VOA标准英语2014--Top 5 Countdown for Week Ending August 2

 

Top 5 Countdown for Week Ending August 2

We’re revealing the five most popular songs in the Billboard¹ Hot 100 pop singles chart, for the week ending August 2, 2014.

We do have one song ruling the Hot 100, but we have four others to cover, as well.

Let’s begin in fifth place, where Nico & Vinz fall a slot² with “Am I Wrong.” Up until this year, this duo went by a different name. The two Norwegians met in 2009 and started out calling themselves Envy. In 2011, their debut³ single “One Song” hit 19th place on the Norwegian chart. They changed their name in January of this year, after signing a U.S. record deal.

Falling a slot to fourth place are Ariana Grande and Iggy Azalea, with “Problem.” Ariana suffered a family loss last week - her beloved grandfather, Frank, died. Actress Jennette McCurdy tweeted her condolences to Ariana; until recently, the two had co-starred in the TV series Sam & Cat.

Taking over third place we have Sam Smith, with “Stay With Me” which went to number one in his native U.K. Sam is striking⁴ chart gold all over the place, but says his hit debut album springs from heartbreak. The 22-year-old Londoner says The Lonely Hour was inspired by unrequited love. It sold 166,000 copies in its first week in the United States…more than any other debut album by a British male artist.

Holding in second place are Iggy Azalea and Charli XCX with “Fancy.” Charli says fans recently mistook her for another famous singer.  When she recently attended the South By Southwest Festival (SXSW) in the U.S. state of Texas,  a fan thought she was fellow star Lorde.

If you love reggae bands from Canada, this is your lucky day. MAGIC! spends a second week at number one with “Rude.”

Billboard reports the single has sold 1.8 million copies, making it the year’s eighth best-selling digital song. Band leader Nasri Atweh has been a hard-working musician for more than a decade, and released two moderately successful solo⁵ singles in his native Canada. He’s also one-half of the writing-production duo The Messengers.

That’s it for now, but the action never stops on the Hot 100! Join us next week for a new lineup.

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 slot   

n.（口）位置，职位，狭长孔，狭槽

参考例句：

• Put a coin in the slot.将硬币放入投币口。
• He's been given a regular ten-minute slot on the radio.电台定期给他十分钟的节目广播时间。

3 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

4 striking   

adj.显著的，惹人注目的，容貌出众的

参考例句：

• There is a striking difference between Jane and Mary.简和玛丽之间有显著的差异。
• What is immediately striking is how resourceful the children are.最令人注目的是孩子们的机智聪明。

5 solo   

n.独奏，独唱；adj.单独的；adv.单独地；v.放单飞，单独表演

参考例句：

• Tara is currently working on a solo album.塔拉眼下正忙着制作个人专辑。
• There's wonderfully lyrical flute solo in the middle of this symphony.在交响乐中间有一段奇妙的抒情长笛独奏。