Yesterday, we talked about the bloody battle between two aggressive, ferocious and desperate women, in which Gaby and her mother-in-law Juanita, the two women perfectly demonstrated that “When it comes to men, women don’t fight fare.”
Narrator: Suburbia is a battle ground, 郊外是一个是非之地
——>> an arena for all forms of domestic combat. 家庭战争的多发之地
——>> Husbands clash with wives, 丈夫和妻子打斗
——>> parents cross swords with children. 家长和孩子动粗
——>> But the bloodiest battles often involve women 但最“血腥”的争斗发生在
——>> and their mothers-in-law. 婆媳之间
——>> The war for control of Carlos began the night he proposed, 卡洛斯控制争夺战从他求婚的那一晚开始
——>> and Gabrielle had been losing ground to Juanita ever since. 之后加布丽尔接连败给胡安妮塔
——>> From the prenuptial agreement which she reluctantly signed…从不情愿地在婚前协议上签字
——>> to the selection of wedding music she despised… 到她不喜欢的结婚音乐
——>> to the color of the house paint she hadn’t wanted, 再到她讨厌的外墙颜色
——>> Gabrielle had suffered one defeat after another. 加布丽尔一次又一次地被击败
——>> And now that Juanita suspected her 现在胡安妮塔又在怀疑她的儿媳
——>> daughter-in-law of having an affair, 跟别人有染
——>> it had become increasingly apparent, in this war…在这场战争中 有一点变得越来越明显
——>> No prisoners would be taken. 没有一人会妥协
我先将讲播员的这段独白拆分三两段，先看下面这一段：
Narrator: Suburbia is a battle ground, 郊外是一个是非之地
——>> an arena for all forms of domestic combat. 家庭战争的多发之地
——>> Husbands clash with wives, 丈夫和妻子打斗
——>> parents cross swords with children. 家长和孩子动粗
——>> But the bloodiest battles often involve women 但最“血腥”的争斗发生在
——>> and their mothers-in-law. 婆媳之间
注意这段文字的用法，大范围内慢慢将镜头向小范围聚焦，编剧通过一个小排比句加转折，引出要重点探讨的话题：婆媳战争。
——>> The war for control of Carlos began the night he proposed, 卡洛斯控制争夺战从他求婚的那一晚开始
——>> and Gabrielle had been losing ground to Juanita ever since. 之后加布丽尔接连败给胡安妮塔
——>> From the prenuptial agreement which she reluctantly signed…从不情愿地在婚前协议上签字
——>> to the selection of wedding music she despised… 到她不喜欢的结婚音乐
——>> to the color of the house paint she hadn’t wanted, 再到她讨厌的外墙颜色
——>> Gabrielle had suffered one defeat after another. 加布丽尔一次又一次地被击败
接下来，先通过一句话承接上面的话题，并交待时间、人物、背景，再用“From…to…to…”句型结构列举具体事例以印证所交待的背景。
——>> And now that Juanita suspected her 现在胡安妮塔又在怀疑她的儿媳
——>> daughter-in-law of having an affair, 跟别人有染
——>> it had become increasingly apparent, in this war…在这场战争中 有一点变得越来越明显
——>> No prisoners would be taken. 没有一人会妥协
最后，编剧点燃了一条更能引发激烈矛盾的导火索，引发观众想要继续围观——接下来会有什么重大事件发生的好奇心。通过对整段文字的研究，我们从中可以深切感受到西方人的行文思路和惯常渲染套路：由远及近慢慢聚焦，带动读者的思绪；然后添油加醋、煽风点火，让观众欲罢不能，顺利入坑。
欧文点评：通过下面的点评，我将给大家示范：（并列、排比、比喻、让步状语从句、同位语从句）的综合运用。
Nowadays, this expression is commonly used in spoken language as a metaphor to describe a battle which involved two individuals or group of people, most likely they’re swan emeries, both sides are determined to fight against each other ruthlessly, aggressively and mercilessly.
Man fights for women in order to win her heart and woman fights for men in order for controlling over. Yes, it has become a general consensus that life is full of battles and conflicts, some are tangible, and some are intangible. From the stiff competition of taking national entrance examination, to the arena of a desirable management position, to the fight of an attractive women or an eligible bachelor…these seemingly restless battle just like ups and downs which are indispensable along the way of our life’s journey.
