【雜志原文】

When stars die, insurers count the cost
The business of insuring talent is lucrative but high-risk

THE death of Carrie Fisher, a much-loved actor in the “Star Wars” movies, left a hole in the force for fans. It may also burn a hole in the pockets of underwriters, syndicated under Lloyds of London. They may have to fork out as much as $50m to meet Disney’s claim for its loss. The studio, which owns the sci-fi saga, had wisely taken out so-called contractual-protection insurance (CPI) in case death thwarted a contractual obligation: in Ms Fisher’s case to film and promote future “Star Wars” episodes.

Contrary to the headlines, 2016 was not an especially lethal year to be a celebrity. Like the rest of us, they do die. But unlike most of us, their employers can be left with astronomic bills. When Paul Walker, an actor in “The Fast and the Furious”, a series of action movies, died in 2013 while filming the seventh instalment, Universal Pictures had to spend considerable effort (and dollars) to make his on-screen persona live on. This included hiring body-doubles and digitally inserting Mr Walker into the movie with hundreds of computer-generated images.

一、詞匯部分
1.lucrative adj. 賺錢的
英文釋義：(especially of a business, job, or activity) producing a lot of money:

詞匯助記：
1) 詞根：lucr- 錢
2) 后綴：-ative 形容詞后綴
3) 擴展：lucre

2.syndicate v.企業聯合
英文釋義：a group of people or companies who join together in order to achieve a particular aim

詞匯助記：
1) 前綴：syn- 相同
2) 詞根：dic-說話
3) 后綴：-ate 動詞后綴

3. thwart v.反對，阻礙
英文釋義：to stop something from happening or someone from doing something:

詞匯助記：－聯想法
thwart—th 死＋ war 戰爭 ＋ t 他
就算拼死，發生戰爭，也要阻礙他的發展。

4. astronomic adj.天文的
英文釋義： connected with astronomy:

詞匯助記：
1) 詞根: astr- 星星
2) 后綴：-nomy 名詞后綴
3) 后綴：-ic 形容詞后綴名詞后綴

5. lethal adj.致命的
英文釋義：able to cause or causing death; extremely dangerous:

詞匯助記：
1) 詞根：leth- 死亡
2) 后綴：-al 形容詞后綴或者名詞后綴

二、 文章領讀
1. THE death of Carrie Fisher, a much-loved actor in the “Star Wars” movies, left a hole in the force for fans. It may also burn a hole in the pockets of underwriters, syndicated under Lloyds of London. They may have to fork out as much as $50m to meet Disney’s claim for its loss.

知識點：
1)同位語：THE death of Carrie Fisher, a much-loved actor in the “Star Wars” movies
2)過去分詞做后置定語：It may also burn a hole in the pockets of underwriters, syndicated under Lloyds of London.

3) 搭配：burn a hole in one's pocket 花很多錢／fork out 大量支付
例句：Living in the big city can burn a hole in your pocket.
例句：The government forks out millions of dollars for a new school.

4) 參考翻譯：電影《星球大戰》中備受喜愛的演員凱麗•費雪（Carrie Fisher）離世，讓該系列電影的粉絲們“原力”受損，或許還會令保險公司元氣大傷。倫敦保險交易市場勞合社（Lloyds）的會員可能不得不掏出高達5000萬美元來滿足迪士尼公司提出的索賠要求。

2. The studio, which owns the sci-fi saga, had wisely taken out so-called contractual-protection insurance (CPI) in case death thwarted a contractual obligation: in Ms Fisher’s case to film and promote future “Star Wars” episodes.

知識點：
1) 定語從句：The studio, which owns the sci-fi saga, had wisely taken…..
2) 目的狀語從句：in case in case death thwarted a contractual obligation…
3) 參考翻譯：擁有《星戰》科幻系列電影版權的迪士尼公司此前為防范因死亡而無法履約的情形，明智地購買了所謂的“合約保護險”（CPI）。費雪的合約義務包括拍攝并宣傳未來的《星戰》續集。

第二段：
1. Contrary to the headlines, 2016 was not an especially lethal year to be a celebrity. Like the rest of us, they do die. But unlike most of us, their employers can be left with astronomic bills.

知識點：
1) 形容詞短語做狀語：Contrary to the headlines, 2016 was not an……
2) 搭配：astronomic bills 天文數字
3) 參考翻譯：不同于各種新聞頭條給人的印象，2016年對于明星而言并非什么
特別不幸的年份。和我們其他人一樣，他們也終有一死。但和我們大部分人不同的是，他們的老板可能會因其死亡而花費天文數字。

2. When Paul Walker, an actor in “The Fast and the Furious”, a series of action movies, died in 2013 while filming the seventh instalment, Universal Pictures had to spend considerable effort (and dollars) to make his on-screen persona live on. This included hiring body-doubles and digitally inserting Mr Walker into the movie with hundreds of computer-generated images.

知識點：
1) 同位語：When Paul Walker, an actor in “The Fast and the Furious”, a series of action movies, died in….
2) 參考翻譯；系列動作電影《速度與激情》的演員保羅•沃克（Paul Walker）在2013年拍攝該片第七部時死亡，環球影業不得不付出大量心血（和美元）讓他在熒幕上“復活”：雇用替身，并用成百上千的電腦成像把“沃克”置入電影中。

三、參考翻譯：
為演員投保 死亡“星” 保險公司為名人離世付出的代價日益高昂
電影《星球大戰》中備受喜愛的演員凱麗•費雪（Carrie Fisher）離世，讓該系列電影的粉絲們“原力”受損，或許還會令保險公司元氣大傷。倫敦保險交易市場勞合社（Lloyds）的會員可能不得不掏出高達5000萬美元來滿足迪士尼公司提出的索賠要求。擁有《星戰》科幻系列電影版權的迪士尼公司此前為防范因死亡而無法履約的情形，明智地購買了所謂的“合約保護險”（CPI）。費雪的合約義務包括拍攝并宣傳未來的《星戰》續集。
不同于各種新聞頭條給人的印象，2016年對于明星而言并非什么特別不幸的年份。和我們其他人一樣，他們也終有一死。但和我們大部分人不同的是，他們的老板可能會因其死亡而花費天文數字。系列動作電影《速度與激情》的演員保羅•沃克（Paul Walker）在2013年拍攝該片第七部時死亡，環球影業不得不付出大量心血（和美元）讓他在熒幕上“復活”：雇用替身，并用成百上千的電腦成像把“沃克”置入電影中。