司法四等
105年
[執達員] 法學知識與英文(包括中華民國憲法、法學緒論、英文)
第 48 題
📖 題組：
Mickey Mouse, the official mascot of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the most recognizable cartoon characters in the world. Yet, few people know that it was created as a replacement for Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, an earlier cartoon character created by the Disney studio for Charles Mintz of Universal Studios. In the spring of 1928, with the series going strong, Disney asked Mintz for an increase in the budget. But Mintz instead demanded that Walt take a 20 percent budget cut, and as leverage, he reminded Disney that Universal owned the character, and revealed that he had already signed most of Disney’s current employees to his new contract. Mintz owned Oswald and thought he had Disney over a barrel. Angrily, Disney refused the deal and returned to produce the final Oswald cartoons he contractually owed Mintz. Disney was dismayed at the betrayal by his staff, but determined to restart from scratch. The new Disney Studio soon started. In the spring of 1928, Disney asked Ub Iwerks to start drawing up new character ideas. Iwerks tried sketches of various animals, such as dogs and cats, but none of these appealed to Disney. A female cow and male horse were also rejected. Then, Walt Disney thought of an old pet mouse he used to have on his farm. He asked Iwerks to draw a new mouse character for Disney. “Mortimer Mouse” had been Disney’s original name for the character before his wife, Lillian, convinced him to change it, and ultimately Mickey Mouse came to be. Actor Mickey Rooney has claimed that, during his Mickey McGuire days, he met cartoonist Walt Disney at the Warner Brothers studio, and that Disney was inspired to name Mickey Mouse after him.
Mickey Mouse, the official mascot of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the most recognizable cartoon characters in the world. Yet, few people know that it was created as a replacement for Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, an earlier cartoon character created by the Disney studio for Charles Mintz of Universal Studios. In the spring of 1928, with the series going strong, Disney asked Mintz for an increase in the budget. But Mintz instead demanded that Walt take a 20 percent budget cut, and as leverage, he reminded Disney that Universal owned the character, and revealed that he had already signed most of Disney’s current employees to his new contract. Mintz owned Oswald and thought he had Disney over a barrel. Angrily, Disney refused the deal and returned to produce the final Oswald cartoons he contractually owed Mintz. Disney was dismayed at the betrayal by his staff, but determined to restart from scratch. The new Disney Studio soon started. In the spring of 1928, Disney asked Ub Iwerks to start drawing up new character ideas. Iwerks tried sketches of various animals, such as dogs and cats, but none of these appealed to Disney. A female cow and male horse were also rejected. Then, Walt Disney thought of an old pet mouse he used to have on his farm. He asked Iwerks to draw a new mouse character for Disney. “Mortimer Mouse” had been Disney’s original name for the character before his wife, Lillian, convinced him to change it, and ultimately Mickey Mouse came to be. Actor Mickey Rooney has claimed that, during his Mickey McGuire days, he met cartoonist Walt Disney at the Warner Brothers studio, and that Disney was inspired to name Mickey Mouse after him.
What does “he had Disney over a barrel” mean in the first paragraph?
- A He had Disney under his control.
- B He made Disney feel relieved.
- C He had inspired Disney.
- D He had irritated Disney.
思路引導 VIP
請觀察 Mintz 在提出要求前，他對 Disney 揭露了哪些關於「版權」與「員工合約」的事實？當一個人手裡握有這些能讓對方一無所有的籌碼時，這兩人的談判地位發生了什麼樣的變化？
🤖
AI 詳解
AI 專屬家教
太棒了！你的觀察力非常敏銳
- 觀念驗證：這題考查的是上下文語意推論。文章提到 Mintz 掌握了 Oswald 的版權，並私下挖走了 Disney 的員工（leverage，即籌碼）。在這種「對方掌握所有關鍵資源，而你無路可退」的權力結構下，Mintz 顯然處於主導地位。因此，"have someone over a barrel" 意指讓對方陷入困境，不得不聽從擺佈。
- 難度點評：本題難度為 Medium。此片語雖屬道地俚語，但只要你能精準連結前文提到的「合約威脅」與「員工背叛」，就能從兩人的互動邏輯中推導出「控制」的含意，展現了良好的閱讀理解力！