All that glitters is not gold 虛有其表

Maria Sharapova is making lots of money! The 19-year-old tennis star is second in the 2006 Women's Tennis Association Tour rankings. Sharapova is a very talented player who wins competitions. But her career also helps her earn money in another way.

Like many sports stars, Maria signs agreements with big companies. These agreements are called endorsements. She agrees to use a company's products so that her fans and the public will want to buy them.

She signed a lifetime deal with tennis racket and apparel company Prince last year for a reported US$25 million (NT$815 million). She also endorses Tropicana, Canon, Colgate, Nike, Tag Heuer, Land Rover and others. Her yearly income from endorsements, appearance fees, prize money and other sources is believed to be about US$30 million (NT$978 million).

If the companies see their stars use a rival companies products they get very angry.

So next time you see famous people using a product, just remember — they often get paid a lot of money to do so, so think twice before you rush out and buy it.

(Catherine Thomas,staff writer)

瑪麗亞．莎拉波娃賺很多錢！這名十九歲的網球選手在二○○六年女子網球協會巡迴賽中排名第二。莎拉波娃是非常有天份的選手，贏得過許多比賽，而她的職業也幫助她在其他方面獲利。

瑪麗亞和許多運動明星一樣，與大廠牌簽合約，這些合約叫「代言」，她同意使用一個公司的產品，讓她的球迷和社會大眾也想購買這些產品。

去年她跟網球拍以及成衣公司「王子」以據報兩千五百萬美元（新台幣八億一千五百萬元）的金額簽下終身合約。她還代言純品康納、佳能、高露潔、耐吉、豪雅錶、路華以及其他廠牌。一年來自品牌代言、出席費、獎金和其他來源的收入，據估約三千萬美元（新台幣九億七千八百萬元）。

廠商如果看到他們的明星使用競爭對手的產品，他們會非常生氣。

下次你看到名人在使用一樣產品，記得，他們通常拿了大把鈔票，在衝動購買這項產品前，請三思而後行。

（翻譯︰鄭湘儀）