This weekend, Kim Kardashian will celebrate her 30th birthday with a 'multi-tier' and 'gilded' cake 'encrusted with millions of dollars worth of diamonds.' At least that's what a press release kicking around on Thursday reported. (Ms. Kardashian denied it on her blog.) Now, here's a question: Is that really necessary?
在近期的一个周末，名媛金•卡戴珊(Kim Kardashian)庆祝自己的30岁生日，宴会上会有一个包裹着价值数百万美元钻石的多层镀金蛋糕──至少最近的一则新闻上是这么说的。（卡戴珊在自己的博客上则对此予以否认。）问题在于：这么做真的有必要吗？
This query was also on a reporter's mind on Wednesday at the Berry Hill Galleries on the Upper East Side at an event to launch the latest Vertu smartphone, the Constellation Quest. The device is meant to compete with a traditional, less flashy PDA -- an Android or a BlackBerry, for instance -- and it comes in a few metal varieties. There is the pink or black sapphire, which will set you back a mere $7,900. One in yellow gold retails for about $25,000.
最近，纽约上东城(Upper East Side)的柏利希尔画廊(Berry Hill Galleries) 举办了最新款Vertu智能手机Constellation Quest的发布会，有一位记者也发出了这样的疑问。这款手机的竞争对手是那些没那么炫酷的传统PDA──比如Android或黑莓手机──有几种不同的金属外壳。粉色或黑色蓝宝石屏幕款售价为7900美元，还有一款金黄色的则在25,000美元左右。
'That's how much it costs?' asked the actor Adrian Grenier, who was trying one out. 'Does it drive for you?'
演员格雷尼尔(Adrian Grenier)一边试着其中一款手机一边问道，"这要花多少钱？它能帮你开车吗？"
'If it could type for me and think for me and get the dry cleaning, I would consider it,' said the fashion designer Peter Som. 'It is very pretty, and I could see wearing it as a brooch.'
时装设计师索姆(Peter Som)说，如果它能够为我打字、帮助我思考问题、帮我把衣服拿去干洗，我可以考虑买一部。它很漂亮，可以用作胸针。
'What's the concept of a Vertu phone?' asked the financier Dennis Paul. 'To own the most expensive thing that ever lived? Maybe it's a statussymbol in the Middle East or China, but I don't fit that. I'm one of those people who are cheap. My friends will tell you that.'
金融家保罗(Dennis Paul)问道，Vertu手机的理念是什么？就是让你拥有最昂贵的奢侈品？也许在中东或者中国这是一个地位的象征，可它不适合我。我习惯用便宜货，我的朋友都知道。
Casey Gorman, the managing director for Vertu in the Americas, took a reporter for a tour of the less expensive model.
Vertu美洲区总经理戈尔曼(Casey Gorman)拽着一位记者去看一款比较便宜的手机。
'You've got to see the beauty,' Ms. Gorman said. 'It's handcrafted. It's made for one person by one person. Here, feel the weight. Isn't it reassuring? It gives you confidence.'
戈尔曼对这位记者说，你看看这多美呀。是纯手工打制的，每一款都独一无二。来，感受一下这个份量。让人感觉很安心吧？它能给你带来自信。
The reporter had to agree that the weight felt reassuring. It wasn't immediately apparent if the confidence came with it.
记者只好同意，手机的份量是很让人安心。不过自信的感觉倒是没有马上感觉到。
'Look at the sapphire keys, the sapphire screen,' Ms. Gorman said. She then went on to discuss the device's concierge features, which are free for the first year and $2,000 per annum following.
戈尔曼接着说道，看看这些蓝宝石按键、蓝宝石屏幕。她接着又介绍了手机的礼宾服务功能，这项服务头一年免费，之后每年收费2000美元。
'For instance, it's location aware. You type that you're in New York and it lets you know where to go.'
"比如它有地图功能。你输入你在纽约，手机就会告诉你有哪些地方可去。"
The reporter was curious where the Vertu would tell him to go in Manhattan. He discovered that the suggestions were up to date, but nothing a quick glance at the newspaper, a Google search or a phone call to an assistant, an agent, a friend, heck, even your semi-fabulous mother wouldn't tell you: Pegu for drinks; 11 Madison Park for dinner; Le Bernardin for fish; the Jane Ballroom for late-night shenanigans. The Vertu also suggested that its user should 'skip the queue at the Empire State Building' and that, when packing for a trip to the Big Apple, think 'chic, smart, casual.'
记者很好奇手机能告诉自己曼哈顿有啥地方好去。他发现手机给出的建议的确很实用：想喝上一杯去Pegu，吃饭去曼迪逊花园11号，吃鱼去Le Bernardin，夜生活去Jane Ballroom，不过这些信息翻翻报纸，上谷歌搜索或是给助手、客户、朋友甚至是你神奇的老妈打个电话也都能查到。Vertu 还建议用户去纽约旅游不要排队去看帝国大厦(Empire State Building)，穿戴则要谨遵"时髦漂亮随意"的原则。
Suddenly the device shut down. 'Am I out of battery?' Ms. Gorman asked. She booted up again, and the cellphone signal was lost. 'We're using an artificial signal in here,' she explained.-
突然，手机关机了。戈尔曼说，是没电了吗？然后她重启了手机，结果没有信号了。她解释说，我们在这里用的是模拟信号。
'This gallery was originally the consulate of Israel,' said James Berry Hill, the space's proprietor, of the dead zone. 'The walls are lined with lead.'
