Beckham Unwrapped

Beckham Unwrapped

You know you've made it when you're 1)baited by world leaders, copied by 2)doyens of fashion and adored by fans worldwide, throw in a celebrity¹ romance, marriage and children, the drama of physical injury and 3)astronomical² earning capacity and you'll have some understanding of the person and product that is David Beckham. And by the way, he plays football as though with the wings of angels on his feet.

Born May 2 in 1975 in Leytonstone London, football's smiling 4)assassin brought many a goalkeeper to his knees, even at the age of 11 when he won the 5)Bobby Charlton Soccer skills award. The famous smiles continued when he was signed with world famous Manchester United as a trainee³ in 1991 and debuted⁵ the following year. Less than a year later with an FA Youth Cup under his belt, Beckham was a grinning professional with the mighty⁶ Man U for whom he dreamed of playing as a boy.  

Before long his deadly accurate and powerful kicking 6)etched itself into the consciousness of opponents and fans alike. Beckham had arrived and took home the hardware to prove it: the FA Cup, Premier⁷ League Cup and Charity Shield in one fell 7)swoop⁸, already the fans were in love. Here was a rough diamond with a 8)cheeky grin, raw talent and wide-eyed innocence⁹, he was drop-dead gorgeous but when he opened his mouth which was rarely, his non-descript working class background was on show for all to see. Still Beckham was on his way to conquering the world.

Beckham's teammate in real life is real pop-star Victoria Lee Adams, also known as Posh Spice, the supposedly classy one, she chirped¹⁰ her way to fame with Baby, Scary, Sporty and Ginger¹¹. Becs had seen her in a Spice Girls' video clip and later said he had to meet the one with the 9)bob and the short skirt. Four months later they were expecting. 10)Paparazzi followed Becs and Posh everywhere. 11)Tabloids had to pay one and half million dollars US however for wedding snaps of Britain's new royalty¹³ who moved into a mansion¹⁴ near London nicknamed of course "Beckingham Palace." Their marriage in July 1999 followed the birth of son Brooklyn in March, with his name an interesting choice after conception in Brooklyn New York. Five years after buying Posh a 65 thousand US dollar engagement ring, the quiet lad with 12)lanky¹⁵ hair has morphed into the 13)epitome¹⁶ of style, charm and political correctness. Victoria's influence has been enormous giving him confidence in the limelight off field as well as on. She's widely regarded as the driving force in his transformation¹⁷ to marketable new millennium¹⁸ man and together they're amongst the world's most influential¹⁹ trend-setters. She's genuinely the couple's spokesperson and he lets his wife, his football and his smile do the talking, except on special occasions. "It's a boy, Romeo," a beaming David Beckham told reporters. "It's just a name we love," the England captain said brimming with pride and easy confidence he was announcing the birth in 2002 of a second Beckham son named after Shakespeare's famous tragic²⁰ character.

While her husband has scaled the heights under Victoria's firm and some would say protective guidance, her own career has wilted²¹. Solo musical releases, a catwalk debut⁴ and an autobiography²² have received 14)lukewarm critical responses frustrating²³ the 15)starlet spoilt by Spice success. After the birth of Romeo David says he discussed retirement²⁴ with Victoria. His parents were divorcing, his relationship with Manchester United's manager had deteriorated²⁵ and two plots to kidnap Victoria and their children had been discovered and 16)thwarted. With Victoria's support he changed his mind, recalling his love for the game and for captaining the English side. So Beckham kicked on with the names of his sons on his boots.

17)Dubbed "world's most romantic couple", in a Cable Network poll, Posh and Becs have an incredibly strong bond. They've resisted the temptation to hire a nanny to look after their boys and retained a mostly practical slant²⁸ on life despite the public 18)adulation. As one journalist put it, five years on it's proved a celebrity coupling made in heaven.

So the boy becomes a man. The man plays football, captains his country, marries his princess of pop, pays a lot for clothes and haircuts, curls plenty of super strikes into the net, overcomes injury, copes with constant media intrusion, works for charity and has the respect of men, women and children around the world. It sounds too good to be true, but it's not, for the time being at least this is the life of David Robert Joseph Beckham, Becs for short.

注释：
1) bait [ beit ] v. 以饵引诱
2) doyen [5dCiEn] n. 资格最老者，地位最高的人
3) astronomical [AstrE5nRmikEl] a. 极巨大的
4) assassin [E5sAsin] n. 暗杀者
5) Bobby Charlton 鲍比·查尔顿，英格兰前著名球星，他主办了一所以自己名字命名的足球学校
6) etch [etF] v. 把……铭刻（在心灵或记忆中）
7) swoop [swu:p] n. 飞扑。in one fell swoop，一下子，一举
8) cheeky [5tFi:ki] a. 厚颜无耻的
9) bob [ bCb ] n. 短发
10) paparazzo [7pa:pa:5ra:tsC:] n. 复数形式为paparazzi, （意大利）专门追逐名人偷拍照片的摄影者（或记者）
11) tabloid¹² [5tAblCid] n. 小报
12) lanky [5lANki] a. 过分瘦长的
13) epitome [i5pitEmi] n. 缩影
14) lukewarm [5lju:kwC:m] a. 不热情的
15) starlet [5stB:lit] n. 小明星
16) thwart²⁶ [WwC:t] v. 挫败
17) dub²⁷ [dQb] v. （以某种称号）授与
18) adulation [7Adju5leiFEn] n. 奉承

