These days it seems that giving your baby some ridiculously weird name has become the norm.
现在,似乎给孩子起个稀奇古怪的名字是司空见惯了。
Names like John, James and Emma are out, and monikers inspired by celebrities and their offspring are in.
约翰、詹姆斯和爱玛这样的名字太过老套了,而明星和星二代的名字却让人们脑洞大开。
Actress Gwyneth Paltrow named her children Apple and Moses, singer Beyonce gave birth to Blue Ivy and Kim Kardashian has a daughter called North.
女星格温·帕特洛给她的宝宝们起名为“苹果”和“摩西”,歌星碧昂斯给孩子起名蓝色常春藤(Blue Ivy),而金·卡戴珊给她女儿起名叫“北方”(North)。
But what if these names aren't crazy enough for your child? What if you want something really unique?
如果你觉得这些名字还不够标新立异,还想要真正独一无二的名字,那该怎么办?
Luckily for you, a Swiss company will now come up with a truly individual name for your baby - at a cost of £21,000.
这里有个好消息,一家瑞士公司可以为您的孩子起一个实实在在的好名字,但要花费2.1万英镑!
Erfolgswelle has been creating names for brands and products since 2003, but branched out into naming babies after director Marc Hauser noticed a friend of his arguing with his partner.
从2003年起,这家名为Erfolgswelle的公司就一直在为一些品牌和产品提供起名服务。但有一次,公司高管马克·豪泽(Marc Hauser)发现他的朋友因为给孩子起名与伴侣而产生争执,此后该公司的业务领域逐渐延伸到了给婴儿起名这个新领域。
"The choice was causing tension between the couple, so he thought I could help,” he told Le Matin.
在接受《晨报》(Le Matin)采访时,马克·豪泽说:“选用什么名字让他们关系紧张,他认为我可以帮点儿忙。”
After helping his friend, Mr Hauser, who has worked with companies such as Nestle and Alstom, saw the business opportunity in extending the service to parents across the world.
在帮助了朋友以后,豪泽凭借多年在雀巢以及阿尔斯通等大企业的工作经验,他看到了商机,意识到可以将起名服务拓展至全球的父母。
He created a team of 13 naming specialists and historians, who check numerous databases to ensure the names they come up with do not exist anywhere else. They take into account the culture and nationality of the parents and also make sure the name doesn't have a double-meaning or negative connotations in the 12 most popular languages.
他组建的13人团队里既有起名专家也有历史学家,为了确保所起的名字从未有人使用过,他们需要检查海量的数据。在起名的时候,他们也会综合考虑父母的国籍和文化因素,确保名字在12种最流行的语言里没有歧义或负面涵义。
“We rely on culture, the origin and the desires of our customers,” Mr Hauser said. “The pronunciation and spelling need to be intuitive. If a person has to repeat his name four times on the phone and no one understands it, it is a failure.”
豪泽先生说道:“文化、国籍和客户的希望都是我们要考虑的因素。名字的发音和拼写都要直观明了,如果一个人在与人通话时要把自己的名字重复四遍还无法让人理解,那这个名字就是个失败”。
The whole process takes four to five weeks, hence the large fee.
收费高昂是有原因的,因为起名的全过程耗时四到五周。
"It's the same work, so the same rate, as for the development of a brand name internationally."
“给人起名和给国际品牌起名的工作内容并无二致,所以收费也要保持一致”。
Vocabulary
ridiculously: 可笑的
moniker: 名字
celebrity: 名人
offspring: 后代
tension: 紧张
connotation: 内涵
intuitive: 直觉的
职场美语:bite the bullet 下定决心
职场美语:人手不够 be short of hands
职场美语:“坐立不安”英语怎么说?be on pins and needles
职场英语:闲谈周末的的英语对话
职场美语:加倍努力 bear down
职场英语:“造假帐”怎么说
职场美语:bell the cat 为众人利益而冒险
职场英语:“节假日照常上班”怎么说
职场英语:外企办公室常用的接电话口语
询问国家和国籍:外企英语口语300句(4)
职场英语:十句话让你成为成功的创业者
职场美语:behind schedule 落后于计划或预定时间
寻求帮助英语22句:外企英语300句
职场美语:将计就计地惩罚某人 beat someone at his own game
外企口语300句:(16)关于购物
职场美语:be over the hump 已度过难关
职场英语:个人资料词汇
职场美语:“加班”的10个英语对话
你想听我讲一些鬼的事情吗:VOA职场口语
外企口语300句:(14)询问别人的意见
职场英语:主管询问工作进度
职场美语:be supposed to 认为应该
职场美语:2012史上最短工作月是疯狂加班月
职场美语:burn one's bridges 自断一切退路,义无反顾
希望不是什么严重的事情:VOA职场口语
外企口语300句:(21)施工
职场美语:我“忙得不可开交”
用英语做正式的请求Making more formal requests:职场美语视频教程第62课
职场美语:button up one's lips 闭口不言,守口如瓶
职场美语:brainstorm 绞尽脑汁,费尽心机
| 不限 |
| 英语教案 |
| 英语课件 |
| 英语试题 |
| 不限 |
| 不限 |
| 上册 |
| 下册 |
| 不限 |