柏利希尔画廊的老板希尔(James Berry Hill)解释说，这家画廊以前是以色列领事馆， 上都安了铅屏。
Mingling nearby was Perry Oosting, the company's president. He explained that Vertu has sold 300,000 units in eight years. He was asked why anyone would buy one. 'Luxury is not about rational, it's about the emotional. Luxury is the liberty of choice.'
Vertu公司总裁乌斯汀(Perry Oosting)也在一旁。他说，Vertu在八年时间里售出了30万部手机。记者问他为什么会有人买这种手机，他的回答是：奢侈无关乎理性，而是关乎情感。奢侈就是选择的自由。
One person who understands that choice is, apparently, the pop musician Seal. He has gone through six Vertu phones and is the company's new U.S. brand ambassador. He was drinking a glass of water in an adjacent room.
流行乐手希尔(Seal)显然对这样的选择是深有感触的。他买过六部Vertu手机，如今是该公司新任的美国品牌大使。他正在隔壁房间里喝水。
'I'm attracted to passion and courage,' Seal explained, fondling the Constellation Quest he was given earlier in the evening.
他温柔地摆弄着当晚早些时候拿到的Constellation Quest手机，说，吸引我的是其中蕴含的激情和勇气。
'When I see someone or a company following though with their convictions, I love it. It's similar to the approach I take with my music. For me, it's not a gadget. What I see are hours and hours of sleepless nights trying to get this to where I can enjoy it. It's functional art. It's like driving a Ferrari. You know, I used to collect Ferraris.'
他说，我喜欢那些能够坚定追随自身信仰的人和公司，这跟我对音乐的追求很像。在我看来，这可不是什么小玩意儿。我看到的是无数个无眠之夜，我摆弄着手机，享受它给我带来的乐趣。这是一种实用的艺术，就像驾驶法拉利。你知道，我以前收藏法拉利。
Seal was asked if he employs the Vertu's concierge service.
记者问希尔，他是否选用了Vertu的礼宾服务。
'I don't use it on a regular basis,' he said. 'I have people who do that for me.'
他说，这个功能我不是经常用，这些问题有人会帮我解决。
Marshall Heyman
- celebrate [´selibreit]
vt.庆祝；表扬；赞美 (初中英语单词) - release [ri´li:s] vt&n.释放；放松；赦免 (初中英语单词)
- wednesday [´wenzdi] n.星期三 (初中英语单词)
- device [di´vais] n.装置；器具；策略 (初中英语单词)
- compete [kəm´pi:t] v.比赛，竞争，对抗 (初中英语单词)
- instance [´instəns] n.例子，实例，例证 (初中英语单词)
- concept [´kɔnsept] n.概念；观念；思想 (初中英语单词)
- expensive [ik´spensiv] a.费钱的，昂贵的 (初中英语单词)
- director [di´rektə] n.指导者；....长；导演 (初中英语单词)
- apparent [ə´pærənt] a.显然的；表面上的 (初中英语单词)
- assistant [ə´sistənt] n.助手；助理；助教 (初中英语单词)
- artificial [,ɑ:ti´fiʃəl] a.人工的；模拟的 (初中英语单词)
- gallery [´gæləri] n.画廊；美术馆；长廊 (初中英语单词)
- emotional [i´məuʃənəl] a.易动感情的；情感的 (初中英语单词)
- luxury [´lʌkʃəri] n.奢侈(品)；享受 (初中英语单词)
- ambassador [æm´bæsədə] n.大使 (初中英语单词)
- passion [´pæʃən] n.激情；激怒；恋爱 (初中英语单词)
- launch [lɔ:ntʃ] vt.发动 n.发射；汽艇 (高中英语单词)
- symbol [´simbəl] n.符号；象征 (高中英语单词)
- reporter [ri´pɔ:tə] n.报告人；记者；广播员 (高中英语单词)
- location [ləu´keiʃən] n.定位；位置；地方 (高中英语单词)
- originally [ə´ridʒənəli] ad.本来；独创地 (高中英语单词)
- proprietor [prə´praiətə] n.所有人；业主；经营者 (高中英语单词)
- apparently [ə´pærəntli] ad.显然，表面上地 (高中英语单词)
- musician [mju:´ziʃən] n.音乐家，作曲家 (高中英语单词)
- weekend [´wi:kend, ,wi:k´end] n.周末休假 (英语四级单词)
- constellation [,kɔnstə´leiʃən] n.星座；灿烂的一群 (英语四级单词)
- traditional [trə´diʃənəl] a.传统的，习惯的 (英语四级单词)
- blackberry [´blækbəri] n.黑莓 (英语四级单词)
- sapphire [´sæfaiə] n.蓝宝石 a.深蓝色的 (英语四级单词)
- trying [´traiiŋ] a.难堪的；费劲的 (英语四级单词)
- status [´steitəs] n.身份；情形；状况 (英语四级单词)
- manhattan [mæn´hætən] n.曼哈顿 (英语四级单词)
- rational [´ræʃənəl] a.(有)理性的；合理的 (英语四级单词)
- adjacent [ə´dʒeisənt] a.接近的；紧接着的 (英语四级单词)
- designer [di´zainə] n.设计者 (英语六级单词)
- financier [fi´nænsiə] n.财政家，金融家 (英语六级单词)
- sleepless [´sli:pləs] a.失眠的；寂静的 (英语六级单词)
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