Here in this clip, I would like to quote from Marry Alice, the narrator of Desperate Housewives, she puts it “when it came to man, women don’t fight fare” in the first episode. It is only natural that mothers want to protect their baby from the day when the umbilical cord was cut off at birth until they draw their last breath, and wives adhere to their husband, from the day they vowed to their beloved ones “till death do us apart” , to the final trace of affections went up in smoke, each of them are so determined to pull off the man they love by any means necessary, let alone without having Carlos around, Mama Solis is a widowed women and Gabrielle has no one to lean on but herself.
As we can clearly tell from the clip, no compromise is going to affect each one of them, no middle ground is going to accommodate this deep-rooted desire of possession and smoking-hot tension of confrontation.
It has become apparent in this episode that this fight is bound to be ferocious, offensive and destructive, because nothing can add more love to a needy kid than a protective mother and nothing can top off the vicious attack than a desperate woman. We’ve got to understand the fact that one country cannot have two queens, Carlos is incapable of coping two mighty masters in one household, someone is going to be ruled out, or worse… Whether you believe it or not, to the road of victory and dominance, there can be no mercy, there is but one rule: defeat or to be defeated.
Today, we gonna focusing on the bloody battle, between Lynette and Maisy, how these two Alpha-mothers are gonna fight against each. And what drives Lynette to the point of desperation and how she managed to wipe out the competition.
场景一：当Lynette提出对Maisy所表达的观点，引用如下：
Maisy: Killing the wolf. It sends the wrong message to our kids. 杀死大灰狼 这可能会误导孩子
——>> And we believe that animals should only 我们认为只有在万不得已的情况下
——>> be euthanized as a last resort. 才对动物实行安乐死
当Maisy说完这句话之后，Lynette笑出了声。究竟是什么原因让Lynette禁不住笑出声来了？
以及Maisy其所撰写的《小红帽》剧本情节，引用如下：
Maisy: So in our version, the wolf is aggressive 我们认为 大灰狼之所以具有攻击性
——>> because he has a thorn in his paw, 是因为它的爪子踩到了刺
——>> and the woodsman will take out the 樵夫会把大灰狼的爪子里的刺拨掉
——>> thorn and send Mr. Wolf on his way. 然后将狼先生放归森林
表示有异议时，Maisy找了个理由：“只有挑大梁的妈妈们才有资格提出质疑”，将Lynette的想法迅速驳回，根本不给她辩论的机会。 当Lynette两次打断Maisy说话时，镜头也两次聚焦其他小组成员的表情，为什么大家表情看起来尴尬？要搞清楚这两个问题，首先我们有必要了解下：西方文化中关于The Little Red Riding hood《小红帽》的传说：
Little Red Riding Hood直译就是“小的红披肩”,长久以来我国将之翻译为“小红帽”，已约定俗成。因此，如果我们看到国外的“小红帽”只是披了一件红披肩，我们就不应该感到奇怪了。《小红帽》本是一个再简单不过的童话故事，但这个简单的童话却有着不简单的历史。几乎谁都知道《小红帽》，但每个人心目中的结尾却可能大不相同，是大灰狼（Big Bad Wolf）被杀死了吗？还是小红帽根本就没被大灰狼吃掉？你所看到的故事中有伐木工(Woodcutter) 吗？
作为西方文化中非常经典的一个童话，《小红帽》几百年来不仅仅被编辑成书，还被改编为电影、漫画、诗歌。可以说,家喻户晓的《小红帽》已经不单纯是一个正义战胜邪恶的故事，它还蕴藏了西方许多文化和历史的积淀。而之所以 Lynette和 Maisy会就《小红帽》的结尾起争执，并导致最后Lynette的大爆发，也与《小红帽》这个故事本身有着千丝万缕的关系。
