丑闻、头条人物成2012万圣节热销面具

 Scandals, political gaffes¹ and rivalries² are inspiring Halloween costumes this year, from elaborate store-bought designs to do-it-yourself disguises that need little more than a stapler³ and a wicked sense of humor.

　　At New York Costumes, a President Barack Obama mask is slightly outselling a mask of Republican presidential nominee⁴ Mitt⁵ Romney, said store manager Tony Bianchi.

　　Big Bird is sold out, flying off the shelves Romney vowed⁶ to defund public broadcasting in a presidential debate earlier this month, said Bianchi and also Ereka Dunn, spokeswoman for Ricky's, another New York costume store.

　　"Everything is television-driven or scandal-driven," Bianchi said. Costumes go for as much as $250, he said.

　　Sales of the Joker, the Batman movie villain⁷, dropped below the newer villain Bane this season, likely a result of being outdated⁸ than blowback from the deadly Colorado theater shooting by a gunman dressed as the Joker, salespeople⁹ said.

　　Ripped-from-the-headlines costumes are popular among do-it-yourselfers who lack cash but have a wealth of ingenuity¹⁰.

　　One costume creator featured online made a mask to look like "The Beast Jesus," the famously botched fresco¹¹ retouching done by an aging parishioner at a Spanish church. A photograph of the costume posted this month reportedly got 750,000 hits in two days.

　　丑闻、政客出丑、政敌是今年万圣节服装的灵感之源，不管是从商店里买来的成品道具，还是自己动手做的化装服饰，你需要的只不过是一个订书机，还有一点邪恶的幽默感。

　　在出售热门万圣节服装的“纽约道具店”，据该店经理托尼?比安池说，奥巴马总统的面具销量比共和党总统候选人米特?罗姆尼的面具略胜一筹。

　　比安池和另一家纽约道具服饰店Ricky's的女发言人艾瑞卡?杜恩称，罗姆尼本月初期在总统辩论中发誓要撤销对公共广播公司的资金投入，这让公共广播公司著名儿童节目《芝麻街》的主角大鸟成为销售热门。现在“大鸟”道具已经全部卖光。

　　比安池说：“所有的热门道具或是因为电视火起来的，或是因为丑闻。”他说，道具标价可高达250美元。

　　销售人员说，今年万圣节，电影《蝙蝠侠2》里的反派角色“小丑”道具的销量落后于《蝙蝠侠3》里的新反派“毒药”，可能是因为受到身穿“小丑”服饰的持枪歹徒在科罗拉多影院开枪杀人事件的负面影响，不过更可能是因为过时了。

　　扮成头条人物的道具服装在那些喜欢自己动手、没什么钱但是心灵手巧的人当中很受欢迎。

　　一个道具制作者在网上晒了自己制作的一个面具，看起来就像西班牙教堂一位年迈的教区居民修补的因过于拙劣而出名的壁画“野兽基督”。本月上传的该道具的照片据说在两天内点击量就突破了75万。

1 gaffes   

n.失礼，出丑( gaffe的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The presidential candidate made three mistakes, or gaffes, during his speech. 校长候选人在演讲中出了三次错，或失态。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
• When the microphones were on, gaffes gushed from his lips. 而当电话响起，他却口无遮拦，屡屡失言。 来自互联网

2 rivalries   

n.敌对，竞争，对抗( rivalry的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The new government was torn by rivalries. 新政府由于各派对立而四分五裂。 来自辞典例句
• Rivalries could bring about pain and hatred or give rise to fighting. 竞争会带来痛苦、仇恨，或者引起争斗。 来自互联网

3 stapler   

n.订书机

参考例句：

• The stapler belongs to her.这订书机是她的。
• Can you hand me that stapler?请你把订书机拿给我，好吗？

4 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

5 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

6 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

7 villain   

n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因

参考例句：

• He was cast as the villain in the play.他在戏里扮演反面角色。
• The man who played the villain acted very well.扮演恶棍的那个男演员演得很好。

8 outdated   

adj.旧式的，落伍的，过时的；v.使过时

参考例句：

• That list of addresses is outdated,many have changed.那个通讯录已经没用了，许多地址已经改了。
• Many of us conform to the outdated customs laid down by our forebears.我们许多人都遵循祖先立下的过时习俗。

9 salespeople   

n.售货员，店员；售货员( salesperson的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The shop usually employs additional salespeople for the Christmas toy trade. 这家商店通常雇一些临时售货员来做圣诞节玩具生意。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Under our new system, salespeople sit down with each of our dealers. 根据新的制度，销售人员应逐个地同承销商洽商。 来自辞典例句

10 ingenuity   

n.别出心裁；善于发明创造

参考例句：

• The boy showed ingenuity in making toys.那个小男孩做玩具很有创造力。
• I admire your ingenuity and perseverance.我钦佩你的别出心裁和毅力。

11 fresco   

n.壁画；vt.作壁画于

参考例句：

• This huge fresco is extremely clear and just like nature itself.It is very harmonious.这一巨幅壁画，清晰有致且又浑然天成，十分和谐。
• So it is quite necessary to study the influence of visual thinking over fresco.因此，研究视觉思维对壁画的影响和作用是十分必要的。