【杂志原文】

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、词汇部分
1.lucrative adj. 赚钱的
英文释义：(especially of a business, job, or activity) producing a lot of money:

词汇助记：
1) 词根：lucr- 钱
2) 后缀：-ative 形容词后缀
3) 扩展：lucre

2.syndicate v.企业联合
英文释义：a group of people or companies who join together in order to achieve a particular aim

词汇助记：
1) 前缀：syn- 相同
2) 词根：dic-说话
3) 后缀：-ate 动词后缀

3. thwart v.反对，阻碍
英文释义：to stop something from happening or someone from doing something:

词汇助记：－联想法
thwart—th 死＋ war 战争 ＋ t 他
就算拼死，发生战争，也要阻碍他的发展。

4. astronomic adj.天文的
英文释义： connected with astronomy:

词汇助记：
1) 词根: astr- 星星
2) 后缀：-nomy 名词后缀
3) 后缀：-ic 形容词后缀名词后缀

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

词汇助记：
1) 词根：leth- 死亡
2) 后缀：-al 形容词后缀或者名词后缀

二、 文章领读
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.

知识点：
1)同位语：THE death of Carrie Fisher, a much-loved actor in the “Star Wars” movies
2)过去分词做后置定语：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 花很多钱／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) 参考翻译：电影《星球大战》中备受喜爱的演员凯丽•费雪（Carrie Fisher）离世，让该系列电影的粉丝们“原力”受损，或许还会令保险公司元气大伤。伦敦保险交易市场劳合社（Lloyds）的会员可能不得不掏出高达5000万美元来满足迪士尼公司提出的索赔要求。

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.

知识点：
1) 定语从句：The studio, which owns the sci-fi saga, had wisely taken…..
2) 目的状语从句：in case in case death thwarted a contractual obligation…
3) 参考翻译：拥有《星战》科幻系列电影版权的迪士尼公司此前为防范因死亡而无法履约的情形，明智地购买了所谓的“合约保护险”（CPI）。费雪的合约义务包括拍摄并宣传未来的《星战》续集。

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.

知识点：
1) 形容词短语做状语：Contrary to the headlines, 2016 was not an……
2) 搭配：astronomic bills 天文数字
3) 参考翻译：不同于各种新闻头条给人的印象，2016年对于明星而言并非什么
特别不幸的年份。和我们其他人一样，他们也终有一死。但和我们大部分人不同的是，他们的老板可能会因其死亡而花费天文数字。

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.

知识点：
1) 同位语：When Paul Walker, an actor in “The Fast and the Furious”, a series of action movies, died in….
2) 参考翻译；系列动作电影《速度与激情》的演员保罗•沃克（Paul Walker）在2013年拍摄该片第七部时死亡，环球影业不得不付出大量心血（和美元）让他在荧幕上“复活”：雇用替身，并用成百上千的电脑成像把“沃克”置入电影中。

三、参考翻译：
为演员投保 死亡“星” 保险公司为名人离世付出的代价日益高昂
电影《星球大战》中备受喜爱的演员凯丽•费雪（Carrie Fisher）离世，让该系列电影的粉丝们“原力”受损，或许还会令保险公司元气大伤。伦敦保险交易市场劳合社（Lloyds）的会员可能不得不掏出高达5000万美元来满足迪士尼公司提出的索赔要求。拥有《星战》科幻系列电影版权的迪士尼公司此前为防范因死亡而无法履约的情形，明智地购买了所谓的“合约保护险”（CPI）。费雪的合约义务包括拍摄并宣传未来的《星战》续集。
不同于各种新闻头条给人的印象，2016年对于明星而言并非什么特别不幸的年份。和我们其他人一样，他们也终有一死。但和我们大部分人不同的是，他们的老板可能会因其死亡而花费天文数字。系列动作电影《速度与激情》的演员保罗•沃克（Paul Walker）在2013年拍摄该片第七部时死亡，环球影业不得不付出大量心血（和美元）让他在荧幕上“复活”：雇用替身，并用成百上千的电脑成像把“沃克”置入电影中。