各国名人英文介绍-Edith Piaf

Edith Piaf (1915-1963) was a French singer and one of her country’s best-known cultural icons¹. She is probably France’s greatest ever singer and sang classics such as ‘La vie en rose’. She was so popular that 100,000 people attended her funeral in Paris and traffic came to a standstill. There is a museum in Paris dedicated² to her memory.

She was born Edith Gassion in a poor suburb of Paris. Piaf’s parents abandoned her when she was a child and she lived with her grandmother. When she was 14, she teamed up with her acrobat³ father. She toured France with him and sang in public for the first time. Aged⁴ 16, she went her own way and became a street singer.

In 1935, Piaf was discovered by a nightclub owner, who asked her to sing in his club. He gave her the nickname Little Sparrow because she was so small. She was an instant success and began to mix with the rich and famous of Paris. During World War II, she frequently performed for German officers and many considered her a traitor⁵.

Piaf became famous worldwide after the war. However, her personal life hit many low points. Her lover died in a plane crash in 1949 and in the 1950s she had three near-fatal car crashes and became addicted⁶ to morphine and alcohol. In 1961, she recorded her famous song "Non, je ne regrette rien". It was one of the last songs she sang.

1 icons   

n.偶像( icon的名词复数 )；（计算机屏幕上表示命令、程序的）符号，图像

参考例句：

• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons. 用图标来区分重要的文本项。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Daemonic icons should only be employed persistently if they provide continuous, useful status information. 只有会连续地提供有用状态信息的情况下，后台应用程序才应该一直使用图标。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

2 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。

3 acrobat   

n.特技演员，杂技演员

参考例句：

• The acrobat balanced a long pole on his left shoulder.杂技演员让一根长杆在他的左肩上保持平衡。
• The acrobat could bend himself into a hoop.这个杂技演员可以把身体蜷曲成圆形。

4 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

5 traitor   

n.叛徒，卖国贼

参考例句：

• The traitor was finally found out and put in prison.那个卖国贼终于被人发现并被监禁了起来。
• He was sold out by a traitor and arrested.他被叛徒出卖而被捕了。

6 addicted   

adj.沉溺于....的，对...上瘾的

参考例句：

• He was addicted to heroin at the age of 17.他17岁的时候对海洛因上了瘾。
• She's become addicted to love stories.她迷上了爱情小说。