VOA标准英语2009-Michael Jackson Mourned in Britain Where Com

The death of Michael Jackson has been greeted with a heightened sense of sadness in Britain, where the "King of Pop" had planned to stage an ambitious series of 50 concerts as part of a long awaited comeback.
　
Fans of Michael Jackson bring flowers, pictures and candles at a makeshift memorial shrine¹ in central London's Trafalgar Square, 26 June 2009

Michael Jackson's 50-night run at London's O2 arena² was to have set a new course for the entertainer. The highly anticipated dates sold out almost immediately when tickets went on sale.

The lucrative³ shows would have re-launched his career and sorted out his money problems all in one fell swoop⁴.

But now, would be concert-goers await word on how the refund⁵ process will work.

Widely respected for his craft, his private life however over the past 15 years was muddied with allegations of child abuse while he suffered under the weight of a huge financial debt.
　
Michael Jackson on his 'Victory' tour in 1984

Despite his troubles, the death of the singer dubbed⁶ the "King of Pop" has been greeted with widespread sadness by statesmen, fellow superstars and ordinary people alike.

A spokesman for Gordon Brown says the prime minister's thoughts are with the singer's family at this difficult time.

Paul McCartney who recorded with Jackson before they had a falling out over the ownership of the Beatles music catalog says his prayers go out to the singer's family and fans. McCartney adds, he feels privileged to have worked with Michael, a person he describes as a massively talented individual with a gentle soul.

Elsewhere, music fans attending Britain's biggest festival this weekend at Glastonbury were shocked to hear the news.

"Yeah, very sad. Just very surprised , sort of thing we have gone through, a lot of people that have been here, sort of last evening, so yeah, very sad," said one fan.

For many here, few will forget where they were when they heard of Jackson's death.

"It is like quite a monumental event, like Elvis dying or JFK being shot or something and yeah, just completely stunned⁷ really, so I cannot really imagine a bigger kind of thing happening in my lifetime," said another concert-goer. "Like I cannot imagine a bigger kind of thing happening in my lifetime. Like I cannot imagine anyone who is more famous than Michael Jackson, like dying, which is going to have such a big effect."

In London's Trafalgar Square, fans planned a candlelight vigil under the backdrop of songs that made the singer famous.

1 shrine   

n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣

参考例句：

• The shrine was an object of pilgrimage.这处圣地是人们朝圣的目的地。
• They bowed down before the shrine.他们在神龛前鞠躬示敬。

2 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

3 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。

4 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。

5 refund   

v.退还，偿还；n.归还，偿还额，退款

参考例句：

• They demand a refund on unsatisfactory goods.他们对不满意的货品要求退款。
• We'll refund your money if you aren't satisfied.你若不满意，我们愿意退款给你。

6 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 stunned   

adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
• The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。