【一起闲话英语】取得优异成绩的青少年们—High-achieving teenagers

Transcript: 

Presenter¹: Next on the programme we have an interview with someone who has been writing a book about high-achieving teenagers. Welcome, Louise Hardy².

Louise: Hi, it’s lovely to be here.

Presenter: Louise, many of these teenagers who have achieved success and fame early on, have done so through using new technology, haven’t they? Through blogging or using YouTube or Twitter?

Louise: Absolutely, and the greatest example of this is Justin Bieber. As I think everyone on the planet knows, he started off by posting videos on YouTube at the age of 14 and was spotted³ by a talent scout⁴ who worked with the R&B singer Usher⁵. After that he very rapidly became a worldwide sensation.

Presenter: I heard that last year he was said to be more influential⁶ than Obama!

Louise: (laughs) Yes, that was because he is number one on Twitter. He has over 35 million followers⁷. There’s a new one every two seconds. A company that analyses social media called Klout said that he is the most influential person in the world because of that. But whether he’s really more influential than Obama, well …

Presenter: Mmmm. All this exposure has negative consequences for young people too, doesn’t it?

Louise: Yes. Although millions adore Justin, a lot of people don’t. One of his videos was the most disliked ever. And he has a big problem with privacy. He’s followed everywhere by the paparazzi, and that’s bad for anyone, never mind a teenager.

Presenter: OK, let’s turn to a very different teenager. Tavi Gevinson was even younger when she began, wasn’t she?

Louise: Yes, she was only eleven years old when she started a fashion blog called Style Rookie. By the way, for British listeners, 'Rookie' is an American word used for a person who is new to something.

Presenter: Thanks.

Louise: On her blog she posted photos of herself wearing unusual combinations of clothes and wrote about them.

Presenter: Some of them were quite weird⁸.

Louise: Well, yes, I suppose a lot of high fashion is weird. Anyway, she quickly built up a huge following, up to 300,000 readers per day, and many of them were adults. Serious fashion magazines interviewed her and sent her to fashion shows in Europe and to meet top designers, like Karl Lagerfeld.

Presenter: Some people didn’t believe she was as young as she was, did they?

Louise: No, one magazine printed an article saying the writer didn’t believe Tavi was only 12, and that upset her. But she bounced back and continued blogging. Then, as she grew older, Tavi became interested in other things besides fashion. In 2011, when she was 15, she started Rookie Magazine, an online magazine for teenagers. In less than a week it had one million readers.

Presenter: I’ve seen it. It’s very impressive, isn’t it? All teenage girls listening, check out Rookie Magazine.

Louise: Yes, I think it’s fantastic and Lady Gaga called Tavi 'the future of journalism⁹'! She employs about 50 writers and photographers – both adults and teenagers – on Rookie, but she is the editor with overall control.

Presenter: And all this time she’s continued to lead a normal life, hasn’t she?

Louise: Oh yes, she lives a very normal life in a small town and goes to school and so on. She’s not even twenty yet. But I think writing and editing are very different from being a performing artist. There’s a lot less pressure from fans and the press. Although some actors, like Emma Watson, seem to manage a private life and getting a normal education.

Presenter: Yes, Emma Watson is now in her twenties, of course, but …

1 presenter   

n.（电视、广播的）主持人，赠与者

参考例句：

• Most people think being a television presenter is exciting.很多人认为当电视节目主持人是一件刺激的事情。
• The programme dispensed with its most popular presenter.这个节目最受欢迎的主持人被换掉了。

2 hardy   

adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的

参考例句：

• The kind of plant is a hardy annual.这种植物是耐寒的一年生植物。
• He is a hardy person.他是一个能吃苦耐劳的人。

3 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

4 scout   

n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索

参考例句：

• He was mistaken for an enemy scout and badly wounded.他被误认为是敌人的侦察兵，受了重伤。
• The scout made a stealthy approach to the enemy position.侦察兵偷偷地靠近敌军阵地。

5 usher   

n.带位员，招待员；vt.引导，护送；vi.做招待，担任引座员

参考例句：

• The usher seated us in the front row.引座员让我们在前排就座。
• They were quickly ushered away.他们被迅速领开。

6 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

7 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

8 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

9 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。