VOA标准英语2013--Top 5 Countdown for Week Ending November 30

 

Top 5 Countdown for Week Ending November 30

On this week's Top Five Countdown, we’re exploring the five most popular songs in the Billboard¹ Magazine Hot 100 pop singles chart, for the week ending November 30, 2013.

f one characteristic distinguishes this week’s lineup, it’s this: out of six featured artists, four are female. It’s a woman’s world in the current Top Five.

It all starts in fifth place, where Katy Perry dips a slot with “Roar.” Katy’s gearing up for her next world tour. Last week, she took to Twitter to announce the dates of her upcoming Prismatic World Tour - which kicks off on May 7 in Belfast. Icona Pop will be her opening act on the British leg. Meanwhile, if you’re in London next week, you can catch Katy on December 7 at the Jingle² Bell Ball at The O2.

Taking Katy Perry’s place at number four is Avicii with “Wake Me Up!” This song has hit number one in more than 20 countries worldwide including Australia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, New Zealand, Slovakia, the U.K., and his homeland - Sweden. Here in the States, it hasn’t gone beyond fourth place…yet.

Holding at number three is Miley Cyrus with "Wrecking³ Ball".  She took over MTV on her 21st birthday. That’s a major birthday in the United States, as it represents the legal drinking age.  On November 23, Miley took over MTV for an eight-hour birthday celebration. The programming included highlights from her time on the network, along with clips of her favorite MTV shows. Miley ended the weekend by performing on November 24 at the American Music Awards.

Holding in second place are Eminem and Rihanna with “The Monster.” Eminem just lost a piece of his childhood. On November 20, the state of Michigan demolished⁴ the rapper's childhood home, after a recent fire damaged the top floor. The boarded-up bungalow⁵ in Detroit appeared on two Eminem album covers: 2000’s The Marshall Mathers LP, and his brand-new album The Marshall Mathers LP 2.

Go ahead and give Lorde eight solid weeks at number one with “Royals"  which has sold three million copies in the United States. Last week, Lorde was back home in the Southern Hemisphere for the New Zealand Music Awards, where she grabbed four trophies⁶, including Single Of The Year.

Will Eminem and Rihanna dethrone Lorde next week? There’s only one way to find out: join us in seven days for another chart survey.

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 jingle   

n.叮当声，韵律简单的诗句；v.使叮当作响，叮当响，押韵

参考例句：

• The key fell on the ground with a jingle.钥匙叮当落地。
• The knives and forks set up their regular jingle.刀叉发出常有的叮当声。

3 wrecking   

破坏

参考例句：

• He teed off on his son for wrecking the car. 他严厉训斥他儿子毁坏了汽车。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Instead of wrecking the valley, the waters are put to use making electricity. 现在河水不但不在流域内肆疟，反而被人们用来生产电力。 来自辞典例句

4 demolished   

v.摧毁( demolish的过去式和过去分词 )；推翻；拆毁（尤指大建筑物）；吃光

参考例句：

• The factory is due to be demolished next year. 这个工厂定于明年拆除。
• They have been fighting a rearguard action for two years to stop their house being demolished. 两年来，为了不让拆除他们的房子，他们一直在进行最后的努力。

5 bungalow   

n.平房，周围有阳台的木造小平房

参考例句：

• A bungalow does not have an upstairs.平房没有上层。
• The old couple sold that large house and moved into a small bungalow.老两口卖掉了那幢大房子，搬进了小平房。

6 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》