不忘初心 單寧前行：李維斯煥發新生機

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這是 Economist Espresso 欄目的第57篇精選文章：

Beyond yoga pants: Levi Strauss

●聽 1 到 2 遍音頻，記錄主旨和儘可能多的細節

● 再聽音頻，閱讀下文，特別留意紅色辭彙

Beyond yoga pants: Levi Strauss

Not long ago, it seemed thatdenimwas dead.Pundits proclaimedthat the rise of Lululemon and other trendy 「athleisure」 brandspeddlingsportingkitfor everyday wearsounded the deathknellfor firms such as Levi Strauss, founded in 1853 to selldurabledenim trousers to miners in California』s gold rush. Its annual net revenues topped $7bn in the 1990s but by a decade ago had plunged to $4bn.

The private firm, which reports first-quarter results today, hasdefied scepticswith severalshrewdmoves. It has introduced new styles and shortened its supply chains tofend off fast-fashionrivals.Crucially, it has nottarnishedits brand by abandoning denim or embracing that on-trend, skin-tight athletic stuff. Global revenue rose last year by 8%, with sales in Europe rising by a fifth. Direct-to-consumer salesshot updespite thecrisisin American retail.

By sticking to its knitting, Levi』s may have entered a new gold rush.

●仔細學習下面的講解

藍色：TOEFL 核心內容

紫色：SAT 核心內容

Beyond yoga pants: Levi Strauss

Not long ago, it seemed thatdenimwas dead.Pundits proclaimedthat the rise of Lululemon and other trendy 「athleisure」 brandspeddlingsportingkitfor everyday wearsounded the deathknellfor firms such as Levi Strauss, founded in 1853 to selldurabledenim trousers to miners in California』s gold rush. Its annual net revenues topped $7bn in the 1990s but by a decade ago had plunged to $4bn.

1. denim ["d?n?m] n.單寧布料

2.pundit["p?nd?t] n.博學多才的人，大學者（這個詞起源於印度語，原指精通梵文者，引申為學者，19世紀初傳入英語）

3.proclaim[pr?"klem] v.宣告

4. athleisure | aTH(?)?leZH?r | n.運動休閑(athletic + leisure)

5.peddle["p?dl] v.叫賣，兜售

6. kit n.成套部件，成套工具

7. sound vt.發出……（聲音），宣告

8. knell [n?l] n.喪鐘

9.durable["d?r?bl] adj.耐久的

The private firm, which reports first-quarter results today, hasdefied scepticswith severalshrewdmoves. It has introduced new styles and shortened its supply chains tofend off fast-fashionrivals.Crucially, it has nottarnishedits brand by abandoning denim or embracing that on-trend, skin-tight athletic stuff. Global revenue rose last year by 8%, with sales in Europe rising by a fifth. Direct-to-consumer salesshot updespite thecrisisin American retail.

10.defy["difa?] vt. 藐視，違抗，不服從

11.sceptic[sk?pt?k] n. 懷疑論者

12.shrewd[?rud] adj. 精明的

13. fend off 避開，擋開（根據我的不完全統計，這個詞在我們的這個欄目中至少是第三次出現！）

14. fast-fashion 快速時尚是一種當代時尚零售商將 T 台上最時尚的設計以最快的速度製造並鋪貨到賣場的一種銷售模式。

15.crucially["kru:?i?li] adv. 關鍵地，至關重要地

16.tarnish["tɑrn??] v. 玷污

17. shoot up 蓬勃發展，迅速增長

18.crisisn. 危機 (複數：crises)

By sticking to its knitting, Levi』s may have entered a new gold rush.

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