早在17世纪之前，《小红帽》就已经开始在欧洲各国口耳相传。14世纪，法国和意大利的民间就流传着《假外婆》（The False Grandmother)的故事。据悉，这些版本不同但情节类似的故事，最初可能来自东方的某个神话。在这些故事中，反面角色并不总是大灰狼，有些则是“狼人”（werewolf），这和当时著名的狼人审判”(werewolf-trials) 不无天系。
早期的《小红帽》还带有血腥的色彩，甚至有小红帽自食外婆肉的情节。而最终小红帽凭借机智得以逃离，故事就此终结。
显然，最初的《小红帽》并不是一个童话，而是一个类似《天方夜谭》的神话故事。1697年，法国的Charles Perrault出版了他的经典名作《鹅妈妈的故事和寓有道德教训的往日故事》 (Tales and Stories of the Past with Morals, Tales of Moher Goose)，其中就收录了《小红帽》，使流传已久的《小红帽》终于首次以书面形式问世。Perrault 版本中的“小红帽”，描述了一个美丽贤淑的农村少女，她在大灰狼的欺骗下，帮助其绕过伐木工(woodcutter)， 引狼入室，不仅害了外婆，也害了自己。故事的结局是大灰狼获得了胜利。
19世纪时，德国的格林兄弟( Brothers Grimm)在两个不同版本《小红帽》的基础上，编辑了新的《小红帽》，收录在1812年的《儿童与家庭故事》( Children’s and Household Tales, 后被编辑为著名的《格林童话集》一一Grimm’s Fairy Tales)中。在这个版本的《小红帽》中，小红帽和外婆并未被大灰狼吃掉，而是被猎人( Huntsman)所救，并最终根据已有的教训杀死了另外一只大灰狼。
1857年，格林兄弟再次修改了《小红帽》，小红帽和外婆都被大灰狼所吃，但伐木工及时赶到，剖开大灰狼的肚子，小红帽和外婆都毫发无伤。这个版本后来成为目前通行的故事情节。在格林兄弟之后，又有无数的作家推出过各种版本的《小红帽》。
美国坊间广为流传的《小红帽》版本：故事讲述了从前有个人见人爱的小姑娘，喜欢戴着外婆送给她的一顶红色天鹅绒的帽子，于是大家就叫她小红帽。有一天，母亲叫她给住在森林的外婆送食物，并嘱咐她不要离开大路，走得太远。小红帽在森林中遇见了狼，她从未见过狼，也不知道狼性凶残，于是告诉了狼——她要去森林里看望自己的外婆。狼知道后诱骗小红帽去采野花，自己到林中小屋把小红帽的外婆吃了。后来他伪装成外婆，等小红帽来找外婆时，狼一口把她吃掉了。幸好后来一个勇敢的猎人把小红帽和外婆从狼肚里救了出来。
当然，凡事就怕深究，《小红帽》各种不同的版本不断地给人带来各种联想，几乎没有人能确定，什么才是真正《小红帽》应有的故事情节。而Lynette和Maisy之间的冲突，也正是从《小红帽》的结局开始的。
现在我们来解决第上述的两个问题：
当Maisy说完这句话之后，Lynette笑出了声。究竟是什么原因让Lynette禁不住笑出声来了？
The reason why Lynette can‘t help laughing out is because Maisy’s statement is in stark contrast with the general public. Even though as time advances/progresses and the call for protection of animal rights grows in popularity/ continued to mount, it still sounded over-exaggerated when Maisy pointed out that animals should only be euthanized as a last resort, especially when the animal Maisy was referring have the guts to chow down two defenseless human beings.
Maisy’s remark is quite timeserving and conveys a ridiculous stance of political correctness, it deviates from the common sense that evil should be severely punished, moreover, the idea that the wolf is aggressive because he has a thorn in his paw is too farfetched, and that’s the reason why Lynette can’t help laughing out.
Lynette之所以笑出声来，是因为Maisy所表述的观点完全与普通大众所持有的价值观念大相径庭，虽然说时代在进步，而且绝望的主妇第一季播出那会，西方正流行动物权益保护，但是一个攻击并啃食人类的大灰狼，所获得的最高惩罚才是“安乐死”。Maisy的这种言论呈现了一种（对风头正起的动物保护）趋炎附势和（基于美国对各种权利保护言论）其所持有的夸张荒谬的政治正确立场，与像Lynette这样的普遍家庭妇女观念反差太大，另外，Maisy的想法“狼之所以具有攻击性是因为他的脚掌踩到了刺”太过牵强，所以Lynette才不禁笑出声来。
当Lynette两次打断Maisy说话时，镜头也两次聚焦其他小组成员的表情，为什么大家表情看起来尴尬？你觉得Lynette断然决定挑战Maisy的淫威合乎情理吗？
Well, since most of the parents who had the experience of dealing with Maisy understands that Maisy is a handful, a hard nut and a total piece of work, most of them seemed have already surrendered/resigned themselves to Maisy’s dominant control/ authority and despotic/overwhelming power.
