英伦广角 Issue 120 麦当娜庆祝50大寿

("Got no boundaries and no limits...")

The Madonna hitting the big 50 is just an excuse for a party.

("Give it to get the love, arrest me...")

But even she is not planning to pause for a reflection, an icon¹ reaching the half century milestone² prompts much musing³ on how the queen of pop manages to cling onto her crown in an industry that rewards youth.

"Every time she needs to reinvent herself, she manages to do it. From the sexy kind of symbolism that she brings to her clothing to this more sophisticated glamour⁴ now. I mean, I mean she is ever-changing. "

The material girl has gone from lace to leotards, Marilyn to conical bras, and dominatrix to lady of the manor⁵.

I would like people to think of me as a revolutionary.

("Like a Virgin，Hey，touch for the very first time.."）

As a mistress of reinvention she defies convention,

("Faster than the speeding light she's flying")

and even her own expectations,

I wanted to be a dancer and quite frankly⁶ had no idea that my life was going to turn out the way that it did.

"The view then was: oh it's just another white girl singing soul, you know. I then said:" no, she has a bit more to this one." I fixed⁷ up to interview her, to first interview her, it was in England, first in the afternoon. No one else turned up."

("You must be my lucky star...")

That same young singer went on to become a super star,

("Music makes the people come together...")

She’s now sold 200 million records.

("Don't cry for me Argentina")

Her film career has been inconsistent, but her taste for controversy⁸ hasn’t. Religion, sex, there are few taboos⁹. And she defied international disapproval¹⁰ in 2006 by adopting a young boy from Malawi.

("Tick up, tick up, break that…")

Fortunately for Madge, the high priests of Kabbalah have calculated her spiritual age and may make her just 36. But for those who count in human years, the clock is definitely ticking.

And yet Madonna's greatest skill is making sure nothing she does ever gets old.

Sara Merchant, Sky News.

1 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。

2 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

3 musing   

n. 沉思，冥想 adj. 沉思的, 冥想的 动词muse的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• "At Tellson's banking-house at nine," he said, with a musing face. “九点在台尔森银行大厦见面，”他想道。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
• She put the jacket away, and stood by musing a minute. 她把那件上衣放到一边，站着沉思了一会儿。

4 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。

5 manor   

n.庄园，领地

参考例句：

• The builder of the manor house is a direct ancestor of the present owner.建造这幢庄园的人就是它现在主人的一个直系祖先。
• I am not lord of the manor,but its lady.我并非此地的领主，而是这儿的女主人。

6 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

7 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

8 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

9 taboos   

禁忌( taboo的名词复数 )； 忌讳； 戒律； 禁忌的事物（或行为）

参考例句：

• She was unhorsed by fences, laws and alien taboos. 她被藩蓠、法律及外来的戒律赶下了马。
• His mind was charged with taboos. 他头脑里忌讳很多。

10 disapproval   

n.反对，不赞成

参考例句：

• The teacher made an outward show of disapproval.老师表面上表示不同意。
• They shouted their disapproval.他们喊叫表示反对。