Case Study: Tourism New Zealand website
site: Case Study: Tourism New Zealand website
In 1999, Tourism New Zealand launched a campaign to communicate a new brand position to the world.
campaign /kæmˈpeɪn/ noun. 运动
The campaign focused on New Zealand’s scenic beauty, exhilarating outdoor activities and authentic Maori culture, and it made New Zealand one of the strongest national brands in the world.
exhilarating /ɪɡˈzɪl.ə.reɪ.t̬ɪŋ/ adjective. 使人兴奋的
authentic /ɑːˈθen.t̬ɪk/ adjective. 真品的
Another feature that attracted a lot of attention was an interactive journey through a number of the locations chosen for blockbuster films which had made use of New Zealand’s stunning scenery as a backdrop.
blockbuster /ˈblɑːkˌbʌs.tɚ/ noun. 轰动一时的成功
As the site developed, additional features were added to help independent trave\ers dev\se thek own customised itineraries.
itinerary /aɪˈtɪn.ə.rer.i/ noun. 行程
On the website, visitors can search for activities not solely by geographical location, but also by the particular nature of the activity.
solely /ˈsoʊl.li/ adverb. 完全地
However, the underlying lessons apply anywhere - the effectiveness of a strong brand, a strategy based on unique experiences and a comprehensive and user-friendly website.
comprehensive /ˌkɑːm.prəˈhen.sɪv/ adjective. 全面的
Why being bored is stimulating - and useful, too
site: Why being bored is stimulating - and useful, too
For a start, it can include a lot of other mental states, such as frustration, apathy, depression and indifference.
apathy /ˈæp.ə.θi/ noun. 冷漠
indifference /ɪnˈdɪf.ɚ.əns/ noun. 漠不关心
There isn’t even agreement over whether boredom is always a low-energy, flat kind of emotion or whether feeling agitated and restless counts as boredom, too.
agitated /ˈædʒ.ə.teɪ.t̬ɪd/ adjective. 焦虑的
restless /ˈrest.ləs/ adjective. 躁动的
By asking people about their experiences of boredom, Thomas Goetz and his team at the University of Konstanz in Germany have recently identified five distinct types: indifferent, calibrating, searching, reactant and apathetic.
calibrating /ˈkæl.ə.breɪt/ verb. 校准
These can be plotted on two axes - one running left to right, which measures low to high arousal, and the other from top to bottom, which measures how positive or negative the feeling is.
arousal /əˈraʊ.zəl/ noun. 唤起；激动
Intriguingly, Goetz has found that while people experience all kinds of boredom, they tend to specialise in one.
intriguingly /ɪnˈtriː.ɡɪŋ.li/ adverb. 引人入胜地
However, it remains to be seen whether there are any character traits that predict the kind of boredom each of us might be prone to.
prone /proʊn/ adjective. 俯卧的；容易…的
- to be prone to sth. 容易遭受某事
But even if boredom has evolved to help us survive, it can still be toxic if allowed to fester.
fester /ˈfes.tɚ/ verb. 溃烂
‘People try to connect with the world and if they are not successful there’s that frustration and irritability,’ he says.
irritability /ˌɪr.ə.t̬əˈbɪl.ə.t̬i/ noun. 过敏性；易怒的
Artificial artists
site: Artificial artists
Classical music by an artificial composer has had audiences enraptured, and even tricked them into believing a human was behind the score.
enraptured /ɪnˈræp.tʃɚd/ adjective. 欣喜若狂
Artworks painted by a robot have sold for thousands of dollars and been hung in prestigious galleries.
prestigious /presˈtɪdʒ.əs/ adjective. 有声望的
gallery /ˈɡæl.ɚ.i/ noun. 美术馆
Human beings are the only species to perform sophisticated creative acts regularly.
sophisticated /səˈfɪs.tə.keɪ.t̬ɪd/ adjective. 老于世故的 + 1
Consider one of the oldest machine artists, Aaron, a robot that has had paintings exhibited in London’s Tate Modern and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
exhibited /ɪɡˈzɪb.ɪt/ verb. 展出
The software runs its own web searches and trawls through social media sites.
trawl /trɑːl/ verb. 拖网、查阅
One of its original works is a series of fuzzy landscapes, depicting trees and sky.
depicting /dɪˈpɪkt/ verb. 描绘
Some of the Painting Fool’s paintings of a chair came out in black and white, thanks to a technical glitch. This gives the work an eerie, ghostlike quality.
glitch /ɡlɪtʃ/ noun. 失灵
eerie /ˈɪr.i/ adjective. 怪异恐怖的
Some, such as Wiggins, have blasted Cope’s work as pseudoscience, and condemned him for his deliberately vague explanation of how the software worked.
pseudoscience /ˈsuː.doʊ.saɪ.əns/ noun. 伪科学
condemned /kənˈdemd/ adjective. 谴责；被判处死刑的
vague /veɪɡ/ adjective. 模糊的
Meanwhile, Douglas Hofstadter of Indiana University said EMI created replicas which still rely completely on the original artist’s creative impulses: When audiences found out the truth they were often outraged with Cope, and one music lover even tried to punch him.
impulse /ˈɪm.pʌls/ noun. 冲动
outraged /ˈaʊt.reɪdʒd/ adjective. 愤怒
But why did so many people love the music, yet recoil when they discovered how it was composed?
recoil /rɪˈkɔɪl/ verb. 后退; 弹回
he reckons part of the pleasure we get from art stems from the creative process behind the work.
reckon /ˈrek.ən/ verb. 认为
stem /stem/ noun. 起源、茎
This can give it an ‘irresistible essence’, says Bloom.
irresistible /ˌɪr.əˈzɪs.tə.bəl/ adjective. 不可抗拒的