世界名人简介 第13期:滨崎步

 Ayumi Hamasaki, a.k.a. "Ayu", is dubbed¹ "the Empress of Japanese Pop". She is hugely popular in Japan and is one of the country’s few singers ever to become known overseas. She was born in 1978 on Japan’s southern island Kyushu. She moved to Tokyo when she was 14 because she wanted to become a superstar. After a brief spell as a model, she got into singing.

滨崎步（a.k.a.或"Ayu"）被称之为“日本流行音乐皇后”。她在日本大受欢迎，并且还是几位为数不多的日本国际巨星之一。1978年，她出生于日本南部的九州。她想成为超级巨星的梦想让她在14岁时搬到了东京。在进入流行音乐圈之前，她还有过短暂模特经历。

In 1998, she released several singles that did OK in the Japanese charts, but did not give her the fame she desired. Her 1999 debut² album ‘A Song for XX’ debuted³ at number one in the music charts and stayed there for four weeks in a row. Ayu had arrived and her adoring fans loved her. She quickly became an icon⁴ anda style sensation.

1998年，她发表了几张单曲，在日本公信榜的排名也算不错，但是还没有达到她预期的目标。1999年，她的首张个人专辑《A song for XX》排在了音乐榜单的第一名，并连续四周排名榜首。滨崎步的时代来临了，粉丝们非常喜爱她。不久，她就成为了偶像人物，并引领了自己的风格。

She has sold over 50 million records, making her one of Japan's best-selling singers ever. She holds the record for a Japanese female having the most number-one singles and for having a number-one single every year for ten consecutive⁵ years. Her music videos are the most extravagant⁶ and expensive ever made by a non-American.

她的专辑销量达到了5000万张，这使她成为了日本有史以来销量最好的歌手之一。她还保持着日本女歌拥有单曲排名第一最多的记录，她还能够连续十年都拥有一首排名第一的单曲。她的MV是除美国艺人以外制作经费最高，最华丽的。

In 2008, Hamasaki revealed that she had become totally deaf in one ear, and that her condition was permanent. Despite this setback⁷, she stated that she would continue singing. She told her fans that she would "not give up" on them, and that "as a professional", she would like to "deliver the best performance for everyone".

2008年，滨崎步称她一只耳朵永久性失聪。尽管遇上这样的挫折，但是她称她要继续唱歌。她告诉歌迷她不会放弃他们，作为职业歌手，她希望能够为所有人奉献最出色的表演。

1.best-selling 最畅销的

例句：he answer is that Drosnin, author of the best-selling "Bible Code" book series, claims he can see things in the Bible that no one else can.

答案在于这位最畅销的“圣经密码”系列图书的作者——卓思宁。 他声称只有他才可以在圣经中看到其他人所看不见的事情。

2.give up on 放弃

例句：He urged them not to give up on peace efforts.

他力劝他们不要对和平努力绝望。

3.in a row 连续

例句：Federal health officials won't go so far as to say that, but on Friday they reported for the fourth week in a row that no states had widespread flu activity.

联邦卫生官员不至于这样说，但是他们在星期五报道了连续第四个星期的情况，没有一个州有大范围传播的流感活动。

4.non-American 非美国人

例句：She is the only non-American in the top 10 of microblogging stardom.

她是世界微博粉丝前10名中唯一一个非美国人。

1 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》

2 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。

3 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。

4 icon   

n.偶像，崇拜的对象，画像

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• Click on this icon to align or justify text.点击这个图标使文本排齐。

5 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。

6 extravagant   

adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的

参考例句：

• They tried to please him with fulsome compliments and extravagant gifts.他们想用溢美之词和奢华的礼品来取悦他。
• He is extravagant in behaviour.他行为放肆。

7 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。