Celebrities in“Ice Bucket Challenge”to Fight Disease

By Fabienne Faur

在2014年炎热的夏天，一桶冰水当头泼下，微软的比尔·盖茨、Facebook的扎克伯格跟桑德伯格、亚马逊的贝索斯、苹果的库克全都在镜头中被冰水浇遍全身。这些硅谷的科技人，飞蛾扑火似地牺牲演出，其实全为了慈善。该活动旨在让更多人知道被称为“渐冻症”的罕见疾病，同时也达到募款帮助治疗的目的。

Steven Spielberg, Justin Bieber and Bill Gates are among many celebrities pouring buckets of ice water over their heads and donating to fight Lou Gehrig’s disease, in a fundraising effort that has gone viral.11. Lou Gehrig’s disease: “葛雷克氏症”，是运动神经元疾病的一种，世界五大绝症之一，因为特征性表现是肌肉逐渐萎缩和无力，身体如同被逐渐冻住一样，故俗称“渐冻人”，又因美国著名棒球明星Lou Gehrig死于此病而称为葛雷克氏症；go viral: 像病毒一样传播开来，这里形容此项活动传播之快、之广。

Since June 2013, several thousand people worldwide have recorded themselves getting drenched, then posted the stunt online and challenged others to do the same, or pledge $100 to ALS research.2. 从2014年6月开始，全世界有数千人记录下了他们被水泼湿的样子，并把这些噱头放在了网络上，向其他人发起挑战，被挑战者或者接受同样的泼冰水行为，或者承诺向“肌萎缩侧索硬化症”研究捐款100美元。stunt: 引人注意的噱头；pledge: 许诺，承诺；ALS:amyotrophic lateral sclerosis，即上文中提到的葛雷克氏症的医学名称“肌萎缩侧索硬化症”。

Many have done both, in an effort has raise millions of dollars for the ALS Association, which combats amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Some 30,000 Americans have ALS, which attacks the nervous system and eventually leaves victims paralyzed3. paralyze: 麻痹，瘫痪。.

In just weeks the “ALS Ice Bucket Challenge” has swelled4. swell: 膨胀，增大。into a global phenomenon, with dozens of stars getting wet:Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Taylor Swift,James Franco, Oprah Winfrey, Jennifer Lopez and Jon Bon Jovi are among them.

Politicians and sports figures went at it too, including New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and basketball superstar LeBron James.5. figure: 人物；go at it: 努力从事于……；governor: 州长。

Bare-chested English footballer David Beckham got in on the act,6. bare-chested: 赤裸上身的；on the act:加入（此项）行动。as did World Cup stars Neymar of Brazil and Argentina's Lionel Messi.

Normally reserved former US Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan can be seen gleefully dumping ice water over his wife, MSNBC anchor Andrea Mitchell.7. reserved: 冷淡的，矜持的；US Federal Reserve: 美国联邦储备委员会；gleefully: 欢欣地；dump: 倾倒；MSNBC: 微软全国有线广播电视公司，由微软MSN和美国国家广播环球公司合资成立的广播公司；anchor:新闻节目主播。

Microsoft founder Bill Gates, recorded himself taking ice water to the head,responding to a challenge by Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg.

“Incredible” support

Ethel Kennedy, the 86-year-old widow of senator Robert Kennedy, doused herself and challenged President Barack Obama to do the same.8. senator: 参议员；douse: 弄湿。The world’s most powerful man declined9. decline: 拒绝。but promised a donation, according to the White House.

The charitable challenge’s popularity has spread around the globe, particularly to Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Germany.

Facebook said that between June 1 and August 17 more than 28 million people mentioned the challenge on the social network,and 2.4 million videos were posted.

The phenomenon can largely be attributed to Pete Frates, a one-time athlete in Boston whose struggle with ALS turned the Ice Bucket Challenge into a viral fundraising sensation.10. 这个现象主要归功于皮特·弗雷茨，他以前曾是波士顿的一名运动员，他自己和肌萎缩侧索硬化症的对抗使得冰桶挑战赛成为了一项传播极快的筹款盛举。be attributed to: 归功于……；sensation: 轰动。

A flood of funds—$22.9 million from July 29 to August 19,compared with $1.9 million for the same period in 2013—has poured into the ALS Association, which welcomed “the incredible in flux of support.”11. a flood of: 一大批；pour into: 涌入；in flux: 汇集。

“We need to be strategic in our decision-making as to how the funds will be spent so that when people look back on this event in 10 and 20 years, the Ice Bucket Challenge will be seen as a real game-changer for ALS,” said association president Barbara Newhouse.

About 5,600 new ALS cases are diagnosed12. diagnose: 诊断。each year in the United States.

The Internet has helped raise support for such causes, notably13. notably: 尤其。allowing organizations combatting lesser-known illnesses to raise much-needed money.

Some experts argue that such groundswell movements are narcissistic and give digital activism a bad name.14. 一些专家表示，这些如海啸般的（筹款）运动太以自我为中心了，为数字化行动主义带来一个坏名声。groundswell: 海啸；narcissistic: 自恋的，自我陶醉的； activism: 行动主义。

“The Ice Bucket Challenge went viral because of the potent mix of celebrity, simplicity, and comedy,”15. 冰桶挑战赛如此风靡是因为名人效应、简单和喜剧效果这几个元素的结合。potent: 强有力的。warned sociologist Jen Schradie, a doctoral candidate at University of California, Berkeley.

“I doubt most people participating even know what ALS is,and that is the problem with this form of clicktivism16. clicktivism: 点击行动主义，指透过社群媒体和其他网络方式来推广一个目标。: it does not promote a deep understanding or a long-term relationship with a cause.”

本文中参与冰桶挑战的名人依次为：

美国著名导演斯蒂芬·斯皮尔伯格、加拿大男歌手贾斯汀·比伯、微软创始人比尔·盖茨、欧美流行音乐天后Lady Gaga、美国流行女歌手布兰妮·斯皮尔斯、美国男歌手贾斯汀·汀布莱克、美国乡村女歌手泰勒·斯威夫特、美国男演员詹姆斯·弗兰科、美国脱口秀主持人奥普拉·温弗瑞、美国女歌星詹妮佛·洛佩茨、美国摇滚乐队Bon Jovi的创始团员和主音乔恩·邦·维、美国新泽西州州长克里斯·克里斯蒂、美国职业篮球运动员勒布朗·詹姆斯、英国球星大卫·贝克汉姆、巴西球星内马尔、阿根廷球星莱昂内尔·梅西、美联储前任主席艾伦·格林斯潘之妻安德莉亚·米歇尔、Facebook创始人马克·扎克伯格、美国前纽约州参议员罗伯特·肯尼迪之妻埃塞尔·肯尼迪。