Unfortunately for Maisy, her adoption of Little Red Riding Hood is indeed a blatant maneuver, she purposely /deliberately misrepresented black and white, which give rise to the intense conflict between her and Lynette, a desperate woman who never give up easily. In addition, since this is the first time that Lynette approach and deal with/ come into contact with Maisy, as a saying goes, they who know nothing fear nothing, so she doesn’t aware of the danger and pressure she’s about to suffer, not to mention that the content of the script is too far-fetched and contradictory from the value that an ordinary housewife believed in. They can hardly imagine that the wolf would be released to the Forest with the thorn in his pawl being pulled out by the woodsman.
The most intolerable part I think, would be, being called Mr. Wolf after attacked a defenseless kid and an elderly, this will definitely add fuel to the fire, and it is bound to provoke a tough lady like Lynette to rise up to the occasion. So, I think it perfectly make sense.
这是因为很多的家长经过多次的打交道，知道Maisy是个不好惹的主，大家已经习惯了屈从于她的淫威之下。不过这次，Maisy这次的《小红帽》剧本改编太过做秀，有点“指鹿为马”了。而Lynette本身就是个不轻易服软的人，再加上第一次与Maisy打交道，正所谓“初生牛犊不怕虎” ，更何况Maisy剧本里的内容太过离谱了，让樵夫将攻击人类的狼放归森林也就罢了，还帮它拨掉了脚掌上的刺，还尊称一声“狼先生”，这简直是“是可忍，孰不可忍”！
场景二：Lynette在主动承接了戏服缝制的大活之后，开始陈述她想要Maisy将大灰狼的结局改写成众望所归的模样：杀死大灰狼，她公开挑衅Maisy的权威让很多逆来顺受的家长得到鼓舞，Lynette逐步获得了多数家长的支持，然而也获得了Maisy的“格外关注”：
Maisy: Oh…Lynette, I couldn’t help but notice 勒奈特 我不得不说
——>> you forgot the coonskin on that hunter’s coonskin cap. 你没把浣熊皮缝在猎户帽子上
Lynette: Oh, yeah. That was a creative call. 是啊 灵光一闪
Lynette: Look, I’m in the middle of a costumes crisis. 这些戏服快让我崩溃了
——>> If I don’t take a few shortcuts, I’ll never finish. 要是我不偷点懒，就完不成了
Maisy: Jordana Geist manages to get her work done. 乔丹娜·盖斯特就能完成任务
——>> She runs the concessions, paints the sets, 她又帮忙特卖 又画背景
——>> and still has time to take care of her three kids and a husband. 还能腾出时间照顾好丈夫和仨孩子
——>> Now, we can’t have the students suffer 我们不能让学生们受苦
——>> just because you don’t understand 仅仅因为你不懂
——>> the concept of time management. 合理安排时间
Lynette: I hardly think the kids are gonna suffer 我可不觉得孩子们戏服帽子上少块皮
——>> without a clump of fur on their heads. 就算是受苦了
Maisy: Ok. I’ll make a creative call. We’ll cut the oak trees. 好 我灵机一动 不如撤了橡树吧
——>> That forest is looking a little dense anyway. 森林看起来有点太密了
Lynette: My boys are the oak trees. 橡树是我儿子们演的啊
Maisy: Are they? 是吗
Maisy: Well, I wouldn’t worry. 我不担心
——>> We’ll find something for them to do backstage. 后台总有活给他们干
——>> That’s where the real action is. 那才是锻炼人的地方
Lynette: I’ll finish the costumes. 我会好好完成戏服
Maisy: Well. Crisis averted. 危机解除
Do you agree that women to some extend as Lynette said doesn’t fight fare as men do?
This scene clearly resembles the stereotype of being targeted and being nitpicked in real life situations. Apparently, Maisy has already get used to carp at other people and she’s got all the sordid details premeditated. She finds fault with others like a duck to water, and what’s more frightening is that she strikes to the core and plan ahead.
Maisy takes advantage of the feeling of the kids to claim moral high ground in an attempt to magnify Lynette’s flaws, pretty much identical to/the same as “find needle in a straw”. Of course, Lynette is also a hard nut to crack, she would never surrender herself to such groundless excuse, so she confronted the challenge and head-on, but Maisy brought out the big guns, as a parent coordinator, she threatened to exclude Lynette’s boys from performing on the stage, which left Lynette no choice but to cave in.
