Kylie Minogue’s costumes

BBC Learning EnglishLondon LifeKylie Minogue’s costumesAmber: Hello, I'm Amber¹, and you’re listening tobbclearningenglish.com.
　　In London Life today, we visit a big exhibition which hasjust opened in London’s Victoria and Albert Museum. It’sentirely dedicated³ to Kylie Minogue, the Australian popsinger and international icon⁴. And the crowds are flockingin. So what’s on show? Well, her costumes – rememberthose gold hot pants?!
　　And who better to show us around the exhibition thanWilliam Baker⁵, who has been Kylie’s stylist for the past10 years? A stylist is a person who gives advice on style– how you look, what to wear and so on. He talks to BBCreporter Liz Pearson about looking after Kylie’s image.
　　And the first thing he told her isthat Kylie is his muse². A muse is somebody who inspires anartist.
　　Now here is William Baker talking about why Kylie is sopopular. He says that because she starred in the TV soapopera ‘Neighbours’, most young people in Britain feel asif they grew up with Kylie! A soap opera is a serial⁶ thatdeals with the lives of a group of characters, especiallyin a melodramatic or sentimental⁷ way. As you listen, try tocatch the word William uses to describe what people feltabout Kylie. He says they felt a real kind of ….?
　　William Baker‘I grew up with Kylie as much as anyone in my generation.
　　(You’re in your 30s?) I’m 33. You know, ‘Neighbours’
　　was on when I came home from school and stuff, so she’svery much part of everyone’s life I think. It was thefirst time a soap opera had been on every dayof the week so you felt this kind of real intimacy⁸. And Ithink this is the main reason why people have stayed withher so long is because everyone grew up with her.’
　　Amber: So William says people who are aged⁹ about 30 inBritain remember Kylie as a soap opera star. They feel areal kind of intimacy with her because she was on TVeveryday! Intimacy means a close relationship.
　　Listen again.
　　William Baker‘I grew up with Kylie as much as anyone in my generation.
　　(You’re in your 30s?) I’m 33. You know, ‘Neighbours’
　　was on when I came home from school and stuff, so she’svery much part of everyone’s life I think. It was thefirst time a soap opera had been on every day of the weekso you felt this kind of real intimacy. And I think this isthe main reason why people have stayed with her so long isbecause everyone grew up with her.’
　　Amber: Next William talks about how the idea, or concept,of having a stylist is rather strange or odd – it’s kindof quite weird¹⁰, he says. He says that Kylie has a lot ofstyle – she’s a stylish¹¹ person. Try to catch the Frenchword William uses to describe Kylie at the end of this nextpart of the interview.
　　William Baker‘You know I think it’s kind of quite weird, the conceptof a stylist is quite weird because it kind of implies thatthe person has no style and that’s completely not true!
　　She has a very inherent sense of chic¹² really; I think she’
　　s very chic.’
　　Amber: Did you catch it? William says Kylie is chic, verychic! She’s fashionable and elegant. Listen again.
　　William Baker‘You know I think it’s kind of quite weird, the conceptof a stylist is quite weird because it kind of implies thatthe person has no style and that’s completely not true!
　　She has a very inherent sense of chic really; I think she’
　　s very chic.’
　　Amber: Finally, Liz talks about Kylie’s dresses. She saysthey’re amazing, they’re wonderful. They have a lot ofglitz – that’s glamour¹³. They also have a lot of pizzazz– a lot of energy and style! But according to William,what’s missing?
　　Liz Pearson and William Baker‘The dresses look amazing. There’s a lot of glitz, there’s a lot of pizzazz but some of them don’t really lookthat special and then you see the photo of Kylie in it andit looks incredible. I think that the missing element fromthe exhibition is the performance because that’s what theywere all designed for.’
　　Amber: Did you catch it? William says the exhibitionobviously doesn’t have the element of performance – youcan’t see Kylie in action on stage! Listen again.
　　Liz Pearson and William Baker‘The dresses look amazing. There’s a lot of glitz, there’s a lot of pizzazz but some of them don’t really lookthat special and then you see the photo of Kylie in it andit looks incredible. I think that the missing element fromthe exhibition is the performance because that’s what theywere all designed for.’
　　Amber: Now here again is some of the language from today’
　　s programme:
　　stylist musesoap opera intimacy chic concept weird amazing glitzpizzazzMore news stories and language explanations next time atbbclearningenglish.com

1 amber   

n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的

参考例句：

• Would you like an amber necklace for your birthday?你过生日想要一条琥珀项链吗？
• This is a piece of little amber stones.这是一块小小的琥珀化石。

2 muse   

n.缪斯（希腊神话中的女神），创作灵感

参考例句：

• His muse had deserted him,and he could no longer write.他已无灵感，不能再写作了。
• Many of the papers muse on the fate of the President.很多报纸都在揣测总统的命运。

3 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。

4 icon   

n.偶像，崇拜的对象，画像

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• Click on this icon to align or justify text.点击这个图标使文本排齐。

5 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

6 serial   

n.连本影片，连本电视节目；adj.连续的

参考例句：

• A new serial is starting on television tonight.今晚电视开播一部新的电视连续剧。
• Can you account for the serial failures in our experiment?你能解释我们实验屡屡失败的原因吗？

7 sentimental   

adj.多愁善感的，感伤的

参考例句：

• She's a sentimental woman who believes marriage comes by destiny.她是多愁善感的人，她相信姻缘命中注定。
• We were deeply touched by the sentimental movie.我们深深被那感伤的电影所感动。

8 intimacy   

n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行

参考例句：

• His claims to an intimacy with the President are somewhat exaggerated.他声称自己与总统关系密切，这有点言过其实。
• I wish there were a rule book for intimacy.我希望能有个关于亲密的规则。

9 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。

10 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。

11 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。

12 chic   

n./adj.别致(的)，时髦(的)，讲究的

参考例句：

• She bought a chic little hat.她买了一顶别致的小帽子。
• The chic restaurant is patronized by many celebrities.这家时髦的饭店常有名人光顾。

13 glamour   

n.魔力，魅力；vt.迷住

参考例句：

• Foreign travel has lost its glamour for her.到国外旅行对她已失去吸引力了。
• The moonlight cast a glamour over the scene.月光给景色增添了魅力。