足球王子贝克汉姆

    如果，世界领导人追捧你，时尚人士模仿你，全世界的球迷崇拜你；并且，你与某位明星有过一场风花雪业的爱情，然后结婚生子；还有，你经受住了戏剧性的受伤，所赚的收入是天文数字的话，你就能明白大卫·贝克汉姆的感受了。顺便说一句，他踢起足球来就好像脚上长了一对天使的翅膀。
    1975年5月2日，贝克汉姆出生于伦敦莱顿斯通，他的迷人微笑一度使许多守门员都无法抵挡。甚至还在十一岁的时候，他就赢得了“鲍比·查尔顿足球技能挑战赛”冠军。这招牌式的微笑一直伴随着他，1991年与世界著名的曼联队签约，成为曼联青年队球员，第二年便初露锋芒。不到一年时间，他便赢得了“足总青年杯”冠军。儿时便梦想效力曼联的他，此时也已成为强大的曼联队一名经验老到的职业球员。
    不久，他准确的命中率和有力的踢球给对手们和球迷们都留下了深刻的印象。贝克汉姆所取得的奖杯足以证明这一切：他一举拿下了英格兰足总杯，英超联赛以及慈善盾杯，球迷疯狂地爱上了他。贝克汉姆就像一颗待雕琢的钻石，带着自信的微笑，与生俱来的才华和满眼的天真。他是如此优雅迷人，可是，一旦他开口说话，他那罕有的、不值一提的工人阶级的家庭背景就被所有人看得清清楚楚。然而贝克汉姆继续在征服世界。
    贝克汉姆在现实生活中的队友是真正的娱乐明星维多利亚·李·亚当姆斯，众所周知的“高贵辣妹”，“ 辣妹合唱团”中优雅的一位，与“宝贝辣妹”、“ 疯狂辣妹”、“运动辣妹”和“姜汁辣妹”一起闯出了自己的名声。小贝有一次看到“辣妹合唱团”的广告片后说，他得见见那个留短发、穿短裙的辣妹。四个月后，他们见面了。狗仔队四处追逐着贝克汉姆和“辣妹”维多利亚。一些小报得付五十万美元来买他们的结婚照，而这一对英伦新贵入住伦敦近郊的一座公寓，外界戏称其为“贝金汉宫”。他们于1999年7月结婚，次年3月便喜得贵子布鲁克林，这个有趣的名字是根据纽约布鲁克林区而得名的。当初贝克汉姆花了65000美元为“辣妹”维多利亚买下一枚订婚戒指，5年以后，这个一头长发的安静的年轻人成为有着正确政治倾向的时尚和魅力的代言人。维多利亚的影响给了他巨大的信心，使他无论是在球场内外都成为引人注目的中心。贝克汉姆转变成为人见人爱的新千年好男人，维多利亚功不可没，他们俩也双双成为世界上最有影响力的时尚潮流大师。维多利亚当然是发言人，而贝克汉姆则让妻子、足球和微笑来说明一切，只有特别场合例外。“是个男孩，叫罗密欧，”喜气洋洋的大卫·贝克汉姆告诉记者说。“我们都很喜欢这个名字，”说话时，这位英格兰足球队队长的脸上洋溢着自豪和自信--此时此刻正是2002年，当贝克汉姆宣布他的次子出生，并以莎士比亚的著名悲剧人物为其命名时。
    当丈夫贝克汉姆在维多利亚的影响下（或者有人说保护性的指导下）事业蒸蒸日上时，她自己的事业却江河日下。个人专辑、初试模特以及自传都反应平平，使得这位当年荣耀一时的辣妹明星备受挫折。罗密欧出生后，大卫说他曾和维多利亚商量退隐。当时，贝克汉姆的父母离婚，他与曼联的经理关系恶化，还有两起策划绑架维多利亚和孩子们的阴谋事件败露未遂。在维多利亚的支持下，他改变了想法，重新燃起了对足球的激情，并担任了英格兰足球队队长。他穿着印有孩子们的名字的球鞋继续踢球。
    在有线电视网的一次名为“世界上最浪漫的夫妻”的民意测验中，贝克汉姆和“辣妹”维多利亚得票最高。他们抵受住了雇佣一名保姆来照看孩子们的诱惑，除了公众媒体的誉美之辞外，他们够着一种最实际的生活。正如一名记者指出，5年时间，足够证明这一对名人夫妇是天作之合。
    昔日的小男孩已长大成人。他踢足球，率领国家队出征，与明星公主结婚，将大笔钱花在衣着和发型上，踢出了无数个绝顶漂亮的进球，克服了受伤、常与不请自来的媒体合作，乐心慈善事业，赢得了全世界的男人、女人和孩子们的尊重。这听起来像天方夜谭，但这的确是真的，这至少是大卫·罗伯特·约瑟夫·贝克汉姆的真实生活，简称“小贝”。

