为方便英文学习，中文译文放到了后面，关注内容的读者可直接跳到中文部分。

原文

Victoria’s Secret is struggling to keep abreast of changes in the lingerie market  【lingerie: underwear nightwear】

Sex sells, and it sells few things better than lingerie. Nowhere is that more evident than the Victoria’s Secret fashion show. Befeathered models, known as “angels”, shimmy down a runway to promote America’s biggest underwear retailer. In 2011 more than 10m people watched it on television. But on December 2nd just 3.3m viewers tuned in. 【shimmy: shake wobble]

Victoria’s Secret has around a tenth of a global lingerie market worth $78bn, according to Euromonitor International, a research firm. It shows all the signs of a tired brand struggling to keep up with customer tastes. In America its market share has plunged from almost 33% two years ago to around 24% today, as social media and e-commerce make it easier for new brands to enter the market. Shares in l Brands, its parent company, were worth $100 three years ago; today they go for $30. Newcomers are disrupting every part of retail, but Victoria’s Secret has made its woes worse. [plunge:dive fall jump] [disrupt:disturb rattle]

When Roy Raymond started the firm in 1977, he wanted shops where men could comfortably buy lingerie for their wives and girlfriends. Velvet sofas and silk drapes made them look more like boudoirs than places for women to find supportive undergarments. Leslie Wexner, l Brands’ boss, who bought the firm in 1982, added soft lighting and floral prints to give it more appeal to women, his main customers. Once its chief asset, the brand’s sexiness now looks like a liability. “The way people dress has changed,” says Serena Rees, a stalwart of the industry whose most recent project is a brand of unisex underwear. “People don’t want boobs up under their chin or things pressed or pushed in.” [drape: dangle cloak] [boudoirs: bedroom bedchamber] [liability:burden accountability] [stalwart: bold strong] 

A slew of competitors, promoting comfort and inclusivity, have taken that message to heart. Aerie, the underwear arm of American Eagle Outfitters, commands just 3% of the American market but has increased its sales by an average of11% each year since 2016, compared with an average 9% annual decline for Victoria’s Secret over the same period, according to Euromonitor. Third Love, an online brand which has sold over 3m bras since its launch in 2013, is growing at around 300% a year.[a slew of: batch bunch] 

The newcomers have tweaked the old formula. Michelle Cordeiro Grant left Victoria’s Secret, where she was a senior merchant, and went on to found LIVELY, an online underwear brand. She argues that what makes women sexy is confidence, meaning an emphasis on comfort: 70% of the bras sold by LIVELY are wireless.[tweak: adjust tweak]

They are eager to emphasize inclusivity, too. According to Mintel, a research firm, over half of consumers in Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain reckon fashion retailers should use more realistic models. Third Love’s ads feature models in their 60s, or who are breast feeding. Since 2014 Aerie has eschewed digital retouching for photos. The response has been overwhelmingly positive, says Stacey McCormick, an executive at Aerie. When Rihanna, a pop star, launched her Savage x Fenty line of underwear in May, the models were every size and shape. People queued for hours online to buy the products. [eschew:abandon avoid]

Victoria’s Secret looks out of touch by comparison. In November Ed Razek, a company executive, dismissed suggestions that its show should have transgender and plus-size models, insisting it was meant to be a “fantasy” (he had to apologise). The show does the brand a disservice, reckons Randy Konik, an analyst at Jefferies, an investment bank, and one of Victoria’s Secret’s knockers.[disservice: hurt harm]

Focusing on the need for comfort rather than male taste is good business; women purchase the vast majority of female underwear. “The repeat business is in basics,” says Heidi Zak, Third Love’s founder, not lacy luxuries. Some 12m women have used Third Love’s “fit finder” to determine which bra to buy. Easy returns alleviate customers’ worries about buying online. [alleviate:relieve lessen]

Victoria’s Secret is not about to go bust. The firm’s scale is such that with the right rebranding, it could bounce back. In November it replaced its chief executive, Jan Singer, with John Mehas, formerly of Tory Burch, a fashion retailer. Following that rejig Victoria’s Secret has held off on big announcements. “Everything is on the table,” said one executive on an earnings call last month. But in the wake of the #MeToo movement, it will have to tread carefully.

