VOA慢速英语2016--Gaga的钢琴,柯本的信等物品拍卖

Gaga's Piano, Cobain's Letter And More For Sale Gaga的钢琴,柯本的信等物品拍卖

Hundreds of things belonging to rock ‘n' roll musicians will be offered to the public at an auction¹ later this month.

Julien’s Auctions² is holding the event on May 21 at Hard Rock Café in New York City. The company is based in California and specializes in selling objects from or related to the entertainment industry.

Music lovers might be interested in a document containing song lyrics³ handwritten by John Lennon.

Also available for sale is a note from Kurt Cobain, former frontman of the rock group Nirvana. In it, he discussed the possibility of the band breaking up.

Cobain expressed anger about a magazine report about him and his wife, rocker Courtney Love. The 1992 Vanity⁴ Fair story said that the two were using drugs during Love’s pregnancy⁵.

"I love my wife and soon to be new daughter too much to let everyones low opinions of us ruin our lives together," he wrote.

Cobain killed himself in 1994 and Nirvana broke up. Many people still mourn the musician more than 20 years later. His letter is expected to sell for between $20,000 and $30,000.

There will be many other objects related to rock stars available at the auction. These include clothes, guitars and mail to and from their fans.

Lennon's handwritten lyrics and notes are for the song "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" It was part of the Beatles' 1967 record album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." Some observers expected the Lennon writings to sell for between $300,000 and $500,000.

Martin Nolan of Julien’s Auction said anything written by Lennon is highly sought by collectors.

Lady Gaga's first piano is also expected to sell for a huge amount. Part of the money is to go to the singer's Born This Way Foundation.

Julien’s Auctions also expects to make a nice profit on a red and white "Rock Soldier" jacket. Freddie Mercury⁶, the lead singer of Queen, wore it during the band's 1986 tour.

Nolan called the jacket "a great conversation piece." He added that, "Investors⁷ see these items as cool, but also really great opportunities to increase your investment because over time, chances are they will appreciate in value," he said.

Words in This Story

auction – n. a public sale at which things are sold to the people who offer to pay the most

entertainment – n.  amusement or pleasure that comes from watching a performer, playing a game, etc.

lyrics – n.  words of a song

fan – n. a person who likes and admires someone (such as a famous person) or something (such as a sport or a sports team) in a very enthusiastic way

jacket – n. a piece of clothing that is worn on your upper body over another piece of clothing (such as a shirt) : a usually short and light coat

conversation – n. an informal talk involving two people or a small group of people :the act of talking in an informal way

cool – adj. very fashionable, stylish⁸, or appealing in a way that is generally approved of especially by young peopl

opportunity – n. an amount of time or a situation in which something can be done

appreciate – v. to increase in value

1 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

2 auctions   

n.拍卖，拍卖方式( auction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They picked up most of the furniture at auctions in country towns. 他们大部分的家具都是在乡村镇上的拍卖处买的。 来自辞典例句
• Our dealers didn't want these cars, so we had to dump them at auctions. 我们的承销商都不要这些车子，因此我们只好贱价拍卖。 来自辞典例句

3 lyrics   

n.歌词

参考例句：

• music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hart 由罗杰斯和哈特作词作曲
• The book contains lyrics and guitar tablatures for over 100 songs. 这本书有100多首歌的歌词和吉他奏法谱。

4 vanity   

n.虚荣心，浮华，无价值的东西；adj.虚荣心的

参考例句：

• A man's vanity is actually in proportion to his ignorance.一个人的虚荣心实际上是和他的愚蠢程度成正比。
• Vanity and virtue do not go together.虚荣与美德不是共生物。

5 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

6 mercury   

n.汞，水银，水银柱

参考例句：

• The liquid we can see in thermometers is mercury.我们看到的温度计里的液体是水银。
• Mercury has a much greater density than water.水银的密度比水大得多。

7 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

8 stylish   

adj.流行的，时髦的；漂亮的，气派的

参考例句：

• He's a stylish dresser.他是个穿着很有格调的人。
• What stylish women are wearing in Paris will be worn by women all over the world.巴黎女性时装往往会引导世界时装潮流。