台中洋碩美語 makes our lives valuable

還記得美得冒泡的芭比嗎? 她陪伴過很多人小時候的童年

但是長久以來，芭比卻也背負著罵名。

其中一項罪名是芭比的婀娜多姿身材跟普遍的人都不像，並且也給了很多小女孩不好的示範

有部分小女孩們為了像芭比一樣漂亮，不吃不喝。

Mattel，一間製作芭比的公司，已經聽聞這項罪名已久，但直到最近才做改變。你覺得他們為什麼現在才做改變呢？你覺得這個改變夠嗎？

身材總是穠纖合度的芭比娃娃事實上跟現實一點都不合, 芭比娃娃不管做任何行業總是一樣黃金比例的身材
Barbie dolls have a particular look to them. They’re thin, tall, long-legged… and virtually unlike any real human being. Although over the years Barbie has had more than 180 different careers–including football coach, sign language teacher, paratrooper, ambassador, president and astronaut–her body shape hasn’t changed much.
 

所以生產商將突破一個模子的芭比娃娃，徹底改造芭比, 新系列的芭比娃娃，光是身形就有嬌小、高挑、豐滿等3種體型，另有7種膚色、22種眼珠顏色、30種髮色及24種髮型，以及14種臉型，組合起來共有33款新產品Last year Mattel, the company that makes Barbie dolls, added some Barbies to its line that have different skin tones and hair textures. There are now Barbies with one of seven skin tones, 22 eye colours and 24 hair styles to choose from. Last year Mattel also gave Barbie a flat foot, rather than forcing her to be “in heels” all the time like the original Barbie is. They are also introducing new Barbies with three slightly different body shapes. (The original, tall and thin Barbies will still be sold as well.) “One is taller than original Barbie, one is more petite and one is curvier,” said Kim Culmone, Vice-President of Design at Mattel, in a video on the company’s website.
 

生產商希望新系列的芭比能帶給小孩們無限的想像力,
On a statement on its website, the company says it wants Barbies to look more like real people, and to give “girls everywhere… infinitely more ways to spark their imagination and play out their stories.”
 

但很多人還是覺得這些改變並不能真的改善問題
Although many people say the new Barbies are a step in the right direction, some people say they don’t go far enough. 

Word Bank
Particular     adj. 特有的
used for emphasizing that you are talking about one specific person or thing and not anyone or anything else
Virtually    adv. 實際上
used for emphasizing that a statement is almost completely true
tone    n. 色調
color 
texture    n. 質地
the way that something feels when you touch it
force    v. 強迫
to make someone do something that they do not want to do, forexample by using or threatening to use violence
original        adj. 原始的
existing at the beginning of a period or process, before any changes have been made
petite    adj.嬌小纖細的
a petite woman is small and thin in an attractive way
curvy    adj, 曲線美的
a curvy woman has an attractive body with large breasts, a smallwaist, and wide hips
infinitely    adv. 無限地
for a period of time that has no fixed end
spark    v. 引發
to make something happen,

文/ Reene　

圖/ Pixabay

參考資料/ TeachingKidsNews.com