Of all the many faces Madonna presents to the world, the one she tries most assiduously2 to disguise is that of successful businesswoman. Once she said:"Part of the reason for my success is that I'm a good business woman but I don't think it necessary for people to know that."
The girl who arrived in New York with a fistful of dollars is — and has been — a publisher, music mogul, TV executive, merchandising magnate, film producer and is one of the richest women on the planet. She is a typical self-made tycoon: cautious in her investments, conservative in her spending, controlling her multi-million dollar empire.
Indeed Madonna is a classic capitalist — conforming to2 all the rules, never putting a foot wrong, running her life like clockwork. Like a typical cigar-chomping company chairman, she is the first to arrive and the last to leave while every evening she sits down and lists her goals for the next day.
She likes to present a hard-boiled, sassy image but her maternal and compassionate instincts are much in evidence — and not only in the way she dotes on her two children.
She has quietly paid for drug rehabilitation therapy for numerous friends and family members. Indeed, much of her charity work is discreet3 and unshowy. A well-known supporter of Aids charities, she is also a donor to a charity for breast cancer, the disease which killed her mother.
For while she may employ bodyguards, chauffeurs, maids and cooks, old habits die hard. The girl who survived by bumming meals from friends and acquaintances has not changed too much. When she is out with a group of friends, Madonna is rarely the one to reach for the bill. She will wait to see someone else is going to pick up the tab and then, as a last resort, will break down4 the bill so that everyone pays their share.
On tour she will personally haggle with hotels for cut-price rates and she checks every bill. This obsessive need for control goes way beyond the parameters of a typical business manual.
練習題：
Questions:
1. What is the identity that she intends to hide from her audience ?
2. Why do we say she is a classic capitalist?
答案：
1. Her identity as a successful businesswoman.
2. Because she conforms to all the rules, never puts a foot wrong, lives a temperate life and, above all, works very hard to run her company.
參考譯文：
麥當娜的另一張臉
在麥當娜向世人展現(xiàn)的眾多面孔中, 作為成功商人的一面是她最想竭力隱藏的。她曾經(jīng)說過這樣的話:“ 我成功的部分原因在于我是一個好商人, 但是我認為沒必要讓人們知道這一點。”
這個赤手空拳來到紐約的姑娘, 如今身兼出版商、樂壇巨頭、電視經(jīng)理、推銷大王、電影制片人, 是世界上最富有的女人之一。她是典型傳統(tǒng)的白手起家的巨頭: 謹慎投資、節(jié)制花銷、掌控著自己的億萬家產(chǎn)。
事實上, 麥當娜是個傳統(tǒng)的資本家——循規(guī)蹈矩、小心謹慎、生活極有規(guī)律。她像口里叼著雪茄的典型的公司董事長那樣, 第一個上班, 最后一個走; 每天晚上都要坐下來, 列出第二天的工作計劃。
她喜歡表現(xiàn)出冷峻、前衛(wèi)的樣子, 本人卻不乏母愛和憐憫之心, 這不僅僅體現(xiàn)在她對自己兩個孩子的溺愛上。她還私下為許多朋友和家人支付戒毒費用。實際上, 她的許多慈善工作都是小心謹慎、不事張揚的。她是著名的艾滋病慈善事業(yè)的支持者, 也是乳腺癌( 她母親死于該病) 慈善機構(gòu)的捐款者。
她雇傭保鏢、司機、女傭和廚師, 卻舊習不改。那個常在朋友和熟人那里蹭飯吃的女孩也沒多少改變。與一群朋友出去吃飯, 麥當娜很少主動買單。她會等著看是否有人付賬,最后不得已, 就大家各自付賬。
旅行時, 她會為了砍價親自和旅館討價還價, 檢查每一張賬單。這種著魔似的控制欲甚至超過典型商業(yè)手冊的標準。
