VOA标准英语2015--Top 5 Songs for Week Ending Feb. 28

Top 5 Songs for Week Ending Feb. 28

We’re partying with the five most popular songs in the Billboard¹ Hot 100 pop singles chart, for the week ending February 28, 2015.

This week, we greet a true musical legend. He’s just minutes away, but first Maroon² 5 steps back a slot to fifth place with “Sugar.”

On Sunday, the band was in Los Angeles performing at the Academy Awards. Adam Levine and company sang “Lost Stars,” from the movie Begin Again. It was nominated for Best Original Song, but lost to “Glory,” by John Legend and Common.

Now, as for that musical legend we mentioned: Paul McCartney turns up in our fourth-place song, “FourFiveSeconds,” along with Rihanna and Kanye West. It’s the lead single from Rihanna’s upcoming eighth album, which features Kanye as executive producer. We don’t have a release date yet, but it should be soon. Paul’s been away from the Top Five for a very long time… he hasn’t cracked the U.S. Top Five since 1983, when he and Michael Jackson topped the Hot 100 with “Say Say Say.”

It’s all a bit of an anti-climax from here, we're afraid. Good ol’ Hozier remains³ in third place with “Take Me To Church", which has hit number one in 12 countries, including Austria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Lebanon, Poland, and Switzerland.

Ed Sheeran spends another week in second place with “Thinking Out Loud.” On February 25, he was at the BRIT Awards, where picked up two trophies⁴. Ed won the coveted⁵ Best British Male Solo Artist and British Album awards. After that he flew to the Middle East and India before touring Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. One week’s rest…and then he hits South America!

Up at number one, it’s a lucky seventh week and counting for Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars with “Uptown Funk.” This single is topping charts the world over, but there’s one place you’ll never hear Mark sing… He told the New York Post that while the song’s a hit, he knows his own voice is terrible…and he won’t even sing in the shower.

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 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。

3 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。

4 trophies   

n.（为竞赛获胜者颁发的）奖品( trophy的名词复数 )；奖杯；（尤指狩猎或战争中获得的）纪念品；（用于比赛或赛跑名称）奖

参考例句：

• His football trophies were prominently displayed in the kitchen. 他的足球奖杯陈列在厨房里显眼的位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The hunter kept the lion's skin and head as trophies. 这猎人保存狮子的皮和头作为纪念品。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 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》