VOA标准英语2015--Top 5 Songs for Week Ending April 25

Top 5 Songs for Week Ending April 25

We’re getting busy with the five most popular songs in the Billboard¹ Hot 100 Pop Singles chart, for the week ending April 25, 2015.

Big things are happening in the hit list this week.

Let’s begin in fifth place, where Ed Sheeran holds steady with “Thinking Out Loud.”  Ed says he’s already in talks with the producers of the hit TV show Game Of Thrones to shoot a guest role. He tells the London Sun that he’s determined² to score at least a cameo appearance. Ed has an ally on the inside: he and Maisie Williams, who portrays³ heroine Arya Stark⁴, became friends on Twitter.

We get a new song this week! New Jersey⁵ rapper Fetty Wap breaks into the lineup in fourth place, as “Trap Queen” jumps two slots to fourth place. This is the first hit record for Lyor Cohen’s 300 Entertainment label. Lyor’s a hip-hop veteran, having led Def Jam Recordings⁶ and the Warner Music Group.

Maroon⁷ 5 steps back a slot to number three with “Sugar.” When it comes to self-promotion, lead singer Adam Levine is no slouch.  Levine, also a team leader on the U.S. edition of The Voice,  brought his band onstage last week to perform this song before a national audience.

Here’s where the big change comes: Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars end their 14-week championship run, as “Uptown Funk” falls to second place. Mark grew up around hit songs… Hits come naturally to Mark: his stepfather, Mick Jones, co-founded the rock band Foreigner, and wrote the mega-hit “I Want To Know What Love Is” for Mark’s mother.

Everybody, give it up for your new number one song! Wiz Khalifa jumps nine notches⁸ to first place with “See You Again” featuring breakout YouTube star Charlie Puth. It carries a sad back-story: A soundtrack hit from the film Furious 7, it pays tribute to actor Paul Walker, who died at age 40 in a 2013 car crash.

So there you go: a new lineup featuring a new champion. Will Wiz and Charlie extend their lead? We'll find out next week!

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 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

3 portrays   

v.画像( portray的第三人称单数 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• The museum collection vividly portrays the heritage of 200 years of canals. 博物馆的藏品让运河200 年的历史再现眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The film portrays Gandhi as a kind of superman. 这部电影把甘地描绘成一个超人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

5 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

6 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

7 maroon   

v.困住，使（人）处于孤独无助之境；n.逃亡黑奴；孤立的人；酱紫色，褐红色；adj.酱紫色的，褐红色的

参考例句：

• Five couples were marooned in their caravans when the River Avon broke its banks.埃文河决堤的时候，有5对夫妇被困在了他们的房车里。
• Robinson Crusoe has been marooned on a desert island for 26 years.鲁滨逊在荒岛上被困了26年。

8 notches   

n.（边缘或表面上的）V型痕迹( notch的名词复数 )；刻痕；水平；等级

参考例句：

• The Indians cut notches on a stick to keep count of numbers. 印第安人在棒上刻V形凹痕用来计数。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• They cut notches in the handle of their pistol for each man they shot. 他们每杀一个人就在枪托上刻下一个V形记号。 来自辞典例句