外刊每日精读 White Rabbit sweets

外刊每日精读 | White Rabbit sweets
文章脉络
【1】大白兔奶糖在展会上出现
【2】当今的初创公司可以向老字号公司里学习
【3】大白兔奶糖与蔻驰联名合作
【4】美苏领导人访华时都尝过大白兔奶糖
【5】改革开放后，大白兔奶糖在国内市场的地位一落千丈
【6】大白兔奶糖甚至曾卷入三聚氰胺事件
【7】&【8】大白兔奶糖通过跨界和“国潮”的方式卷土重来
【9】大白兔奶糖与国内外众多产品联名合作
经济学人原文
White Rabbit sweets：bunny power
A favourite brand reinvents itself again
【1】Among the self-flying planes, swanky electric cars and model space-stations on display at an exhibition of Chinese wares in Shanghai in May was
a decidedly untechnical relic of the past: White Rabbit creamy candies. For many older Chinese the milky flavour recalls a Communist-era childhood when few other treats were available.
【2】The sweets predate the Communist Party takeover in 1949. This year they
turn 80. As one of the few pre-Communist products still thriving, they have a thing or two to teach China’s new tech upstarts about longevity.
【3】The rabbit has reinvented itself many times, most recently in November when
it teamed up with Coach, a high-end American fashion firm, to
produce giant bunnies on handbags (pictured) costing up to 7,500 yuan ($1,050), as well as flouncy dresses, denim jackets and a gold White-Rabbit necklace (hopped up at 9,500 yuan). Tapping into nostalgia in the Chinese market, the collaboration gives Coach a boost in the complex warren of Chinese consumerism,
while enabling White Rabbits to breed new followers across the Pacific.
【4】China’s first domestic toffees were produced in 1943 with Mickey Mouse on the wrapper. When such Americana fell out of favour in the 1950s,
the rodent was replaced by da baitu, a big white rabbit, which gave the brand its name. The stylised blue-and-white cartoon bunny became an icon: in 1972 Zhou Enlai, then China’s prime minister, presented White Rabbits to Richard Nixon on his first visit to Communist China. Soviet leaders visiting Beijing also enjoyed such gifts.
【5】The fortunes of the sweet soured after Mao Zedong died in 1976. As foreign goods poured in, White Rabbits lost their domestic dominance. Guan Sheng Yuan, the state-owned company that makes them, touted the
treat’s nutritional properties—seven sweets were equivalent to drinking a glass of milk, according to a popular slogan—but parents became harder to lure with such claims.
【6】The confectionery even fell foul of China’s food-safety scandals in 2008 when thousands of children became ill drinking Chinese powdered
milk contaminated with melamine, and dairy products were removed from shops at home and abroad. White Rabbits are now made using imported milk powder.
【7】The bunnies fought back. In 2018 the first batches of White Rabbit lip balm sold out within hours. The following year the manufacturer teamed up with Godiva, a chocolate company, to make White Rabbit ice cream and people queued for hours to buy the newly launched White Rabbit milk tea at a pop-up shop in Shanghai. The company has since launched perfumes, a shower gel and hand cream. In 2021 Guan Sheng Yuan opened a shop in Shanghai selling all manner of branded products. 【8】The sweet-maker has capitalised on the trend for guochao, a phrase meaning “national wave”, applied to trendy Chinese-made consumer goods that appeal to
the nostalgia and patriotism of the young. Liushen, a traditional mosquito repellent, collaborated with KFC to make a refreshing herbal drink for the summer. The Forbidden City in Beijing even produced a range of lipsticks named for the colours of ancient artefacts.
【9】White Rabbit’s collaboration with luxury brands received a boost this year from the arrival of the year of the rabbit in the Chinese zodiac. Sales in the first quarter were up by 10% year on year, according to Guan Sheng Yuan. To see in the new year, SK-II, a Japanese skincare brand, launched a limited-edition White Rabbit face serum(the bottles warned consumers: “Do not eat”). Foreign markets provide an additional carrot. The candies have diversified into a whole range
of flavours, such as peanut, red-bean, mustard and durian, and are exported to more than 50countries. That’s a whole different rabbit-hole.
长难句：
1.原文：The rabbit has reinvented itself many times, most recently in November when it teamed up with Coach, a high-end American fashion firm, to produce giant bunnies on handbags (pictured) costing up to 7,500 yuan ($1,050),as well as flouncy dresses, denim jackets and a gold White-Rabbit necklace (hopped up at 9,500 yuan).
2.分析：主句是主谓宾结构The rabbit（主语）has reinvented（谓语动词）itself（宾语）。

many times作时间状语。

most recently in November是插入语，when it teamed up with Coach
是定语从句，先行词是November。

a high-end American fashion firm是同位语，修饰Coach。

动词不定式to produce...为目的状语。

costing up to 7,500 yuan ($1,050),是现在分词作伴随状语，修饰handbags。

as well as flouncy dresses, denim jackets and a gold White-Rabbit necklace (hopped up at 9,500 yuan).和handbags一样，都是介词短语on...的对象，列举出一些印有大
白兔的衣服。

3.译文：大白兔奶糖以“潮”形象示人已很多次，最近一次是在去年11月与美国高档奢侈
品蔻驰联名推出的大兔子手提包（如图所示），售价达7500元人民币（约合1050美元），此外还有荷叶边裙、牛仔夹克、大白兔金项链（售价高至9500元人民币）。