VOA标准英语2014--Top 5 Songs for Week Ending Sept. 13

 

Top 5 Songs for Week Ending Sept. 13

We’re rolling out the five most popular songs in the Billboard¹ Hot 100 pop singles chart, for the week ending September 13, 2014.

Another fast-rising title crashes into the lineup this week.  Let’s begin in fifth place, where Sam Smith retreats a slot with “Stay With Me.” Back home in the U.K., Sam is on a roll… he reclaims² top honors on the album chart with In The Lonely Hour, while announcing a string of additional tour dates for 2015. They’ll keep him on the road into June.

Here’s your fast riser: Jessie J is back in countdown contention³, as “Bang Bang” featuring Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj jumps five slots to fourth place. Their recent TV appearance is paying dividends⁴. On August 24, the three women opened the MTV Video Music Award show with the song, and it’s paid off: “Bang Bang” is now a Top Five hit. Jessie’s third album Sweet Talker hits the market on October 14. It will be her second Stateside release.

As for Nicki Minaj, her Pinkprint album still lacks a release date, while her latest single “Anaconda” dips a slot to number three. Nicki had a hard upbringing. Speaking with Now Magazine, Nicki said her childhood in Trinidad and New York City was filled with abuse: her father was a drug addict⁵ who once set their house on fire with her mother inside.

Meghan Trainor is back on the attack, as “All About That Bass” returns to the runner-up slot. Meghan’s already a music vet⁶!  At age 18, she signed a songwriting contract and moved to Nashville - among her clients were Sabrina Carpenter and Rascal⁷ Flatts. She co-wrote “All About That Bass” with Grammy-nominated producer Kevin Kadish, and after hearing Meghan’s own demo version of the song, record mogul L.A. Reid signed her to his Epic⁸ label. Meghan’s EP Title arrived on September 9.

No changes at number one: Taylor Swift is your girl for a second week with “Shake It Off.” Is Taylor involved in a high-profile feud⁹? Speaking with Rolling Stone Magazine, Taylor says she’s “straight-up enemies” with another female singer. She says this person used to make mean comments to her and attempted to sabotage¹⁰ a tour. It’s the subject of a song called “Bad Blood” - and media outlets¹¹ are speculating it may be about Katy Perry. On September 9, Katy went on Twitter to warn about an unnamed “mean girl” - who knows where this is headed?

1 billboard   

n.布告板，揭示栏，广告牌

参考例句：

• He ploughed his energies into his father's billboard business.他把精力投入到父亲的广告牌业务中。
• Billboard spreads will be simpler and more eye-catching.广告牌广告会比较简单且更引人注目。

2 reclaims   

v.开拓( reclaim的第三人称单数 )；要求收回；从废料中回收（有用的材料）；挽救

参考例句：

• Society reclaims criminals by teaching them skills. 社会通过教给罪犯技能来改造他们。 来自辞典例句
• When next collecting comes, garbage collector reclaims its memory. 等下一轮回收时，垃圾回收器才会将其回收。 来自互联网

3 contention   

n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张

参考例句：

• The pay increase is the key point of contention. 加薪是争论的焦点。
• The real bone of contention,as you know,is money.你知道，争论的真正焦点是钱的问题。

4 dividends   

红利( dividend的名词复数 )； 股息； 被除数； （足球彩票的）彩金

参考例句：

• Nothing pays richer dividends than magnanimity. 没有什么比宽宏大量更能得到厚报。
• Their decision five years ago to computerise the company is now paying dividends. 五年前他们作出的使公司电脑化的决定现在正产生出效益。

5 addict   

v.使沉溺；使上瘾；n.沉溺于不良嗜好的人

参考例句：

• He became gambling addict,and lost all his possessions.他习染上了赌博，最终输掉了全部家产。
• He assisted a drug addict to escape from drug but failed firstly.一开始他帮助一个吸毒者戒毒但失败了。

6 vet   

n.兽医，退役军人；vt.检查

参考例句：

• I took my dog to the vet.我把狗带到兽医诊所看病。
• Someone should vet this report before it goes out.这篇报道发表之前应该有人对它进行详查。

7 rascal   

n.流氓；不诚实的人

参考例句：

• If he had done otherwise,I should have thought him a rascal.如果他不这样做，我就认为他是个恶棍。
• The rascal was frightened into holding his tongue.这坏蛋吓得不敢往下说了。

8 epic   

n.史诗，叙事诗；adj.史诗般的，壮丽的

参考例句：

• I gave up my epic and wrote this little tale instead.我放弃了写叙事诗，而写了这个小故事。
• They held a banquet of epic proportions.他们举行了盛大的宴会。

9 feud   

n.长期不和；世仇；v.长期争斗；世代结仇

参考例句：

• How did he start his feud with his neighbor?他是怎样和邻居开始争吵起来的？
• The two tribes were long at feud with each other.这两个部族长期不和。

10 sabotage   

n.怠工，破坏活动，破坏；v.从事破坏活动，妨害，破坏

参考例句：

• They tried to sabotage my birthday party.他们企图破坏我的生日晚会。
• The fire at the factory was caused by sabotage.那家工厂的火灾是有人蓄意破坏引起的。

11 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》