Women’s underwear has always been controversial. Fifty years ago, as the sexual revolution took off, a protest at the Miss America pageant cemented the incorrect notion that feminists burn their bras (they actually threw them in a “freedom trash can”). Marks & Spencer, Britons’ favourite underwear seller, was attacked on social media last month for its advertising of “fancy little knickers” as a must-have for her next to “outfits to impress” for him. It is in this tricky environment that retailers such as Victoria’s Secret operate.[cement: adhesive bond]

---

词

 重点单词中文解释：

• lingerie /'lɒnʒərɪ/ n. 女用贴身内衣裤

• befeathered adj. 披着羽毛的

• shimmy /'ʃɪmɪ/ n. 西迷舞,摇动v. 摇动,震颤,晃动

• plunge /plʌn(d)ʒ/ n. 投入；跳进 v. 投入；跳进；陷入

• disrupt /dɪs'rʌpt/ vt. 使混乱, 扰乱

• drape /dreɪp/ v. 用布帘覆盖；使呈褶裥状n. 窗帘；褶裥

• boudoir /'buːdwɑː/ n. 闺房

• liability /laɪə'bɪlɪtɪ/ n. 责任, 义务; 倾向；债务；〈口〉妨碍, 不利

• stalwart /'stɔːlwət/ n. 忠实拥护者；adj. 强壮的, 结实的, 坚定的

• unisex /'juːnɪseks/ adj. (指服饰等)不分男女的

• a slew of 大量的

• Inclusivity n. 包容性

• wireless /'waɪəlɪs/ adj. 无线的；无线电的

• tweak /twiːk/  n. 拧；扭；焦急vt. 扭；用力拉；

• reckon /'rek(ə)n/ vt. 猜想; 估计；思忖; 设想

• eschew /ɪs'tʃuː/ vt. 避开；远避；避免

• retouch /riː'tʌtʃ/ n. 润饰；修整部分v. 润饰；修整

• overwhelming /ˌəuvəˈhwelmiŋ/ adj. 势不可挡的, 压倒一切的; 巨大的

• transgender adj. 跨性别的n. 跨性别；跨性别者

• lacy /'leɪsɪ/ adj. 花边的

• alleviate /ə'liːvɪeɪt/ vt. 减轻, 缓解, 缓和

• go bust破产

• Rebrand 重建品牌

• rejig /ri:ˈdʒɪg/ vt. 重新装备n. 重新安排；调整

• in the wake of 紧紧跟随, 随着...而来, 作为...的结果

• Pageant /'pædʒ(ə)nt/ n. 盛会；虚饰；游行；露天表演

• Cement /sɪ'ment/ n. 水泥；接合剂, 黏合物vt. 在…上抹水泥；巩固, 加强

---

句

重点句型和值得借鉴用法：

1. struggling to keep abreast of changes in the market: 努力赶上变化

2 Nowhere is that more evident than the Victoria’s Secret fashion show 没有什么比。。。更明显的

3 shimmy down a runway to promote 这个想想维密秀就很形象了，用来形容很夸张的方法达成某个目标

4 It shows all the signs of 显出种种征兆

5 struggling to keep up with customer tastes 与第一句异曲同工

6 has plunged from almost 33% 形容下跌之梦常用表达

7 has made its woes worse 雪上浇霜就是这个意思

8  give it more appeal to women 更加吸引某类人

9 has taken the message to heart 深入人心，声入人心

10 have tweaked the old formula. 想想王老吉，熟悉的配方不同的味道，小小调一下配方

11 what makes women sexy is confidence, meaning an emphasis on comfort 千千万万女同胞站起来了

12 has eschewed digital retouching 回避做某事，可惜都是美颜相机了

13 queued for hours online to buy 果粉常态

14 looks out of touch by comparison. 东北老乡说的不上道

15 in the wake of the #MeToo movement 等同于改革春风吹大地

---

篇

P1 {Victoria's Secret sells lingerie well, but not as well as before.}-case and facts

P2 {Its market share has plunged, its share value is dropping}-figure

P3 {As time changes, people change, and the chief asset of VS now looks like liability}-history and quotes

P4 {Competitors are doing good jobs}-examples

P5 {New comers make changes and improvement}-people, opinion

P6 {And the taste and expectation of its' core consumers has changed too}-figures

P7 {VS looks out of touch by comparison and keep doing wrong}-example

P8 {win by controversy, lose by controversy, future to be seen}-history and comparison

---

译

中文译文全文

维多利亚的秘密难以跟上内衣市场的变化

新进者调整了老配方。米歇尔·科代罗-格兰特（Michelle Cordeiro-Grant）曾是维密的一位高级商品总监，离开维密后她创立了在线内衣品牌 Lively。她认为让女性性感的是自信，这意味着要注重舒适：Lively 销售的胸罩中有 70% 是无钢圈的。

