Take Away English-Eurovision Results 欧洲电视歌曲大赛

Scooch from the UK received a dismal1 score and were nearly last

This year’s Eurovision Song Contest has been won by a singer from Serbia with a powerful ballad² about an estranged³ lover. But it was a disappointing night for the UK, whose team tied with France in joint⁴ second-last place.

The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition between more than 40 European countries, which is broadcast live on television throughout Europe and the rest of the world.

Each participating country sends one musical act to the competition to sing a song. Once all the acts have performed, each country awards points to the singers they liked best – these points are usually based on phone and text message votes sent in by viewers in the various countries.

However, the contest has faced mounting criticism in recent years as countries have tended to vote for their neighbours and "friends" rather than judging each entrant on their merits.

This process, known as "block voting", often sees Scandinavian, Baltic and Balkan countries voting for each other while other countries receive few votes or even no points at all – the dreaded⁵ "nul points".

But some commentators⁶ say the competition should not be taken too seriously and that national partisanship⁷ is all part of the fun.

Whatever the result, the Eurovision Song Contest is always a spectacle featuring camp acts, baffling lyrics⁸ and incomprehensible titles such as "Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley" and "Ding-A-Dong".

The competition has acted as the springboard for a few successful musical careers and many failed ones.

Eurovision winners who have gone on to superstardom include Abba, who won the competition in 1974 with the hit song "Waterloo", and Celine Dion, who won the competition in 1988 representing Switzerland despite being a French–Canadian.

GLOSSARY 词汇表
ballad 民谣 tied with 并列;平手 musical act 表演曲目; 表演团体 mounting criticism 越来越多的批评 merits 成绩 Scandinavian 斯堪的纳维亚(的) Balkan 巴尔干(的) national partisanship 国家派系 camp acts 夸张的表演 springboard 跳板	estranged lover 离异的情人 broadcast 广播 text message votes 短信投票 tended 有…倾向 block voting 盟友互投票 Baltic 波罗的海(的) nul points 零分 spectacle 壮观的场面 baffling lyrics 难懂的歌词 superstardom 超级明星的地位

 

1 dismal   

adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的

参考例句：

• That is a rather dismal melody.那是一支相当忧郁的歌曲。
• My prospects of returning to a suitable job are dismal.我重新找到一个合适的工作岗位的希望很渺茫。

2 ballad   

n.歌谣，民谣，流行爱情歌曲

参考例句：

• This poem has the distinctive flavour of a ballad.这首诗有民歌风味。
• This is a romantic ballad that is pure corn.这是一首极为伤感的浪漫小曲。

3 estranged   

adj.疏远的，分离的

参考例句：

• He became estranged from his family after the argument.那场争吵后他便与家人疏远了。
• The argument estranged him from his brother.争吵使他同他的兄弟之间的关系疏远了。

4 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

5 dreaded   

adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The dreaded moment had finally arrived. 可怕的时刻终于来到了。
• He dreaded having to spend Christmas in hospital. 他害怕非得在医院过圣诞节不可。 来自《用法词典》

6 commentators   

n.评论员( commentator的名词复数 )；时事评论员；注释者；实况广播员

参考例句：

• Sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 体育解说员翻来覆去说着同样的词语，真叫人腻烦。
• Television sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 电视体育解说员说来说去就是那么几句话，令人厌烦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 Partisanship   

n. 党派性, 党派偏见

参考例句：

• Her violent partisanship was fighting Soames's battle. 她的激烈偏袒等于替索米斯卖气力。
• There was a link of understanding between them, more important than affection or partisanship. ' 比起人间的感情，比起相同的政见，这一点都来得格外重要。 来自英汉文学

8 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。