評論
打印
Soap Operas
肥皂劇
Watching TV is a very popular pastime in the UK but what kind of programmes do British people like to watch?
在英國，看電視是一種非常流行的消遣方式，但英國人喜歡看哪種類型的節目呢？
Well, the most-watched TV programmes every week are very popular dramas that are usually on at least four times every week.
每周收視率最高的電視節目都是那些頗受歡迎的電視劇，通常每周至少要播放4次，
They are dramas based in one neighbourhood that try to depict ordinary life in the UK—we call these dramas soap operas or soaps.
這些電視劇主要描述英國鄰里之間的普通生活—我們稱這些電視劇為肥皂劇。
In the early days of TV,there were often dramas on during the day.
在電視節目的早期，經常在白天播放電視劇。
Back in those days,it was traditional for the husband to go out to work and for the wife to stay at home and look after the house and the children.
以前，按傳統，丈夫外出工作，妻子則在家照看家庭和孩子。
Most of these daytime dramas were aimed at entertaining the housewives who would traditionally be at home,probably doing the washing.
大多數白天播放的電視劇都是為了娛樂家庭主婦，她們通常都呆在家里，很可能會干一些洗洗涮涮的活。
Companies selling washing powder would advertise their products at times when these dramas were on,and sometimes those companies would even sponsor the drama.
賣洗衣粉的公司會時不時地在放電視劇時為他們的產品做廣告，有時這些公司會贊助該電視劇。
Hence the word soap.
肥皂一詞就由此而來。
So what about the word opera?
那肥皂劇一詞中的劇是怎么來的呢？
Well, that's because these dramas are often an exaggeration of real life.
那是因為這些電視劇經常夸張了現實生活。
They are supposed to represent ordinary lives but to make them entertaining, lots of dramatic events like murders, divorces, affairs etc. all happen probably much more regularly than they would in a normal neighbourhood.
它們本應反映平常的生活，很多電視劇事件，如謀殺，離婚和風流韻事等發生的概率遠遠高于其在正常鄰里生活中發生的概率。
Most soap operas these days are shown in the evening.
現在大多數肥皂劇都是晚上播放。
Each show will have several different storylines happening at once that continue over several shows.
每場戲同時有機構不同的劇情，這些劇情貫穿于接下來的幾場戲當中。
The same cast members will appear in every show too.
同樣的演員陣容也會出現在每場戲里。
There are lots of different soaps on in the UK on different channels but there are 3 main popular ones.
在英國，雖然有很多種不同的肥皂劇在不同的頻道里開播，但最受歡迎的只有3部。
Coronation Street has been on since 1960.It is set in a suburb of Manchester and it's supposed to represent working class life in the north of England.
《加冕街》自1960年開播以來，至今仍未結束，它以曼徹斯特郊區為場景，并被認為是一部能代表英國北部工人階級生活的劇集。
Then there's Eastenders which started in 1985,set in the East End of London and Emmerdale, which is set on a farm in Yorkshire,in the north of England.
《東倫敦人》1985年開播，以倫敦東區為背景。《愛默戴爾農場》則以英格蘭北部約克郡的農場為背景。
