日本妇女压力大 帅哥帮你把泪擦

 　　A cool new service in Japan is meant to help busy career women cope with the stress of their hectic¹ lifestyles. For about 7,900 yen², they can hire ‘Ikemeso’ – cute men – to wipe away their tears, quite literally³!

　　当下，日本新兴一种酷炫服务，能够帮助职业女性排解忙碌生活带来的种种压力。花上7900日元（约合420元人民币），日本妇女就能雇一名“擦泪帅哥”（日语叫Ikemeso）帮忙擦眼泪！

　　Here’s how it works: You call the company and pick one of seven Ikemeso, who will then arrive at your workplace to help you release stress through crying. If you’re in tears already, the licensed⁴ “crying therapist” will simply wipe your tears away with the softest handkerchief and comfort you with kind words. If work-related stress hasn’t pushed you to tears yet, the Ikemeso will play an emotional film meant to induce crying. After the video is over, he’ll wipe your tears away.

　　究竟是怎么回事呢？原来，顾客通过拨打电话，能从7位“擦泪帅哥”中挑选一名。随后，这位帅哥就会到达你的工作地点，助你痛哭减压。如果你已经哭成了泪人，“痛哭治疗师”会一边用最柔软的手绢擦去你眼角的泪水，一边温柔地安慰。如果你还未被工作压垮，失声痛哭的话，他就会放一部催泪的情感电影，并在观影后，为你擦干泪水。

　　There are different types of guys you can choose from, depending on your taste – the little brother, the intellectual, the bad boy, the slightly older hot guy, and more. The service is all set to launch on September 24.

　　顾客还能根据口味，选择偏爱的帅哥，其中就包括了邻家小哥、知识分子、坏小子、性感大叔等。这项服务于9月24日正式推出。

　　日本妇女压力大 帅哥帮你把泪擦

　　According to Hiroki Terai, the creator of Ikemeso, “Japanese women are under tremendous stress at the office here in Tokyo, which often ends in tears. We are here to provide a kind word and brush the tears away by one of our seven lovely men on call.”

　　服务的发起人寺井广树（Hiroki Terai）说：“在东京，职场女性承受的压力实在太大了，常常让她们失声痛哭。我们这7个帅哥随叫随到，希望其中一个能安慰她们，帮她们拭去泪水。”

　　Some will undoubtedly⁵ find the whole idea sexist, but Terai claims that the company has been receiving queries⁶ non-stop ever since they launched the website last week. He also insists that the service is not a hoax⁷. “More and more women are trying to hold down professional jobs these days but the male dominated, workaholic workforce⁸ makes it hard for them,” he said. “We want such put-upon women to have a good cry and feel better when they feel targeted.”

　　毫无疑问，不少人会觉得这想法充满了性别歧视，但寺井广树称，自公司网站上线一周来，他们接到了顾客源源不断的咨询电话。他坚称，这项服务并非恶作剧。“如今，越来越多的女性都尽力保住自己的工作，但男性工作狂依旧称霸职场。”他说，“我们希望压力过大的女性能好好哭上一场，遭受不公平待遇时不至于灰心丧气。”

　　“Who doesn’t feel better after a big boo-hoo?”

　　“毕竟，大哭一场后，谁不会感到如释重负呢？”

　　The term Ikemeso is a word play that combines ikemen (hot guy) and mesomeso (crying). Oh, and speaking of ikemen, remember Shabani the handsome gorilla⁹ that used to drive Japanese women nuts?

　　Ikemeso这个词由ikemen（帅哥）和mesomeso（大哭）结合而来。说到帅哥，不知你还记不记得名古屋动物园那只迷倒日本妇女的大猩猩？

　　For now, Ikemeso seem to only cater¹⁰ to stressed employees, but judging by the positive feedback the service has gotten even prior to its official launch, it’s fair to assume it will soon be more widely available.

　　目前，这项服务仅面向备受压力的职业女性。不过，鉴于其尚未正式推出便大获人气，今后或许会面向各个群体。

　　It’s a bizarre service, to be sure, but not by Japanese standards. After all, we’re talking about the country that came up with strange ideas like a slow taxi service, a dress-rental business for men who want to feel like princesses or a rent-a-friend service, among many others.

　　实话说，“帅哥擦泪”听起来颇为疯狂，但放在日本，大概算稀松平常。毕竟，发生在日本的奇事太多了，比如慢车服务、男人租公主裙服务、租友服务等等。

　　Vocabulary

　　put-upon: 受人利用的；受虐待的

1 hectic   

adj.肺病的；消耗热的；发热的；闹哄哄的

参考例句：

• I spent a very hectic Sunday.我度过了一个忙乱的星期天。
• The two days we spent there were enjoyable but hectic.我们在那里度过的两天愉快但闹哄哄的。

2 yen   

n. 日元；热望

参考例句：

• He wanted to convert his dollars into Japanese yen.他想将美元换成日币。
• He has a yen to be alone in a boat.他渴望独自呆在一条船上。

3 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

4 licensed   

adj.得到许可的v.许可，颁发执照(license的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The new drug has not yet been licensed in the US. 这种新药尚未在美国获得许可。
• Is that gun licensed? 那支枪有持枪执照吗？

5 undoubtedly   

adv.确实地，无疑地

参考例句：

• It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。
• He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。

6 queries   

n.问题( query的名词复数 )；疑问；询问；问号v.质疑，对…表示疑问( query的第三人称单数 )；询问

参考例句：

• Our assistants will be happy to answer your queries. 我们的助理很乐意回答诸位的问题。
• Her queries were rhetorical,and best ignored. 她的质问只不过是说说而已，最好不予理睬。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 hoax   

v.欺骗，哄骗，愚弄；n.愚弄人，恶作剧

参考例句：

• They were the victims of a cruel hoax.他们是一个残忍恶作剧的受害者。
• They hoax him out of his money.他们骗去他的钱。

8 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

9 gorilla   

n.大猩猩，暴徒，打手

参考例句：

• I was awed by the huge gorilla.那只大猩猩使我惊惧。
• A gorilla is just a speechless animal.猩猩只不过是一种不会说话的动物。

10 cater   

vi.(for/to)满足，迎合；(for)提供饮食及服务

参考例句：

• I expect he will be able to cater for your particular needs.我预计他能满足你的特殊需要。
• Most schools cater for children of different abilities.大多数学校能够满足具有不同天资的儿童的需要。