 

1 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

2 astronomical   

adj.天文学的，（数字）极大的

参考例句：

• He was an expert on ancient Chinese astronomical literature.他是研究中国古代天文学文献的专家。
• Houses in the village are selling for astronomical prices.乡村的房价正在飙升。

3 trainee   

n.受训练者

参考例句：

• The trainee checked out all right on his first flight.受训者第一次飞行完全合格。
• Few of the trainee footballers make it to the top.足球受训人员中没有几个能达到顶级水平。

4 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

5 debuted   

初次表演，初次登台（debut的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• In late 2003 a full-size SUV, the Pathfinder Armada, debuted. 2003年末，全尺寸SUV的探路者无敌舰队，推出。
• The album debuted at number two and quickly went platinum. 专辑一亮相就荣登排行榜第二名，很快就取得了白金销量。

6 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

7 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

8 swoop   

n.俯冲，攫取；v.抓取，突然袭击

参考例句：

• The plane made a swoop over the city.那架飞机突然向这座城市猛降下来。
• We decided to swoop down upon the enemy there.我们决定突袭驻在那里的敌人。

9 innocence   

n.无罪；天真；无害

参考例句：

• There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。
• The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。

10 chirped   

鸟叫，虫鸣( chirp的过去式 )

参考例句：

• So chirped fiber gratings have broad reflection bandwidth. 所以chirped光纤光栅具有宽的反射带宽，在反射带宽内具有渐变的群时延等其它类型的光纤光栅所不具备的特点。
• The crickets chirped faster and louder. 蟋蟀叫得更欢了。

11 ginger   

n.姜，精力，淡赤黄色；adj.淡赤黄色的；vt.使活泼，使有生气

参考例句：

• There is no ginger in the young man.这个年轻人没有精神。
• Ginger shall be hot in the mouth.生姜吃到嘴里总是辣的。

12 tabloid   

adj.轰动性的，庸俗的；n.小报，文摘

参考例句：

• He launched into a verbal assault on tabloid journalism.他口头对小报新闻进行了抨击。
• He believes that the tabloid press has behaved disgracefully.他认为小报媒体的行为不太光彩。

13 royalty   

n.皇家，皇族

参考例句：

• She claims to be descended from royalty.她声称她是皇室后裔。
• I waited on tables，and even catered to royalty at the Royal Albert Hall.我做过服务生， 甚至在皇家阿伯特大厅侍奉过皇室的人。

14 mansion   

n.大厦，大楼；宅第

参考例句：

• The old mansion was built in 1850.这座古宅建于1850年。
• The mansion has extensive grounds.这大厦四周的庭园广阔。

15 lanky   

adj.瘦长的

参考例句：

• He was six feet four,all lanky and leggy.他身高6英尺4英寸，瘦高个儿，大长腿。
• Tom was a lanky boy with long skinny legs.汤姆是一个腿很细的瘦高个儿。

16 epitome   

n.典型，梗概

参考例句：

• He is the epitome of goodness.他是善良的典范。
• This handbook is a neat epitome of everyday hygiene.这本手册概括了日常卫生的要点。

17 transformation   

n.变化；改造；转变

参考例句：

• Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
• He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。

18 millennium   

n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世

参考例句：

• The whole world was counting down to the new millennium.全世界都在倒计时迎接新千年的到来。
• We waited as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the old millennium.我们静候着时钟滴答走过千年的最后几秒钟。

19 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

20 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

21 wilted   

（使）凋谢，枯萎( wilt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The flowers wilted in the hot sun. 花在烈日下枯萎了。
• The romance blossomed for six or seven months, and then wilted. 那罗曼史持续六七个月之后就告吹了。

22 autobiography   

n.自传

参考例句：

• He published his autobiography last autumn.他去年秋天出版了自己的自传。
• His life story is recounted in two fascinating volumes of autobiography.这两卷引人入胜的自传小说详述了他的生平。

23 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

25 deteriorated   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her health deteriorated rapidly, and she died shortly afterwards. 她的健康状况急剧恶化，不久便去世了。
• His condition steadily deteriorated. 他的病情恶化，日甚一日。

26 thwart   

v.阻挠，妨碍，反对；adj.横(断的)

参考例句：

• We must thwart his malevolent schemes.我们决不能让他的恶毒阴谋得逞。
• I don't think that will thwart our purposes.我认为那不会使我们的目的受到挫折。

27 dub   

vt.（以某种称号）授予，给...起绰号，复制

参考例句：

• I intend to use simultaneous recording to dub this film.我打算采用同期录音的方法为这部影片配音。
• It was dubbed into Spanish for Mexican audiences.它被译制成西班牙语以方便墨西哥观众观看。

28 slant   

v.倾斜，倾向性地编写或报道；n.斜面，倾向

参考例句：

• The lines are drawn on a slant.这些线条被画成斜线。
• The editorial had an antiunion slant.这篇社论有一种反工会的倾向。