①No company likes to be told it is contributing to the moral decline of a nation.②“Is this what you intended to accomplish with your careers?” Senator Robert Dole asked TimeWarner executives last week.1 ③“You have sold your souls, but must you corrupt our nation and threaten our children as well?”cor rupt[a]腐败的 corrupt officials rupt ure使破裂[v]使堕落→败坏threaten 危及④At Time Warner, however, such questions are simply the latest manifestation of the soul-searching that has involved the company ever since the company was born in 1990.the latest 最近的manifestation表现 manifest明显的ever since 自从⑤It′s a self-examination that has, at various times, involved issues of responsibility, creative freedom and the corporate bottom line.self-examination 自我反省at various times 在不同时代①At the core of this debate is chairman Gerald Levin, 56, who took over for the late Steve Ross in1992.2 core 核心要点 At the core of sth. is…处在sth.核心的是…take over 接任the late＋人：已故的xx②On the financial front, Levin is under pressure to raise the stock price and reduce the company′s mountainous debt, which will increase to $17.3 billion after two new cable deals close.On the financial front 在财政方面under pressure 承受压力raise stock price 使股价升值mountainous debt 巨额债务电缆cable=cable TV 有线电视deals close [n]交易谈妥③He has promised to sell off some of the property and restructure the company, but investors are waiting impatiently.sell off 出售restructure [v]重组property 资产 private property私人财产 the right to intellectual property 知识产权①The flap over rap is not making life any easier for him.flap [v/n]拍打→大众批评lap 一圈、轻拍②Levin has consistently defended the company′s rap music on the grounds of expression.3 consistently 一贯on the grounds of…以…为由expression 表达形式defend 捍卫③In 1992, when Time Warner was under fire for releasing Ice-T′s violent rap song Cop Killer, Levin described rap as a lawful expression of street culture, which deserves an outlet.be under fire for…因…受到严厉的批评release 发行violent 暴力的deserve 应得→应有outlet 便利店/出口→宣泄途径④“The test of any democratic society,” he wrote in a Wall Street Journal column, “lies not in how well it can control expression but in whether it gives freedom of thought and expression the widest possible latitude, however disputable or irritating the results may sometimes be. We won′t retreat in the face of any threats.”column 专栏test 检验democratic 民主的lie not in … but in…不在于…而在于…the widest possible 尽可能最大的latitude 纬度→范围disputable 有争议的dispute[v/n] contro ver sydebate contro ver sialirritating 愤怒的 irri t ate 使恼怒irri g ate 灌溉We won′t retreat in the face of any threats. 但我们不会在任何威胁面前退却。

re treat = withdraw 撤退[n/v] withdraw al①Levin would not comment on the debate last week, but there were signs that the chairman was backing off his hard-line stand, at least to some extent.back off 放弃one′s hard line stand 坚定/强硬的立场to some extent/degree 某种程度上②During the discussion of rock singing verses at last month′s stockholders′ meeting, Levin asserted that “music is not the cause of soc iety′s ills” and even cited his son, a teacher in the Bronx, New York, who uses rap to communicate with students.verse脚本 version版本→说法脱销out of stock股东stockholder=shareholder 股票交易stock exchange股市波动stock market swings/fluctuationscite 举例子③But he talked as well about the “balanced struggle” between creative freedom and social responsibility, and he announced that the company would launch a drive to develop standards for distribution and labeling of potentially objectionable music.balanced struggle保持平衡struggle [v/n]努力发起launch=initiate launch a drive/campaign 开展一场运动develop 制定 fashion conservation measuresdistribution 发行 production+distribution 制作与发行distribute 分布/分配/分发label [n/v]标签、标识为 lab=laboratorypotentially 可能地objectionable 令人反感的 objectify 使客观化、使具体化物体、反对 object to异议、反感 objection to opposite 相反的oppose to opposition to对于可能令人反感的音乐，公司将发起一场运动去制定发行和标识的标准。

4①The 15-member Time Warner board is generally supportive of Levin and his corporate strategy.individual 个体、个人member 成员、会员team 团队board 董事会panel 专家组society 协会 Red Cross Society 红十字会 clubs and societies社团scientific communityreligious communityhealth research communityacademic communitysupport = be supportive offavor = in favor of[n/v]支持corporate strategy 经营策略②But insiders say several of them have shown their concerns in this matter.insider 内部人士 insidious 隐蔽的sb.show one′s concerns in this matter sb.对此事表示担忧③“Some of us have known for many, many years that the freedoms under the First Amendment are not totally unlimit ed,” says Luce.for many，many years 很多很多年来Amendment 修正案 amend [n/v]修订be not totally unlimited 并非毫无限制④“I think it is perhaps the case{that some people[associated with the company]}have only recently come to realize t his.”I think it is perhaps the case that 我想情况可能是这样的A associated withB ：和B有关的A现在完成时 xxx have only recently come to realize this. xxx直到最近才逐渐认识到这一点。