（来源：芝士英语）
The Bear Who Earns Billions
On 14 April 2016, a 6.2-magnitude (震级) earthquake hit Japan's southernmost island of Kyushu (九州). Hundreds of aftershocks (余震) continued for days, killing 49 people, injuring 1,500 and forcing tens of thousands from their homes.
2016年4月14日，日本最南端的九州岛遭受了6.2级的地震。数百次余震在之后的几天持续来袭，地震共造成49人丧生，1500人受伤，好几万居民不得不离开家乡。
News spread immediately around the globe on social media. "Pray for Kumamoto & Kumamon," wrote Ming Jang Lee from Thailand, a phrase that would be repeated thousands of times. Kumamoto (熊本市) is a region of 700,000 in a largely agricultural province in southwestern Japan. But what, or more precisely, who is Kumamon?
相关新闻迅速在世界各个媒体上传开。泰国的Ming Jang Lee所写的“为熊本市和熊本君祈福”，这句话很快被成千上万次的重复。熊本市是日本西南部一个拥有70万人口的以农业为主的省份。但熊本君是啥？
熊本君是啥About 1.5 meters tall, with black shiny fur, circular red cheeks and wide, staring eyes, Kumamon is a yuru-kyara, one of the cuddly (令人想抱的) creatures in Japan that represent everything from towns and cities to airports and prisons. The word is sometimes translated as "mascot (吉祥物)" in the West, but Kumamon has a far wider field of operation as the yuru-kyara for Kumamoto.
熊本君高1.5米，有着又黑又亮的皮毛、圆圆红红的脸颊与大而亮的眼眸。熊本君身为福神，在日本是让人想拥抱的“生物”之一，代表着从城市、小镇到机场、监狱的一切。福神有时在西方被译作“吉祥物”。作为熊本市的福神，熊本君有着更广的影响力。
Six years ago, Kumamoto wasn't known for much. There is an active volcano—Mount Aso (阿苏山)—nearby, and a 1960s reproduction of a dramatic 1600s-era castle that burned down in 1877. Kumamoto residents believed there was nothing in their city that anyone would want to visit.
6年前，熊本市还不为人所知。熊本市有一座活火山——阿苏山，和一座19世纪60年代复刻的城堡——其原型是16世纪的一座巨型城堡，原城堡在1877年遭损毁。熊本市居民觉得这座城市里没什么值得参观的。
It was not until 2010, when Japan Railways was working to extend the Shinkansen (新干线) bullet train to Kumamoto, that the government officials decided to promote the area. They commissioned (委托创作) a logo and were offered a red exclamation point (感叹号) at first. Seeking to decorate it and knowing the popularity of yuru-kyara, the designer added a surprised black bear. Kumamon was born.
直到2010年，日本铁路公司着力向熊本市拓展新干线专车，政府官员才决定发展这个地区。他们委托专人创作了一枚城市标志，最先的设计结果是一个红色感叹号。其设计者为了加以装饰，且考虑到福神深受大众喜爱，就增设了一个令人意外的黑色小熊形象。熊本君就此诞生。
Now, over 100,000 products that feature Kumamon's image, from stickers and notebooks to cars and airplanes, are for sale in Japan. To get approval to use his image, companies are required to support Kumamoto, either by using locally made ingredients or by promoting the area on their packaging.
如今在日本，有超过10万件印有熊本君形象的商品在售，包括贴纸、笔记本到汽车、飞机。各家公司为了得到熊本君的肖像使用权，需要支持熊本市的发展——要么使用熊本市本土的原料来生产，要么在公司产品的包装上为本地区作推广。
Three weeks after the 14 April earthquake, Kumamon showed up again, as if a long-sought survivor had stumbled out of the ruins alive. The cute bear has become more than a strategy to push tourism and farm products. It also fills an emotional need.
4月14日的地震过去三周后，熊本君重新出现，就像一个失踪已久的幸存者从废墟中跌跌撞撞走出来。这个可爱的小熊不仅仅是推动旅游业和农产品的策略，还是一种情感慰藉。
实习编辑：李孟洁
