/celebrities.
此外，“A”这个字母可以表示作业或者考试的“甲等”，优等生就可以说“A student”或者“straight-A student”。
02 a walking advert
For consumers, influencers are at oncea walking advert and a trusted friend. For intermediaries that sit between them and brands, they are a hot commodity.
这里的「a walking xx」是一个非常形象的说法，表示“行走的……”。这很容易让我们想到有行走的“口红种草机”之称的李佳琦，凭一句:“Oh my god”就能让一款口红脱销。
行走的大众点评 He is a walking Yelp review.(Yelp 是美国最大的点评网站）
行走的百科全书 He is a walking encyclopedia.
行走的-CD JJ-Lin is a walking CD.
英文中关于“xx是典型特征，xx是……的代名词；xx就是xx活生生的例子”的表达也有非常多：
He was the embodiment of what it meant to be a fighter pilot. Smart and confident.
浙江优化营商环境的模范生 Zhejiang is a poster-child in improving the business environment.
他最大的特点就是有耐心 Patience is his middle name.
香奈儿成为了优雅的代名词 The name Channel became a byword of elegance.
03 glue
As with many things digital, the pandemic seems to havegiven it a fillip, as more people were glued to their smartphones more of the time.
过度依赖手机已经成为很多人的习惯，这篇文章用的 「glue」 作被动动词，be glued to sth可以表示“完全吸引……专注于……”，就像是视线被胶水粘在某件东西上，是不是很有画面感？
拓展：英文里面表示“专心致志”“全神贯注”的词还有很多，比如 be absorbed/engrossed in sth。
04 tight-lipped
Stars and brands alike are tight-lipped about how much money changes hands, but the figures are believed to be in the millions of dollars. One report put the amount spent by LVMH on the entire Miss Dior campaign at “under $100m” in the past year.
「tight-lipped」 除了字面意思“双唇紧闭”，还可以用来形容一个人口风很紧、守口如瓶，不轻易泄露秘密。比如，从他那里我啥也没问到 a tight-lipped reply。
反之，对于喜欢四处议论的人，我们会说这个人很“八卦”，很“大嘴巴”，英文有个完全对应的词「big mouth」。
啊，我还以为这事大家都知道了呢。哎呀，怨我，我真是个大嘴巴！”I didn’t realize it was a secret. Me and my big mouth.
05
20-somethings
girl- or boy-next-door charm
Such starled campaigns can feel aloof to teenagers and 20-somethings who prize authenticity over timeless glamour. And influencers, with their girl-or boy-next-door charm, offer this in spades—for a fraction of the fee of a big-name star. The best ones are able to repackage a brand’s message in a way that is harmonious with their voice, their followers’ tastes and their platform of choice (Instagram is best for all-stars with over 2m followers and TikTok for niche “micro-influencers” with up to 100,000 followers and “nano-influencers” with fewer than 10,000).
20-somethings：「-something」作为后缀和与数字连用，可以用来指人的年龄，表示“…几…多”，比如二十多岁的人twenty-somethings ，三十多岁的人 thirty-somethings .
有着“直播女王”之称的薇娅，是一名30多岁的时尚网红，她因隐瞒收入被罚款13.41亿元（折合美金2.1亿元）。
Viya, a 30-something fashionista known as the live-streaming queen, has already been fined $210m for not declaring her income.
此外，「-ish」 这个后缀，也可以接在表示时间、日期、年龄的词后面，表示“……左右，……前后”，比如那个做核酸的护士小姐姐看起来很年轻，大概在20岁上下 The nurse was twentyish.
girl- or boy-next-door charm：意思是像“邻家女孩”“邻家男孩”一样的普通人，许多流量网红具有草根特质，这使得这些网红少了大明星般的距离感，多了邻家女孩/男孩般的亲近。
拓展：Tom, Dick and Harry这三个人名放在一起什么意思？其实，这是个固定表达，指代一些普通的人，有点像中文里的“张三、李四、王二麻子”。类似的表示“普通人、老百姓”的一些词还有：Joe Bloggs。
06
the main talent wrapped into one
30-second lifestyle TikToks can take hours each to make
Many influencers manage their production in ways that traditional ambassadors never could. They are video editors, scriptwriters, lighting specialists, directors and the main talent wrapped into one. Jackie Aina, whose beauty tips attract over 7m followers across several platforms, explains the importance of high-quality equipment that can show texture, accurate colour grading—“Not to mention the lighting.” Ms Aina’s 30-second lifestyle TikToks can take hours each to make.
比起传统的品牌形象大使，许多网红则像个多面手，身兼视频剪辑、剧本写作、灯光设计和导演等职位。「the main talent wrapped into one」是不是有一种集万千才华于一身的感觉？
抖音上一个短短30秒的视频，背后可能要花上好几个小时的时间。「30-second lifestyle TikToks can take hours each to make」 让我想到一句古话：台上一分钟，台下十年功。
07 influencer-free
Such worries explain why some luxury houses areleery of influencers. Hermès, the French purveyor of scarves and Birkin bags, maintains a social-media presence that is conspicuously influencer-free. But more feel the benefits outweigh the costs. Despite Louis Vuitton’s and Gucci’s live-streaming flops, LVMH and Kering, the brands’ respective owners, continue to rely on influencers to create social-media momentum.
influencer-free：「-free」 作为后缀表示“没有……的；不含……的”。这段话说的是，并不是奢侈品品牌愿意吃一波网红经济的红利，比如法国的爱马仕就不愿意。
「-free」的用法非常的常见，比如：免税的duty-free、tax-free ；免息的 interest-free；无糖的 suga-free chewing-gum。
flop：flop 的意思是“彻底失败、惨败”，类似的，当说到一件事情做的极其失败的时候，常见的表达还有 an epic failure、a colossal failure.
写 在 最 后
选择这篇文章，是因为讲到一个有趣的社会现象，网红已经成为各大品牌抢占市场不可忽视的力量。其中就有提到“口红王子”的李佳琦。比如：
Such “social commerce” is huge in China, where it was invented. In October2021 Li Jiaqi, better known as Lipstick King, notched up nearly 250m views during a 12-hour streaming session in which he peddled everything from lotions to earphones ahead of Singles’ Day, that country’s annual shopping extravaganza. He and Viya, a fellow influencer, flogged $3bn-worth of goods in a day, half as much again as changes hands daily on Amazon.
其中的「peddle」“到处叫卖、兜售”，会让我想到李佳琦拿着铜锣的场景，另外，“销售”用的也不是「sale」，而是「flog」“迅速或者廉价的出售”。
用词的精准也生动再现了网红直播销售火爆的场景，类似这样的动词在阅读过程中都可以积累下来。
另外，这篇文章也出现了很多奢侈品品牌，大家都有留意到这些英文怎么念吗？
Dior
Prada
Lancome
Alberta Ferretti
Louis Vuitton
Hermes
Gucci
生活中你又有遇到哪些看似非似的英文品牌名称呢？欢迎留言交流。