性，是一个很好的卖点，尤其是在内衣销售上。没有什么比维多亚的秘密（Victoria’s Secret）时尚秀更能体现这一点了。被称作“天使”的模特们戴着羽毛翅膀在 T 台上款款走过，为这家美国最大的内衣零售商做宣传。2011 年，超过 1000 万人在电视上观看了维密秀。但 12 月 2 日的这场秀却只有 330 万观众在收看。

研究公司欧睿国际（Euromonitor International）的数据显示，维密占据了全球780亿美元内衣市场约十分之一的份额。它显现出一个过气品牌难以跟上顾客口味的种种迹象。在美国，由于社交媒体和电子商务让新品牌更容易进入市场，维密的市场份额已从两年前的近 33% 降至如今的 24% 左右。其母公司 L Brands 三年前的股价为 100 美元，如今只卖到 30 美元。新进者正在颠覆零售的每个环节，而维密却让自己雪上加霜。

罗伊·雷蒙德（Roy Raymond）在 1977 年创办这家公司时，他想打造出一家让男士可以轻松自在地为妻子或女友买内衣的商店。天鹅绒沙发和丝绸窗帘让店面看起来更像闺房，而不是女性寻找衬托身形的内衣的地方。1982 年，L Brands 的老板莱斯利·韦克斯纳（Leslie Wexner）收购了这家公司。他加入了柔和的灯光和花卉图案，使其看起来对女性更有吸引力——女性是他的主要客户群体。性感曾经是该品牌的主要资产，现在看来却更像是一种负担。业内资深人士瑟琳娜·里斯（Serena Rees）最近在做一个无性别内衣品牌的项目，她说：“人们的着装方式已经变了，她们不想把胸托高到下巴底下去，也不想塞点什么或是硬挤出点什么来。”

许多提倡舒适和包容的竞争对手已将这一点牢记于心。欧睿的数据显示，美鹰傲飞（American Eagle Outfitters）旗下内衣品牌 Aerie 在美国市场的占有率仅为 3%，但自 2016 年以来，其销售额平均每年增长 11%，而同一时期维密的销售额却平均每年下降 9%。网络内衣品牌 Thirdlove 自 2013 年推出以来销量已超过 300 万件，目前正以每年约 300% 的速度增长。

新进者也积极倡导包容性。根据研究公司 Mintel 的调查，在英国、法国、德国、意大利和西班牙，超过一半的消费者认为时尚零售商应该使用更真实的模特。Thirdlove 的广告使用了 60 多岁或是哺乳期的模特。2014 年以来，Aerie 已经不再对照片做后期处理。Aerie 的高管斯泰西·麦考密克（Stacey McCormick）表示，反馈绝对正面。流行歌星蕾哈娜在今年 5 月推出 Savage x Fenty 系列内衣时，使用了各种身材和尺码的模特。人们在网上排了几个小时的队来买这些产品。

相比之下，维密就显得落伍了。11 月，该公司高管埃德·拉泽克（Ed Razek）拒绝了维密秀应该有跨性别和大码模特的建议，坚称维密秀就应当是个“梦幻秀”（他后来不得不道歉）。投资银行杰富瑞（Jefferies）的分析师兰迪·科尼克（Randy Konik）是一直批评维密的人之一，他认为维密秀给这个品牌帮了倒忙。

专注于对舒适的需求而非男性的喜好，这对生意有利，毕竟购买女性内衣的绝大多数还是女性。Thirdlove 的创始人海蒂·扎克（Heidi Zak）表示，“做回头客的生意要靠基本款”，而不是奢华的蕾丝款。大约有 1200 万女性用 Thirdlove 的“合身仪”（fit finder）来决定买哪款胸罩。便捷的退货减轻了顾客对网上购物的担忧。

维多利亚的秘密不会马上破产。公司规模很大，如果品牌重塑得当，还是有可能东山再起。11 月，维密的首席执行官简·辛格（Jan Singer）离职，由曾供职于时尚零售商 Tory Burch 的约翰·梅哈斯（John Mehas）接任。此后维密没有发布什么重大消息。“桩桩件件都还有待讨论。”一位高管在上月的一次业绩电话会议上表示。但随着#MeToo 运动的兴起，它将不得不谨慎行事。

女性内衣一直备受争议。50 年前，随着性别革命的兴起，发生在美国小姐选美比赛上的一场抗议活动强化了一个错误的印象，就是女权主义者会烧掉她们的胸罩（实际上她们是把胸罩扔进了一个“自由垃圾桶”）。上个月，英国人最喜欢的内衣销售商玛莎百货在社交媒体上受到抨击，因为它在一项广告宣传中将“让人眼前一亮”的必备男装与女士必备的“别致小短裤”并列展示。像维密这样的零售商面对的正是如此棘手的经营环境。