斯沃琪道歉

近日，瑞士手表品牌斯沃琪（Swatch）就“眯眯眼”模特图致歉。

今天你练听力了吗？

🤔️小作业：

1. What can be inferred as the main reason why the controversy was particularly damaging for Swatch in China?

A. It coincided with an early stage of financial recovery in the region.

B. It directly caused a drop in overall global sales for the company.

C. It was the first time Swatch faced criticism in an Asian market.

D. It completely eliminated Swatch's e-commerce growth in China.

无注释原文：

Swatch Under Fire in China for Asian Model's Slant Eye Pose

From: WWD

BAD TIMING: Swiss watchmaker Swatch on Friday made it to the Weibo top trending news ranking for the wrong reason.

The brand was called out by online spectators in China on Thursday after an image of an Asian model making a slant eye pose while promoting the brand's Camo Flash model in an orange and blue color way was spotted on the brand's website.

The image has since been pulled across Swatch's website globally, and the brand has told local media that “the issue is being taken seriously and will be forwarded to the relevant authorities.”

The controversy has garnered more than 2.6 million impressions on Weibo, China's X-like social media platform.

Many online spectators on Weibo considered the pose “offensive and disrespectful” toward the Asian community, and demanded that the brand issue an official apology.

The slant eye controversy came at an unfortunate time for the Swatch Group in China, just as it began to see its first positive signs of improvement in the region for the second half of 2025, including e-commerce gains and a reduction of inventory at retailers, the group said in July.

In the first half of 2025, Swatched logged an 88 percent slump in net income to 17 million Swiss francs, or $21.1 million.

The Swatch Group continued to attribute a negative impact on sales and results to weak consumption in Greater China, as well as Southeast Asia, due to the drop in Chinese tourists.

The company also said that the first half's 7.9 percent decline in sales came “exclusively” from Greater China, which has fallen from making a third of Swatch's total sales to a 24 percent share in the past 18 months.

In a recent report, HSBC downgraded the Swatch Group to reduce as it “has been very consistently losing market share” with the exception of Omega.

“Macro considerations aside, we don't see what means the group has to beat peers and see this as a structural issue. Shares recently rebounded on hopes on China recovery and through sales and margin, but we see limited value unlocks,” HSBC added.

WWD has reached out to Swatch Group for comment.

- ◆ -

注：完整题目见本文开头；中文文本为机器翻译并非一一对应，仅供参考

含注释全文：

Swatch Under Fire in China for Asian Model's Slant Eye Pose

From: WWD

BAD TIMING: Swiss watchmaker Swatch on Friday made it to the Weibo top trending news ranking for the wrong reason.

时机不妙：瑞士手表制造商斯沃琪（Swatch）周五因负面事件而登上微博热搜榜单。

trend /trend/ 作动词，表示“（某一时刻在社交媒体或网站上）被提及最多的词语（主题或名字）”，英文解释为“to be one of the words, subjects, or names that is being mentioned most often on a social media website or a news website at a particular time”举个🌰：Within minutes of the incident her name was trending on Weibo. 事件发生几分钟后她的名字就在微博上传开了。

trend本身也可以直接作名词，原意有“趋势；趋向；倾向；动态；动向；热点”，英文解释为“a general direction in which a situation is changing or developing”。

📍trending hashtags或者说a trending topic，可以指微博上的“#热门话题#”；类似的，Youtube首页上的Trending对应的中文就处理为“时下流行”。

The brand was called out by online spectators in China on Thursday after an image of an Asian model making a slant eye pose while promoting the brand's Camo Flash model in an orange and blue color way was spotted on the brand's website.

