General Introduction:

Ugly Betty is an American dramedy television series that revolve around the character Betty Suarez. Betty is a quirky, 22-year-old Mexican American woman from Queens, New York who is sorely lacking in fashion sense. She is known to be bold, good-hearted, and slightly na?ve. She is abruptly thrust into a different world when she lands a job at Mode, a trendy, high fashion magazine that is part of the publishing empire of the wealthy Bradford Meade. Bradford’s son Daniel has been installed as Editor-in-Chief of Mode. Bradford hires the inexperienced Betty as his womanizing son’s newest personal assistant to curb his habit of sleeping with his assistants. As time goes by, Betty and Daniel become friends and help each other navigate their individual professional and personal lives.

美劇Ugly Betty中文翻譯為：丑女貝蒂。女主角是一個善良多才但是卻挺丑的丫頭，陰差陽錯掉進高端時裝雜志，因為大老板不希望將來繼位的兒子一直和女秘書曖昧不清，于是安排了這位丑姑娘做兒子的秘書。于是乎，一個時尚界的女版阿甘就此誕生。在家族陰謀、事業陷阱、愛情糾葛、人生思考等等諸如此類劇情中，我們的女主角硬是靠著自己的美德和智慧，得到了大家的尊重，更是與老板家的公子Daniel漸生情愫。

初一聽，多么三流的劇情，灰姑娘趕上了精靈的南瓜車，遇到白馬王子。就連那些丑女的常有細節——黑膠框眼鏡、牙套、厚唇等等都無一落下，不過編劇識趣的是沒有讓我們的女主角變成大美女，最后的最后，她依然是那個胖胖的，帶著眼鏡的Betty，她衣服或許更合身了，妝容或許更宜人了，但更多的改變是她用了這個世界最古老、古老到幾乎被遺忘了的美德——堅持和忠誠完成一個初入社會的女孩的成長。所以，在這里為各位奉上Betty第一天去面試的場景，從中或許你可以學習到這個女孩身上的一些精神。

There are some people waiting to be interviewed in a grand hall. Betty comes in and sits beside a modern blonde.

Betty: I like your poncho. My dad got me one in Guadalajara.

Charmaine: Milan. Dolce & Gabbana. Fall.

第一集就是從Betty這個面試開始的，她穿著夸張的斗篷（poncho），南美特產的那種中間有一洞來伸頭的毯形披風，來到一個高級時裝雜志面試，配合她矮胖的身材、笨重的黑框眼鏡、還有明顯的牙套，好吧，坦白一點，這樣的打扮對于任何一場面試都是一種災難。當她坐在一位打扮摩登的金發美女旁，稱贊美女身上的衣服，以為是和她的一樣在墨西哥城市Guadalajara買的斗篷，美女顯然不悅，用非常簡潔的話告訴她，這是米蘭時裝大牌D&G 的秋季新品（Milan. Dolce & Gabbana. Fall.），言下之意——我們不在一個檔次，拜托你走開一點。

Then the reception of the company, Marc comes out. When he sees Betty, he is shocked, of course.

Marc: Betty Suarez? Betty Suarez?

Betty: Hi. That’s me. Um, I have a hard copy of my resume if you need it. Should I follow you?

Marc: Actually... there’s been a mistake.

Betty: A mistake?

Marc: All the entry-level positions we were hiring for... they’ve been filled. I’m sorry.

Marc其實不僅僅是一個接待員，他也算是雜志主編之一的高級助理，當他看到其貌不揚外加穿著驚悚的Betty時，盡管Betty面試材料準備充分，自帶簡歷（I have a hard copy of my resume if you need it），他依舊非常不待見Betty，直接告訴她情況有變（there’s been a mistake），他們要招聘的最低級別職位（entry-level positions）都已經招滿了。連多說一句話都不愿意，Marc一出場可謂是個典型以貌取人的家伙。

Though given cold shoulder, Betty doesn’t lose heart and tries to seize the chance to be interviewed.

Betty: Um, sir? While you got me here, I thought I could tell you a little about myself. Magazines are my passion, ever since I was a kid, and I can’t imagine a more amazing place to start my career than Meade Publications. I know most of your magazines inside out. I try to devour as much as I can. Also, I’ve learned so much through them. You know, stuff so beyond my world, like…like who the up-and-comers are on the London art scene, or…or what the political machinations in Darfur are all about, or which Bali Resort is considered the most romantic in the world. And I have tons of ideas. I’m always jotting stuff down on the subway. But I’m getting ahead of myself, sir. All I really want is a chance... In any position or publication…I can type 100 words a minute!

Marc: Good-bye!

雖然慘遭拒絕，Betty怎么就可能就此放棄，她不斷跟在Marc的后面介紹更多的自己，陳述著自己對雜志的喜愛（Magazines are my passion.），對應聘公司的雜志也是熟讀于心（I know most of your magazines inside out），從中收獲良多：比如誰是倫敦藝術展的新星（who the up-and-comers are on the London art scene），或者蘇丹政治陰謀的原委（what the political machinations in Darfur are all about），巴厘島的浪漫（which Bali Resort is considered the most romantic）。另外Betty還有一堆的創意（tons of ideas），喜歡在坐地鐵的時候做筆記（jotting stuff down on the subway），之后還不忘調侃一句，我簡直就是超越自我了（I’m getting ahead of myself.）但是Marc仍然沒有停止離開的腳步，眼見Marc進到電梯，Betty甚至開始有點祈求的意味，是的，她想要的不過就是一個機會，一個面試的機會（All I really want is a chance.），只要是出版社，任何職位都可以，她能一分鐘能打100個字（I can type 100 words a minute!）。但是Marc絲毫沒有聽進去，一句Good-bye，毫不猶豫地把電梯門關上。

Betty的面試大概根本算不上一場面試，但是從這半個面試中，我們卻看到了一個勇敢無畏，對雜志充滿興趣，對夢想充滿執著的女孩。她或許并不光鮮亮麗，甚至并非冰雪聰明，但即使遭遇白眼和冷遇，她都能以最飽滿的熱情堅持到底。正是她這樣的熱情與精神，被一旁的大老板Bradford Meade看到，決定應聘她做他的兒子Daniel的助手，當然也是為了防止兒子的不務正業，于是正式拉開了整個故事的序幕。

編后記：從整個制作和編劇上說，Ugly Betty應該算不上一部特別上乘的美劇，即使Betty最后沒有俗套地變成大美人，我們也不得不感嘆她有時候運氣也太好了點。而該劇的收視率從開播到終結也未有一次能給人驚喜，以至于最后落得個不能順利完季的下場，后面匆忙收尾。但我相信，對于很多人而言，四年追劇一路看下來，從中一定感受到不少溫暖與樂觀。最后，把Betty的姐姐Hilda對她說的一句話送給大家：You’re living your dream, and I’m so proud of you. 人生，即使生得不美麗，即使世界不完美，也總需要相信美好。

（文/Helen Luo）