Of all the many faces Madonna presents to the world, the one she tries most assiduously2 todisguise is that of successful businesswoman. Once she said:"Part of the reason for mysuccess is that I'm a good business woman but I don't think it necessary for people to knowthat."

　　The girl who arrived in New York with a fistful of dollars is — and has been — a publisher, musicmogul, TV executive, merchandising magnate, film producer and is one of the richest womenon the planet. She is a typical self-made tycoon: cautious in her investments, conservativein her spending, controlling her multi-million dollar empire.

　　Indeed Madonna is a classic capitalist — conforming to2 all the rules, never putting a footwrong, running her life like clockwork. Like a typical cigar-chomping company chairman, she isthe first to arrive and the last to leave while every evening she sits down and lists her goals forthe next day.

　　She likes to present a hard-boiled, sassy image but her maternal and compassionate instinctsare much in evidence — and not only in the way she dotes on her two children.

　　She has quietly paid for drug rehabilitation therapy for numerous friends and familymembers. Indeed, much of her charity work is discreet3 and unshowy. A well-knownsupporter of Aids charities, she is also a donor to a charity for breast cancer, the diseasewhich killed her mother.

　　For while she may employ bodyguards, chauffeurs, maids and cooks, old habits die hard. Thegirl who survived by bumming meals from friends and acquaintances has not changed toomuch. When she is out with a group of friends, Madonna is rarely the one to reach for the bill.She will wait to see someone else is going to pick up the tab and then, as a last resort, willbreak down4 the bill so that everyone pays their share.

　　On tour she will personally haggle with hotels for cut-price rates and she checks every bill. Thisobsessive need for control goes way beyond the parameters of a typical business manual.

　　練習題：

　　Questions:

　　1. What is the identity that she intends to hide from her audience ?

　　2. Why do we say she is a classic capitalist?

　　1. Her identity as a successful businesswoman.

　　2. Because she conforms to all the rules, never puts a foot wrong, lives a temperate life and,above all, works very hard to run her company.

　　麥當娜的另一張臉

　　在麥當娜向世人展現的眾多面孔中, 作為成功商人的一面是她最想竭力隱藏的。她曾經說過這樣的話:“ 我成功的部分原因在于我是一個好商人, 但是我認為沒必要讓人們知道這一點。”

　　這個赤手空拳來到紐約的姑娘, 如今身兼出版商、樂壇巨頭、電視經理、推銷大王、電影制片人, 是世界上最富有的女人之一。她是典型傳統的白手起家的巨頭: 謹慎投資、節制花銷、掌控著自己的億萬家產。

　　事實上, 麥當娜是個傳統的資本家——循規蹈矩、小心謹慎、生活極有規律。她像口里叼著雪茄的典型的公司董事長那樣, 第一個上班, 最后一個走; 每天晚上都要坐下來, 列出第二天的工作計劃。

　　她喜歡表現出冷峻、前衛的樣子, 本人卻不乏母愛和憐憫之心, 這不僅僅體現在她對自己兩個孩子的溺愛上。她還私下為許多朋友和家人支付戒毒費用。實際上, 她的許多慈善工作都是小心謹慎、不事張揚的。她是著名的艾滋病慈善事業的支持者, 也是乳腺癌( 她母親死于該病) 慈善機構的捐款者。

　　她雇傭保鏢、司機、女傭和廚師, 卻舊習不改。那個常在朋友和熟人那里蹭飯吃的女孩也沒多少改變。與一群朋友出去吃飯, 麥當娜很少主動買單。她會等著看是否有人付賬,最后不得已, 就大家各自付賬。

　　旅行時, 她會為了砍價親自和旅館討價還價, 檢查每一張賬單。這種著魔似的控制欲甚至超過典型商業手冊的標準。

　　1. assiduously adv. ( fml) 專心致志地, 勤勉地, 其形容詞形式是assiduous, 如: be assiduous inone’s duty ( 認真執行任務) ; The book is the result of ten years’assiduous research. ( 那本書是十年苦心鉆研的成果。)

　　2. conform v. 符合或遵守( 公認的規則和準則等) , 如: She refuses to conform to the normalsocial conventions. ( 她拒絕遵從正常的社會習俗。) The building does not conform to the safetyregulations. ( 這座建筑不符合安全條例。)

　　3. discreet adj. 言談舉止謹慎的, 言行審慎的, 如: We should make a few discreet enquires aboutthe firm before you sign the contract. ( 我們應該先審慎打探一下這家公司的底細, 然后你再簽合同。)

　　4. break down ( 尤指將金錢花費) 分成幾部分, 細分, 如: Expenditure on the project breaks down asfollows: wages ￡10m, plant ￡4m, raw material ￡5m. ( 該工程費用可分成如下幾 部分: 工人工資一千萬英鎊, 廠房四百萬英鎊, 原料五百萬英鎊。)