周四，中国网友在斯沃琪官网上发现一张亚洲模特摆出“眯眯眼”动作、宣传其橙蓝配色Camo Flash款手表的照片，纷纷指责该品牌。

spectator /spekˈteɪ.tər/ 表示“（尤指体育赛事的）观众”，英文解释为“a person who watches an activity, especially a sports event, without taking part”。

区分上文提到的：

📍spectacular /spekˈtæk.jə.lər/ 1）表示“壮观的；精彩的；令人印象深刻的”，英文解释为“very impressive”，如：a mountainous area with spectacular scenery 景色壮丽的山区，a spectacular success 辉煌的成就。

slant /slɑːnt/ 1）表示“（使）倾斜，（使）倾向”，英文解释为“to (cause to) lean in a position that is not vertical； to (cause to) slope”举个🌰：Italic writing slants to the right. 斜体字向右倾斜。

2）表示“倾斜；斜面”，英文解释为“a position or direction that is sloping”举个🌰：The car was parked on a slant. 车停在一个斜坡上。The snow came down at a slant. 大雪斜斜地落下来。

The image has since been pulled across Swatch's website globally, and the brand has told local media that “the issue is being taken seriously and will be forwarded to the relevant authorities.”

目前，这张照片已在斯沃琪全球官网上下架，品牌方面对媒体回应称“我们正严肃对待此事，并将递交相关部门处理”。

The controversy has garnered more than 2.6 million impressions on Weibo, China's X-like social media platform.

在中国社交平台微博上，这一事件引发的讨论已超过260万次浏览。

controversy /ˈkɒn.trə.vɜː.si/ 表示“争议；争论；争辩”，英文解释为“a lot of disagreement or argument about something, usually because it affects or is important to many people”举个🌰：There was a big controversy surrounding / over the use of drugs in athletics. 体育界对使用违禁药物争议很大。

garner /ˈɡɑːnə/ 表示“获得；收集”，英文解释为“If someone has garnered something useful or valuable, they have gained it or collected it.”举个🌰：He has garnered extensive support for his proposals. 他为他的提议赢得了广泛的支持。

📍这个词来自古法语的"gernier"，表示"谷仓"，象征"收集"。近义词：collect（收集），acquire（获得）；常用短语：garner support（获得支持），garner attention（引起关注）

🎬电影《斯隆女士》（Miss Sloane）中的台词提到：But I'll tell you, the reputation you have garnered for yourself, we were just looking for an excuse to engage you. 但实话讲你蜚声于世 我们想找到能打动你的理由。

Many online spectators on Weibo considered the pose “offensive and disrespectful” toward the Asian community, and demanded that the brand issue an official apology.

许多微博用户表示，这一动作对亚洲群体“带有冒犯意味且不尊重”，并要求品牌作出正式道歉。

The slant eye controversy came at an unfortunate time for the Swatch Group in China, just as it began to see its first positive signs of improvement in the region for the second half of 2025, including e-commerce gains and a reduction of inventory at retailers, the group said in July.

这起“眯眯眼”争议对斯沃琪集团而言来得不是时候。斯沃琪集团在7月称，集团在2025年下半年刚刚在中国市场出现复苏迹象，包括电商业务增长和零售商库存下降。

1）表示“（商店的）存货；存货价值”，英文解释为“the amount of goods a shop has, or the value of them”举个🌰：The inventory will be disposed of over the next twelve weeks. 在未来的十二个星期中将进行清仓处理。

2）表示“（某处的）物品清单”，英文解释为“a detailed list of all the things in a place”

3）表示“盘点，清点存货”，英文解释为“the counting of all the goods, materials, etc. kept in a place such as a shop”

retailer /ˈriː.teɪ.lər/ 表示“零售商；零售店”，英文解释为“a person, shop, or business that sells goods to the public”如：a big electronics retailer 大型电子产品零售店。

In the first half of 2025, Swatched logged an 88 percent slump in net income to 17 million Swiss francs, or $21.1 million.

2025年上半年，斯沃琪净利润暴跌88%，仅为1700万瑞士法郎（约合2110万美元）。

作动词，slump /slʌmp/ 1）表示“沉重地坐下（或倒下）”，英文解释为“to sit or fall heavily and suddenly”举个🌰：She slumped into the chair, exhausted. 她颓然跌坐在椅子上，筋疲力尽。

2）表示“（价格、价值或销售额）猛跌，突然下降”，英文解释为“(of prices, values, or sales) to fall suddenly”

作名词，1）表示“（价格、价值、销售额等的）猛跌，暴跌”，英文解释为“a fall in the price, value, sales, etc. of something”举个🌰：There's been a slump in the demand for new cars. 新车的需求量猛跌。

2）表示“萧条（期），衰落”，英文解释为“a period when an industry or the economy is in a bad state and there is a lot of unemployment”举个🌰：The airline industry is currently in a slump. 当前航空业正处于萧条期。

The Swatch Group continued to attribute a negative impact on sales and results to weak consumption in Greater China, as well as Southeast Asia, due to the drop in Chinese tourists.

