[時事英文] XOXO, Gossip Time
為什麼大家都愛看藝人和政治人物的八卦? 你知道我在說誰。
You want to know more? Read below. You know you want to.
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《紐約時報報導》
Whether the subject is celebrities or politics, readers can be easy marks for comforting tales. Tabloid publishers know this. So do online trolls and click-hungry websites.
1. an easy mark (n.) 明顯、輕鬆的靶子；目標*
2. comforting tales 令寬慰的故事
3. tabloid publisher 通俗小報出版商
4. online trolls 網上愛惡搞的人**
5. click-hungry websites 渴望點擊量的網站
無論主題是名人還是政治，令人舒適的故事總能輕易打動讀者。小報出版商知道這一點。線上釣魚網站和渴望點擊量的網站也知道這一點。
*mark (11): https://bit.ly/3aVBk4p
**troll: http://bit.ly/2JFYcKI
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“Algorithmic behavior existed long before there was an algorithm,” said Janice Min, former top editor of The Hollywood Reporter, who is now overseeing content and news at Quib.
“Whether politics or celebrity, narratives are what matter to people — the details often don’t.”
6. algorithmic behavior 算法行為
7. algorithm 算法、演算法
8. oversee content and news 監管內容與新聞
9. mobile video startup 手機影片新創公司
10. narratives 敘事
「在演算法出現很久以前就有演算法行為，」《好萊塢報導》(Hollywood Reporter)前總編珍妮絲·閔(Janice Min)說, 她現在正負責監管Quibi的內容和新聞。
「無論是政治還是名人，敘事對人們來說都是重要的——而細節往往並不重要」。
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As Patrick Radden Keefe wrote in a recent article on “The Apprentice” for The New Yorker, Donald Trump’s star had dimmed in the years before it aired.
By papering over his business organizations’ bankruptcies, not to mention the fraud accusations against Trump University, the NBC prime-time hit “mythologized him anew, turning him into an icon of American success.”
11. dim (v.) （使）減弱，（使）變淡
12. air (v.) 廣播，播出，播送
13. paper over sth 掩蓋（尤指問題或分歧）
14. bankruptcy 企業或個人破產（的狀況）
15. not to mention 除…之外（還），更不必說
16. fraud accusations 詐欺指控
17. prime-time hit 黃金時段熱門節目
18. mythologize (v.)（對…）故弄玄虛
19. turn (someone/something) into someone/something 使某人/某物成為或變得某人/某物
20. an icon of …的偶像；象徵
正如派翠克·拉德登·基夫(Patrick Radden Keefe)最近為《紐約客》(The New Yorker)撰寫的一篇關於《誰是接班人》 的文章中所寫的那樣，唐納·川普的明星光環在該節目播出前的幾年已經暗淡下來。《誰是接班人》這檔NBC黃金時段熱門節目掩蓋了他的商業機構破產，還有對川普大學(Trump University)的欺詐指控，從而 「將他重新神化，使他成為美國成功的象徵」。
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Trump ran his campaign and at times runs his White House with a reliance on the same mix of fantasy and truthiness typical of supermarket tabloids and reality TV. Just as a large group of people can’t get enough of the tales about celebrities, a large constituency seems eager to believe a reality-show narrative about the 45th president.
21. run campaign 經營競選活動
22. at times = sometimes 有時
23. with a reliance on 依靠
24. a mix of fantasy and truthiness 幻想與真實相結合
25. constituency 選民
26. reality-show narrative 真人秀敘事
川普在競選活動中，以及在執掌白宮後，有時也會依靠這種超市小報和電視真人秀中典型的幻想與真實相結合的手法。就像一大群人對明星的故事欲罷不能一樣，一大群選民似乎也渴望相信有關美國第45任總統的真人秀式敘事。
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On “The Apprentice,” he was a straight-shooting, street-smart businessman. To rallygoers during his campaign, he was the outsider who sought to smash a calcified ruling elite. As president, he has been the man willing to fight off resistance from “the deep state” to do what’s right, even if it means shutting down the government.
27. The Apprentice《誰是接班人》
28. straight-shooting 正直的; 直接的*
29. street-smart 精明；適應都市生活的，具有都市生存智慧的
30. rallygoer = rally+goer (選舉)集會參與者
31. smash a calcified ruling elite 粉碎僵化精英統治
32. fight off 擊退
在《誰是接班人》裡，他是一位正直、精明的商人。在他競選期間的支持者看來，他是一個試圖粉碎僵化精英統治的局外人。作為總統，他一直願意擊退來自「深層政府」(deep state)的阻力，做正確的事情，即使這意味著關閉政府。
straight-shooting: https://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/straight-shooting_2
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Driving the belief in political conspiracy theories and celebrity pregnancies alike is “a desire to have the truth fit” the heart’s desires, said Renée Ann Cramer, a professor of law, politics and society at Drake University in Iowa. “They want it to be true,” she said. An attractive narrative emits a powerful force, whether it’s about politics or things less serious, and we’re all susceptible to its allure.
33. drive a belief 驅動信念、想法
34. a political conspiracy theory 政治陰謀論
35. fit (v.) 符合
36. the heart’s desires 內心的渴望
37. an attractive narrative 吸引人的敘事
38. emit 發出，射出，散發（光、雜訊、氣味或氣體）
39. be susceptible to 容易受…影響
40. allure (n.) 誘惑
愛荷華州德雷克大學(Drake University)的法律、政治和社會教授蕾妮·安·克拉默(Renée Ann Cramer)說，促使人們相信政治陰謀論和名人懷孕的，都是「一種讓真相符合內心願望的渴望」。「他們希望這是真的，」她說。一種吸引人的敘事會釋放出一種強大的力量，無論是關於政治還是不那麼嚴肅的事情，我們都容易受到它的誘惑。
《紐約時報》完整報導： http://bitly.ws/8pHx
圖片出處：Google Search
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你可以稱這種愛八卦的現象為流暢性捷思（fluency heuristic）、思維被劫持 (hijacked thinking) 或顯而易見的確認偏誤(confirmation bias)。
人們喜歡閱讀八卦，因為他們想相信八卦是真實的，即使事實並非如此。 這便是小報(tabloids)存在的原因。
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