VOA标准英语2009年-Pop Icon's Death, New Star's Unexpecte

The death of a 'king' and the birth of a star are just two events which shaped this year's pop music landscape.

Ray McDonald | Washington 23 December 2009

April 11, 2009: 48-year-old Susan Boyle first appeared on the TV show Britain's Got Talent,  delivering a jaw-droppingly good performance of "I Dreamed A Dream," from the Broadway musical Les Miserables. The unemployed¹ church volunteer from Blackburn, Scotland, who lives alone with her cat, promptly² became the unlikeliest star of the year.
   
Susan's date with destiny marks one of four high points in a year which saw violence and death impact the pop music community. 
  Rihanna's 'Rated R' CD

The first blow landed on the evening of February 8, when R&B star Rihanna cancelled her performance at the Grammy Awards ceremony. Reports soon surfaced about a physical altercation³ with her equally-famous boyfriend, singer Chris Brown.  Non-stop media coverage⁴ climaxed⁵ on June 22, when Chris Brown pleaded guilty to a charge of felony assault.  He received five years probation⁶, and was ordered to stay 45 meters away from Rihanna … unless both attend public events, when it's reduced to nine meters.

On November 23, Rihanna released an angry, edgy⁷ album, titled Rated R, while two weeks later, Chris Brown responded with his third album, Graffiti.  Rihanna's disc opened in fourth place on the US chart, while Chris had to settle for a seventh-place debut⁸.

Susan Boyle's' I Dreamed a Dream' CD

In a pop landscape defined largely by image, Susan Boyle stands as the ultimate outsider. On April 11, audience members openly laughed at the frumpy 48-year-old as she introduced herself on the Britain's Got Talent TV show. Her performance of "I Dreamed A Dream" left many in tears, while becoming the year's most-watched video clip on YouTube. It attracted more than 120 million viewings, helping⁹ Susan become the fastest-selling debut artist in UK music history.  In its first month, her album, also titled I Dreamed A Dream, has sold a reported five million copies worldwide.

AP
Michael Jackson delivers speech to fans during "Fan Appreciation¹⁰ Day" event in Tokyo (2007 file)

Two months after welcoming Susan Boyle, the world bade farewell to one of the few acts worthy¹¹ of the term "superstar."  On June 25, Michael Jackson suffered cardiac arrest at his rented mansion¹² in Los Angeles.  The 50-year-old "King Of Pop" was declared dead at 2:26 P.M. local time.  An unofficial global audience of one billion watched his July 7 memorial service.  The Los Angeles County Coroner declared Michael Jackson's death a homicide, caused by a combination of powerful drugs in his system.  At the center of the investigation¹³ is Michael Jackson's personal physician, Conrad Murray, who has yet to be charged with a crime.

The fourth defining event of 2009 involved two stars, one statuette, and an audience of millions.  On September 13, Taylor Swift began her acceptance speech, after winning Best Female Video honors at the MTV Video Music Awards.  Rapper Kanye West suddenly stepped onstage, snatched the award from her hands, and began extolling¹⁴ the virtues¹⁵ of Taylor's competitor Beyonce.  The act triggered outraged¹⁶ condemnation¹⁷ from all quarters, including The White House.  In an off-the-record comment, President Barack Obama called Kanye West a "jackass."  Kanye promptly apologized to Taylor Swift and went into hiding, while the teenaged singer became the year's best-selling musical artist.
  Taylor Swift's 'Fearless' CD

Taylor's Fearless album has sold just under three million copies in 2009 … exceptional numbers in an ever-dwindling record market beset¹⁸ by file sharing, worldwide piracy¹⁹, and the international recession.  Here in the United States, stand-alone record stores have given way to such alternatives as digital downloading … which now accounts for about 20 percent of all recorded music sales.