斯沃琪集团表示，其销售和业绩下滑仍归因于大中华区及东南亚消费低迷，而后者与中国游客数量下降直接相关。

The company also said that the first half's 7.9 percent decline in sales came “exclusively” from Greater China, which has fallen from making a third of Swatch's total sales to a 24 percent share in the past 18 months.

公司还表示，今年上半年7.9%的销售额下降“完全”源自大中华区，该地区的销售份额在过去18个月中已从三分之一降至24%。

exclusively /ɪkˈskluː.sɪv.li/ 表示“仅仅；专门；单独”，英文解释为“only”举个🌰：This offer is available exclusively to our established customers. 只有本店老客户才能享受这一优惠价。

In a recent report, HSBC downgraded the Swatch Group to reduce as it “has been very consistently losing market share” with the exception of Omega.

在最近的一份报告中，汇丰银行将斯沃琪集团评级下调至“减持”，原因是除欧米茄外，该集团“市场份额持续流失”。

downgrade表示“（使）降级；（使）降职；贬低；轻视”，英文解释为“to reduce someone or something to a lower rank or position, or to cause something to be considered less important or valuable”举个🌰：My job's been downgraded to that of ordinary editor. 我已经被降为普通编辑了。

区分：

📍degrade作动词，表示“降低…身份；侮辱…的人格；使受屈辱”，英文解释为：to show or treat sb in a way that makes them seem not worth any respect or not worth taking seriously，举个🌰：This poster is offensive and degrades women. 这张海报冒失无礼，有辱女性尊严。

📍degrade还可以表示“降解，自然分解”，英文解释为“(of a substance) to change into a more simple chemical structure”

exception /ɪkˈsep.ʃən/ 表示“一般情况以外的人（或事物）；例外”，英文解释为“a person or thing that is not included in a general statement”举个🌰：Nobody had much money at the time and I was no exception. 那时候谁都没有很多钱，我也不例外。

📺美剧《绝望的主妇》（Desperate Housewives）中的台词提到：Rex and Bree Van de Kamp were no exception. 雷克斯和布里·范德坎普也不例外。

“Macro considerations aside, we don't see what means the group has to beat peers and see this as a structural issue. Shares recently rebounded on hopes on China recovery and through sales and margin, but we see limited value unlocks,” HSBC added.

“撇开宏观因素不谈，我们看不到该集团有何手段击败竞争对手，并认为这是一种结构性问题。近期股价因中国复苏预期及销售利润改善回升，但价值释放空间有限。”汇丰银行补充道。

macro /ˈmæk.rəʊ/ 表示“大的；宏观的”，英文解释为“large; relating to the whole of something, rather than its parts”如：macroscopic (= large enough to be seen by the human eye) 肉眼可见的。

rebound /ˌriːˈbaʊnd/ 1）表示“弹回；反弹；跳回”，英文解释为“to bounce back after hitting a hard surface”

2）表示“产生事与愿违的结果；适得其反”，英文解释为“If an action rebounds on you, it does not have the effect you hoped for but has an unpleasant effect on you instead.”举个🌰：His continual demands for sympathy rebounded on him because his friends finally stopped listening. 他没完没了地希望从别人那里得到同情，结果却适得其反，因为最终他的朋友们都不愿再听他诉苦。

3）表示“（价格）反弹”，英文解释为“to rise in price after a fall”举个🌰：Cotton rebounded from declines early in the day to end at a higher price. 棉花价格在今天较早时下跌之后反弹收高。

margin /ˈmɑː.dʒɪn/ 1）表示“差数，差额”，英文解释为“the amount by which one thing is different from another”

2）表示“利润”，英文解释为“the profit made on a product or service”举个🌰：Our increased profits are due to improved margins and successful cost control. 我们盈利上涨，是因为改善了利润并成功地控制了开支。

WWD has reached out to Swatch Group for comment.

《WWD》已向斯沃琪集团发出置评请求。

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