因為主持人臨時退出，將于2月24日舉行的第91屆奧斯卡頒獎典禮將沒有主持人！靈機一動的評委會想到了拯救地球的復仇者們，這些超級英雄能拯救奧斯卡獎電視直播一年比一年慘淡的收視率嗎？

The Avengers saved the planet from an alien invasion and an artificial intelligence hellbent on human extinction. (They failed to save us from Thanos, but we don’t need to talk about that.) Their next assignment: saving the Academy Awards.

復仇者聯盟拯救地球免受外星人入侵，讓人類免于被機器人滅絕的命運。（盡管他們沒能讓人類脫離滅霸的魔掌，但是這不是今天的重點）。復仇者們的下一個任務是：給奧斯卡頒獎禮救場。

hellbent['helbent]: adj. 拼命的；堅決的

The Oscars (Feb. 24) were left without a host last month when comedian Kevin Hart stepped down from the gig following the widespread backlash to his history of making homophobic comments. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has understandably struggled to find a replacement for what was a thankless job even before the Hart controversy and is now perhaps among the least-coveted roles in Hollywood history. It now appears that the Academy has given up on the idea of a host entirely.

將于2月24日舉行的奧斯卡頒獎禮主持人原定由喜劇演員凱文·哈特擔任，但哈特在上個月被曝出曾發表厭惡同性戀的評論而遭到廣泛的抵制，從而退出了奧斯卡獎主持工作。這樣一來，奧斯卡頒獎禮就沒有主持人了。奧斯卡獎主持是個吃力不討好的活兒，在發生哈特事件之前，美國電影藝術與科學學院找個主持人本來就不容易，如今恐怕成了好萊塢有史以來最討人嫌的工作了。現在看來，學院已經完全放棄了找主持人的想法。

backlash['b?kl??]: n. 強烈抵制

homophobic[,h?m?'f?ubik]: adj. 害怕同性戀的

covet['k?v?t]: vt. 垂涎；覬覦

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the Academy is instead scrambling to “reunite” cast members of Marvel’s Avengers movies as a rotating team of quasi-hosts to introduce segments and hold the telecast together. It’s unclear which Avengers specifically will take part in the show, but the Academy wants “appearances by as many big-name cast members” as possible, the Hollywood Reporter said.

據《好萊塢記者報》報道，學院正努力讓漫威電影中的復聯演員“重聚”，讓他們輪流做客串主持，每個人負責一部分，讓現場直播得以繼續。哪位復仇者會參與節目主持還不清楚，但據《好萊塢記者報》稱，學院希望能讓“盡可能多的復聯大腕”亮相。

telecast['t?l?k?st]: n. 電視廣播

In the 90-year history of the Oscars, the telecast has been held without a host only five times. The last time the Oscars lacked a host was 1989, when a throng of “star participants” ushered the ceremony, presenting clips and awards “like a relay race from star to star,” Allan Carr, the show’s producer, told the Chicago Tribune that year. That telecast was widely panned by critics and viewers alike.

在奧斯卡獎90年的歷史中，電視直播節目沒有主持人的情況只出現過五次。上一次沒有主持人是在1989年，那一年節目制作人艾倫·卡爾告訴《芝加哥論壇報》說，當時由一群明星嘉賓一起展示視頻短片和頒發獎項，“就和接力賽一樣”。那次電視直播遭到了評論界人士和觀眾的廣泛抨擊。

throng[θr??]: n. 人群；眾多

pan[p?n]: vt. [非正式用語]嚴厲地批評

But the Academy has to try something. The Avengers assemblage makes sense on several levels: The Oscars are broadcast on the Disney-owned network ABC, which means there’s some serious corporate synergy with the superhero stars, who are also employed by Disney via Marvel. These are some of the industry’s biggest stars: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Chadwick Boseman, and other red carpet mainstays.

但是學院總得做點什么來挽回局面。從幾個方面來講，讓復仇者們做主持還是比較靠譜的。第一，奧斯卡頒獎禮是通過迪士尼旗下的ABC電視臺播出的，這意味著電視臺和這些超級英雄明星都有正式的合作關系，因為英雄們都受雇于迪士尼旗下的漫威影業。其次，這些英雄當中就有好幾個娛樂圈的大腕：小羅伯特·唐尼、克里斯·海姆斯沃斯、斯嘉麗·約翰遜、查德維克·博斯曼，還有其他紅毯常客。

synergy['s?n?d?i]: n. 協同

As hosts, the Avengers are also unlikely to drum up any further controversy (unless you consider failing humanity by letting an intergalactic tyrant wipe out half of known civilization to be controversial). And, who knows, maybe the stunt will help boost the telecast’s ratings, which have been in complete free-fall over the last five years. Probably not. But maybe.

作為主持人，復仇者們不太可能再度引發爭議（除非你認為他們沒能保護好人類，讓外星球的暴君毀滅一半生命會引發爭議）。而且，沒準這一噱頭還能刺激電視直播節目的收視率，該收視率在過去五年直線下降。不過也許不能。但至少有這個可能。

drum up: 糾集；鼓動

ratings: n. 收視率

Framing the evening as a “reunion” for the Marvel superheroes is far less believable, however. Avengers: Infinity War came out only last year. Avengers: Endgame comes out in April. Saying the Oscars will “reunite” the Avengers is like saying Maroon 5 is going on a reunion tour. They’re one of the most popular bands in the world, and they’re about to play the Super Bowl halftime show!

不過，將這個奧斯卡之夜視為漫威超級英雄的“重聚盛會”卻是無稽之談。《復仇者聯盟3：無限戰爭》去年才剛上映。《復仇者聯盟4：終局之戰》四月又將登上大熒幕。說奧斯卡頒獎禮讓復仇者們“重聚”，就好比說魔力紅樂隊重聚辦巡演。魔力紅是世界上最受歡迎的樂隊之一，而且他們很快就要在超級碗中場秀上演出！

Whether the ratings improve or not, one thing the Academy can control completely is which films are in the running. The Oscars will be a lot easier to take seriously if the Academy nominates the films that reflect how wonderful 2018 was for cinema, instead of, you know, those other ones.

不管此次電視直播收視率會不會上升，學院可以完全掌控的一件事就是決定哪些電影可以角逐奧斯卡獎。如果學院提名的電影是2018年口碑最好的電影，而不是那些無人問津的電影，那么奧斯卡頒獎禮要獲得人們的重視將會容易得多。

英文來源：石英財經網

編譯：丹妮