While new acts such as Lady Gaga and Adam Lambert compete for market share, several prominent US artists left us in 2009.  Gone are electric guitar pioneer Les Paul; jazz singer Blossom Dearie; female blues²⁰ singer Koko Taylor; jazz bassist Wayman Tisdale; guitarist Ron Asheton of the pioneering punk-rock band The Stooges; Estelle Bennett of the legendary²¹ girl group The Ronettes; singer-songwriter Jay Bennett of the band Wilco; Mary Travers, of the folk trio Peter, Paul, and Mary; poet and rock singer Jim Carroll; and DJ AM, who survived a fiery²² 2008 plane crash with Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker. 
 Lady GaGa's 'The Fame' CD

With her outlandish videos and dance-friendly singles, Lady Gaga stormed this year's music market.  Although she's ineligible²³ for a Best New Artist Grammy Award, having received a nomination²⁴ in 2008, she's undoubtedly²⁵ the highest-profile newcomer of the year.
 

1 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

2 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

3 altercation   

n.争吵，争论

参考例句：

• Throughout the entire altercation,not one sensible word was uttered.争了半天，没有一句话是切合实际的。
• The boys had an altercation over the umpire's decision.男孩子们对裁判的判决颇有争议。

4 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

5 climaxed   

vt.& vi.达到顶点（climax的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The demonstration climaxed two weeks of strikes. 游行示威将持续了两周的罢工推向了高潮。 来自辞典例句
• His election to the presidency climaxed his political career. 他的当选为总统使他的政治生涯达到最高峰。 来自辞典例句

6 probation   

n.缓刑(期)，(以观后效的)察看；试用(期)

参考例句：

• The judge did not jail the young man,but put him on probation for a year.法官没有把那个年轻人关进监狱，而且将他缓刑察看一年。
• His salary was raised by 800 yuan after his probation.试用期满以后，他的工资增加了800元。

7 edgy   

adj.不安的；易怒的

参考例句：

• She's been a bit edgy lately,waiting for the exam results.她正在等待考试结果，所以最近有些焦躁不安。
• He was nervous and edgy, still chain-smoking.他紧张不安，还在一根接一根地抽着烟。

8 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。

9 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

10 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

11 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

12 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。

13 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

14 extolling   

v.赞美( extoll的现在分词 )；赞颂，赞扬，赞美( extol的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He never stops extolling the virtues of the free market. 他不停地颂扬自由市场的种种好处。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They kept extolling my managerial skills. 他们不停地赞美我的管理技能。 来自辞典例句

15 virtues   

美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处

参考例句：

• Doctors often extol the virtues of eating less fat. 医生常常宣扬少吃脂肪的好处。
• She delivered a homily on the virtues of family life. 她进行了一场家庭生活美德方面的说教。

16 outraged   

a.震惊的，义愤填膺的

参考例句：

• Members of Parliament were outraged by the news of the assassination. 议会议员们被这暗杀的消息激怒了。
• He was outraged by their behavior. 他们的行为使他感到愤慨。

17 condemnation   

n.谴责; 定罪

参考例句：

• There was widespread condemnation of the invasion. 那次侵略遭到了人们普遍的谴责。
• The jury's condemnation was a shock to the suspect. 陪审团宣告有罪使嫌疑犯大为震惊。

18 beset   

v.镶嵌；困扰，包围

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。
• The plan was beset with difficulties from the beginning.这项计划自开始就困难重重。

19 piracy   

n.海盗行为，剽窃，著作权侵害

参考例句：

• The government has already adopted effective measures against piracy.政府已采取有效措施惩治盗版行为。
• They made the place a notorious centre of piracy.他们把这地方变成了臭名昭著的海盗中心。

20 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

21 legendary   

adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学）

参考例句：

• Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
• Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。

22 fiery   

adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的

参考例句：

• She has fiery red hair.她有一头火红的头发。
• His fiery speech agitated the crowd.他热情洋溢的讲话激动了群众。

23 ineligible   

adj.无资格的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The new rules have made thousands more people ineligible for legal aid.新规定使另外数千人不符合接受法律援助的资格。
• The country had been declared ineligible for World Bank lending.这个国家已被宣布没有资格获得世界银行的贷款。

24 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

25 undoubtedly   

adv.确实地，无疑地

参考例句：

• It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。
• He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。