VOA标准英语2014--截至5月3日本周榜单TOP5

 

Top 5 Countdown for Week Ending May 3 截至5月3日本周榜单TOP5

We’re counting down the five most popular songs on the Billboard¹ Hot 100 pop singles chart, for the week ending May 3, 2014.

Movement! We get movement in this week’s lineup!  Granted, it’s just two songs shifting places, but at this point we'll take what we can get.

We start with Idina Menzel, still mired² in fifth place with “Let It Go.” This track carries special meaning for the songwriters. Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez dedicated³ “Let It Go” to their daughters, Katie and Annie - who both had roles in Frozen. The song took an Academy Award for Best Song - giving Robert Lopez a coveted⁴ EGOT: Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Awards.

Dropping a notch⁵ is Katy Perry, who may have a new boyfriend. Katy backs off a slot to fourth place with her former champ “Dark Horse,” featuring Juicy J of the group Three 6 Mafia. On April 24, Katy hit the town in New York City with dance producer Diplo. The following night, she attended a birthday party where Diplo was DJ-ing. They reportedly first got together a couple weeks ago at the Coachella Festival in California.

Rising a slot to third place is Jason Derulo, with “Talk Dirty” featuring 2 Chainz. Jason says his new album was therapy after he nearly died.  In 2012, he sustained a neck injury which almost left him paralyzed and could have been fatal. Jason says after cancelling his world tour, he hit the recording⁶ studio as therapy. He says having no deadlines enabled him to work himself out of any post-injury depression. The new album - also titled Talk Dirty - arrived on April 15.

John Legend remains⁷ in the runner-up slot with “All Of Me.” And he's moving into movies. John's reportedly tapped Cary Fukunaga to direct a big-screen adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography The Black Count. John, his manager, Troy Carter, and Sony’s Josh Bratman will executive produce the project.

Another week, another championship for Pharrell Williams, as “Happy” holds first place for a ninth go-round. Pharrell says it wasn’t an easy song to write. He wrote it specifically for the animated⁸ movie Despicable Me 2. Pharrell told National Public Radio that he created seven to nine different songs to fit its scene, and credits the movie studio with spurring him to do better each time.

Will next week’s lineup hold some surprises? Join us in seven days and we’ll find out together.

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 mired   

abbr.microreciprocal degree 迈尔德（色温单位）v.深陷( mire的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The country was mired in recession. 这个国家陷入了经济衰退的困境。
• The most brilliant leadership can be mired in detail. 最有才干的领导也会陷于拘泥琐事的困境中。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

4 coveted   

adj.令人垂涎的；垂涎的，梦寐以求的v.贪求，觊觎(covet的过去分词)；垂涎；贪图

参考例句：

• He had long coveted the chance to work with a famous musician. 他一直渴望有机会与著名音乐家一起工作。
• Ther other boys coveted his new bat. 其他的男孩都想得到他的新球棒。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 notch   

n.(V字形)槽口，缺口，等级

参考例句：

• The peanuts they grow are top-notch.他们种的花生是拔尖的。
• He cut a notch in the stick with a sharp knife.他用利刃在棒上刻了一个凹痕。

6 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

7 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

8 animated   

adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的

参考例句：

• His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
• We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。