欧文点评：上面的这段场景是典型的“被针对”和“被找岔”的生活场景演绎，Maisy显然在这方面很有经验，而且早有预谋，不但能够驾轻就熟地挑出Lynette的毛病，而且连回怼及应对的台词都想好了。这里她用了一个我们之前提到的句型：“just because+否定语态”，以阐明Lynette目前面临的困境是她自己要解决的问题。此外，Maisy以孩子们作为挡箭牌，将Lynette细支末叶的小问题放大，可谓是鸡蛋缝里挑骨头。Lynette不甘示弱回应她的这个理由太过牵强，这里Maisy作为组织协调者，使出了杀手锏：以剥夺孩子的参与权作为要挟，逼迫Lynette就范，不可谓不狠。
场景三：Lynette加班加点、历尽艰辛，好不容易完成了Maisy给她派发的任务。没想到最后关头，又给她找了点事，而且这次几乎是直接挑明就是故意针对来找茬的。Lynette强压怒火，答应马上处理。没想到Maisy火上浇油，当众鄙视她做的动物装扮像是马路上被压死的动物一样令人恶心，这一把火彻底引爆了Lynette心中压抑许多的愤怒。
Lynette: Hey, Jordana, Maisy. 乔丹娜 梅茜
——>> Here are the costumes. Right on time. 演出服做好啦 刚好准时
Maisy: Thank you, Lynette. 辛苦了 勒奈特
——>> This is a bit awkward. 真是不好意思
——>> There has been an oversight with the programs. 还有一点小小的疏忽
——>> Celia Bond is still credited with costumes. 西利亚·邦德还是没有演出服
——>> They forgot to tell the printer. 他们忘了和打印计划的人说了
Lynette: Incidentally, who is “they”, 随便问一句 他们是谁
——>> as in, “they forgot to tell the printer”? 忘了和打印计划的人说的人
Maisy: That would be me. I’m sorry. 其实是我，不好意思
——>> I’m sorry, but I was just so overworked this week with 但是这周我一直忙着
——>> all the script changes you demanded. 按您的指示修改剧本
Lynette: Uh-huh. Well, these things happen. 这样的事情是难免的
——>> Be right back. 我马上回来
Maisy: Would you do something with this? 能不能请你把这东西处理一下
——>> It looks like road kill. 看着像在路上被压死的动物
Lynette: Ok, lady, that’s it. 好吧 夫人 我受够了
Maisy: I beg your pardon? 麻烦你再说一遍
Lynette: Maisy, we have kids the same age. 我们的孩子一样大
——>> Which means there’re years ahead of us 意味着我们还要
——>> having to deal with each other. 共处好几年
——>> So instead of playing all this petty games, 与其这样勾心斗角
——>> why don’t we put an end to this right now? 不如我们现在就把做个了结
Maisy: What are you saying? 你说什么呢
Lynette: Let’s take it outside. 我们敞开说吧
Maisy: Let’s take what outside? 把什么敞开说
Lynette: Your sorry ass. We’re throwing down. 你这个贱人，我们出去单挑
Maisy: You are crazy. 你疯了吧
The creator of this show is very much appreciated, the conflicts has been thoughtfully well-designed, his narrative brings about resonance in the audience and kept everyone stayed on the track. It is said that A good writer often possess two indispensable attributes, one of which is to tell a story that arouses the curiosity of the viewers, the other is to have all the threads and plots well-organized and put them into a logical order.
As far as I am concerned, Marc Cherry is more than qualified to be a good writer, not only he can deliver a wonderful and reasonable story, but with carefully orchestrated scenarios and gradually intensified storylines, he engages the audience with a more and more soothing experience. I have to admit that Marc Cherry has a flare for spinning off a vivid story as if making a pot of decent tea, the more we immerse ourselves in the process of admiring his work, the more pleasure we’re gonna receive from it.
欧文点评：编剧真的是太良心了，冲突的设计非常贴合人心，具有很强的代入感，一点都不让人觉得出戏。一个好的编剧需要具备的能力：把故事讲得引人入胜，而且情节安排自然合理。从目前来看马克·切利不仅做到了这两点，而且通过细致的铺奠和逐步的拉紧，让观众有一种“一浪高过一流”的舒爽体验。不得不承认：马克·切利有一种天赋，他能够将一个个故事精心砌成了一壶壶好茶，让人越品越香。
