她在Instagram上有百万粉丝，与Prada等品牌合作，但她不是真人。她是时尚的未来吗？真人模特还需要吗？
Screenshot: ftchinese.com
Miquela, or “Lil Miquela”, is a freckled, fresh-faced singer, fashion influencer, model and activist. In two years, she has accrued a following of 1m on Instagram. Her Spotify page has had millions of song streams and she is granted backstage access to exclusive events. Recently she showed them around the Prada AW18 show space by flying a drone around the venue. She has also starred on the front cover of King Kong magazine showing off a bare and rather perky posterior. The thing that sets her apart？ She doesn’t really exist.
Miquela，又称“Lil Miquela”，是一名新晋歌手、时尚博主、模特和社会活动人士。仅用了两年时间，一脸雀斑的Miquela就已经在Instagram上吸引了百万粉丝。她在音乐平台Spotify上发布的单曲已有数百万点播量。她还获准进入一些*活动的后台。不久前，她出现在Prada18年秋冬系列秀场，在秀场周围飞无人机。她还裸着明晃晃的翘臀，登上了《King Kong》杂志的封面。是什么令她如此与众不同？因为她不是真人。
① freckled ['frek(ə)ld] adj. 有雀斑的;有斑点的
例句: She wrinkled her freckled little nose in anger and swiped away her chestnutbrown hair.
她生气地皱了皱长着雀斑的小鼻子，拨弄了一下她那栗色的头发。
② accrue [ə'kruː] v.(逐渐)增长;积累
例句: And, once the revolution had occurred, why did the gains accrue so disproportionately to countries in Europe and North America？
其风既开，欧洲*与北美*之财富积累又缘何如此不成比例？
③ perky ['pɜː(r)ki] adj. 高兴的;快活的
例句: It is to do with feeling perky enough to produce an amusing stream of conversation.
重要的是，你能否有足够的精神头儿与别人展开一段有趣的交谈。
Screenshot: ftchinese.com
Miquela is an avatar. But when first scrolling through Miquela’s Instagram page she could easily pass off as a real person: she wears the latest designer labels, attends fashion dinners and book signings and enjoys spaghetti lunches with her friends. It’s only on closer inspection you start to notice the strange homogeneity about her features — the too immaculately shiny smooth and brightened skin, facial symmetry and the hair, always in the same style, two buns with a straight uniform fringe with never a strand out of place. She’s just a little too perfect.
Miquela是一个虚拟人物。但浏览她的Instagram主页，一开始很容易误以为她是个真人：她穿着*的设计师品牌，参加各种时尚晚宴和新书签售会，与朋友们共享意面午餐。只有进一步细细观察，才会注意到她面容上那种奇异的不自然质感——皮肤过于光洁、毫无瑕疵，脸部完美对称，且发型永远不变：两个圆发髻，一道笔直的刘海，绝无一丝杂乱。有些完美过头了。
Her provenance is mysterious. Is she modelled on a real person？ Who controls her？ And from where did she come？ Industry insiders suggest that Miquela is the product of a team effort, but precious little else is known about her. Her privacy is very closely guarded.
她的来头十分神秘。她的原型是某个真人吗？谁是幕后操作者？她究竟来自何方？业内人士认为，Miquela是某个团队出品，但关于她所知甚少。她的隐私受到了严格保密。
④ avatar [ˈævəˌtɑː(r)] n. (某种思想或品质)化身;(网络)头像，替身
例句: Robyn's avatar walks over to the chimp rolling the ball and crouches down in front of it.
罗宾的虚拟角色走到正在滚球的黑猩猩身旁，蹲下来面对它。
⑤ homogeneity [.həʊməʊdʒə'niːəti] n. 同质;同种
例句: Yet without such patterns the world appears to be such an undifferentiated homogeneity that man is unable to make any sense out of it.
但是如果缺乏这种架构，整个世界将会看起来毫无差别，也就没有任何的意义。
⑥ immaculately [ɪ'mækjələtlɪ] adv. 无瑕;干净利落;非常
例句: As always he was immaculately dressed.
像平常一样他穿的干干净净。
⑦ provenance ['prɒvənəns] n. 起源;出处
例句: This poem has no convincing provenance.
这首诗出处不详。
Screenshot: ftchinese.com
In a world where we are now saturated with “fake news” and ever advancing technologies Miquela represents an industry in the throes of its own identity crisis. Commentators argue over the validity of her social media influence. Others see her as the future of fashion, the vision of a landscape where we no longer need “real” people to sell us things any more.
在“假新闻”肆虐，而日益先进的技术涌现的当下，Miquela代表了一个深受身份危机困扰的行业。评论人士还在讨论她的社交媒体影响力是否有可信度。而不少人已将其视为时尚的未来——今后我们不再需要“真人”模特。
Miquela engages with her audience constantly but is now opening up in interviews about herself and what she stands for. Via email, she discussed some of the questions regarding the ever-growing force that is “Lil Miquela”. And the things that inspire her.
