首先祝大家新年快乐！在《英语发音系列》里，我之前已经介绍了著名品牌Louis Vuitton（路易斯威登），

Gucci

圣罗兰

与诞生于法国的很多知名奢侈品牌不同，H&M作为一个来自于瑞典的时装品牌，走的是快速时尚，也就是款式多，数量少，价格低，也就是所谓的“budget fashion”，同时又与很多奢侈品牌大设计师联手的营销手段。它是 Hennes & Mauritz（海恩斯莫里斯）的缩写。

这个公司的创立者佩尔森在美国的一次旅行途中，想到了一个提供低价高档女装店的创意。于是他成立了一家服装店，叫做Hennes，在瑞典语中就是“她的”的意思，于1947年在韦斯特罗斯开业，就是现在的H&M的前身。之后他又收购了一家名为Mauritz Widforss的枪械及打猎用品商店，从此拓展了男装业务，从此之后Hennes更名作Hennes & Mauritz并一直沿用至今。

国人称呼这个品牌为“海恩斯莫里斯服饰”或者直接叫做“HM”，然而这是不正确的，或者说英语为母语的人很有可能是听不懂的。为什么呢？其实，这里的那个“&（英语叫做Ampersand）”符号是很重要，读作“and”，而这个“and”是必须的，所以H&M要读做“H AND M”。

下面是H&M的正确发音以及一篇简短的介绍，请点击音频收听。

Clothing retailer H&M is apologizing after fierce backlash over an ad that featured a black child wearing a sweatshirt that read "Coolest Monkey in the Jungle." The image caused a wave of criticism on social media, with many calling it racist and unacceptable, compelling the company to pull the hoodie from stores worldwide. R&B star The Weeknd, who had collaborated with the brand on men's collections in the past, announced he will no longer work with H&M after seeing the image.

Backlash：意思是“a strong or violent reaction, as to some social or political change”，也就是来自社会或者是政治方面的强烈反应。

Monkey in the jungle: 在美国，有种族歧视的人会把黑人称作“ monkeys”，在H&M的这个广告中，一个可爱的黑人男孩身着绿色套头衫（hoodie），而hoodie上有印有上述字样，自然而然地会让很多人联想到这是蔑称，从而在社交平台引起众怒。

"We understand that many people are upset about the image," H&M said in a statement to NBC News. "We who work at H&M can only agree. We are deeply sorry that the picture was taken, and we also regret the actual print." H&M said it removed the image online and is no longer selling the sweatshirt, but NBC News found it still being sold overnight Tuesday on the company's Spanish website.

Sweatshirt：意思是“a loose, long-sleeved, collarless pullover of soft, absorbent fabric, as cotton jersey, with close-fitting or elastic cuffs and sometimes a drawstring at the waist, commonly worn during athletic activity for warmth or to induce sweating.”，这个解释很复杂，还是直接上图比较简单：

小贴士：一般情况下，hoodie其实是有帽子的sweatshirt。

看来H&M也很擅长阳奉阴违，一面赌咒发誓不再卖这个hoodie了，一面却在自己的西班牙语网站上继续大肆销售。然而纸里兜不住火，还是被发现了。

The controversy raised the question of how the ad could have made it through the editing process to be publicly displayed. "It is obvious that our routines have not been followed properly,'' H&M said in its statement. “This is without any doubt. We will thoroughly investigate why this happened to prevent this type of mistake from happening again."

Controversy：请注意这个单词在美式发音里读作/ˈkɒntrəvəːsi/，而在英式发音里则读作/kənˈtrɒvəsi/。由于我说的是美音，所以读作前者。这个单词的意思是“prolonged public disagreement or heated discussion.”，也就是“争议”。

H&M's stumble is the latest controversial ad to land a retailer in hot water. Urban Outfitters apologized in 2024 for a "blood-spattered" faux-vintage T-shirt that appeared to reference the 1970 shootings of unarmed students at Kent State. Another line of Native American-themed clothes and accessories drew protest from the Navajo Nation in 2024.

Controversial：这是前面controversy这个单词的形容词形式。发音为/kɒntrəˈvəːʃ(ə)l/，意思是“有争议的”。

Urban Outfitters：美国一家零售品牌。

Faux：来自法语，读作/fəʊ/，意思是“made in imitation; artificial.”，也就是“仿造”的意思。一个非常常用的单词叫做faux pas，读作/ foʊ ˈpɑ /也是来自法语，指的是“a slip or blunder in etiquette, manners, or conduct; an embarrassing social blunder or indiscretion.”大约可以翻译为“失礼”的意思，比如“a fashion faux pas”。

知识奇妙如斯。

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