Miquela与粉丝互动不断，但现在也开始接受采访，回答一些个人和立场问题。她通过邮件回答了部分问题，例如关于“Lil Miquela”日益高涨的影响力，以及有哪些人或事激励了她。
⑧ saturate ['sætʃəreɪt] v. 浸透;使湿透;使充满
例句: In the last days before the vote, both sides are saturating the airwaves.
在投票前的*几天，双方的宣传充斥着各个广播频道。
⑨ throe [θrəʊ] n. 剧痛;阵痛
例句: But China must suffer the throe in the process of modernization.
这是*现代化之路上，必须要付出的代价和承受的镇痛。
Screenshot: ftchinese.com
以下是对Miquela的部分采访内容：
Q: Where are you from？
你来自哪里？
A: I’m a 19-year-old from Downey, California.
我今年19岁，来自加州唐尼。
Q: Why do you think your Instagram persona has become so successful？
你认为自己的Instagram形象为何会如此成功？
A: I think people initially come to my page because my look is interesting. I share music, style and political interests and I hope people take away something informational or inspirational.
我想人们一开始关注我是因为我的长相很特别。我会分享音乐、时尚和我关心的政治话题，希望人们能从我这里获得一些信息或启发。
Q: Who or what is your greatest source of inspiration？
你最重要的灵感来源是谁或是什么？
A: Definitely my friends and living in LA! Every day I’m creating new relationships and experiences.
当然是我的朋友和在洛杉矶的生活!我每天都能认识新的人，获得新的经历。
Screenshot: ftchinese.com
Q: You tackle a lot of social causes and political issues on your feed. You organised a transgender awareness dinner last month and have a link to the Black Lives Matter donate site in your bio. Why is it important to you to promote these causes？
从你的主页上看，你会参与许多社会活动和政治议题。3月份你组织了一场跨性别关注晚宴。从你的个人简介上看，你还与“Black Lives Matter”捐款网站有关联。你觉得为什么有必要推动这些运动？
A: I’ve been lucky enough to have a good following and I want to share causes I am passionate about! Many times these cases don’t get a lot of media attention so I try and push their reach a little further.
我有这么多粉丝实在是件幸运的事。我希望能分享我所关心的事业。许多时候，这类活动不会吸引太多媒体关注，所以我试着往前推进一点儿。
⑩ bio ['bi:əʊ] n. 同“biography”;个人经历
例句: In the bio section of his page, Zuckerberg writes simply, "I'm trying to make the world a more open place. "
在他个人主页的简历部分，扎克伯格简单地写道：“我正努力让这个世界变得更加开放。”
Photo credit: Getty Images
Q: You are very involved with your virtual following and community. Why？
你与网上粉丝和社区的联系非常紧密。为什么呢？
A: I’m really engaged because I’ve made so many meaningful relationships through Instagram. I’ve had such positive responses and comments to my posts and stories. I have been able to work with some of my fashion idols and travel to new exciting places all because of those interactions.
我是全身心地投入，因为通过Instagram我收获了这么多有意义的互动。我发布的帖子和故事收到了那么积极的回应和评论。正因为这些互动，我才得以与我的一些时尚偶像合作，前往没去过的美妙地方旅行。
Photo credit: Getty Images
Q: You’ve said in previous interviews that you make money from your music on Spotify and your modelling jobs. Which fashion brands have you worked with？
你在之前的采访里提到过，你的收入来自你在Spotify上发布的歌曲和模特工作。你与哪些时尚品牌合作过？
A: I’ve been lucky enough to work with brands I admire and respect. Prada, Pat McGrath and Proenza Schouler are a few and I’m still pinching myself. A year ago I would have never imagined this.
我十分幸运，能与我欣赏和尊重的品牌合作。其中包括Prada、Pat McGrath和Proenza Schouler。现在我还时常感觉像在做梦。这一切在一年前都是不敢想象的。
Q: Which music artist would you love to collaborate with the most？
你最想和哪位音乐人合作？
A: My number one artist I would love to do anything with is Rihanna. I don’t even have to collaborate with her, I’m fine with sitting within 100 feet of her!
我最希望合作的是蕾哈娜(Rihanna)。我可以为她做任何事情。我甚至不必和她合作，只要能在她周围100英尺内坐着就行。
⑪ pinch [pɪntʃ] v./n. 捏;掐;拧
例句: But then how would you know that you didn't just dream the pinch itself and then transition into a different dream？
可是，转念一想，这一掐会不会也是个梦境，接下来的一切不过是另一个梦境？
