【英语听和读】布兰妮

 Yvonne: This is entertainment from bbclearningenglish.com and I'm Yvonne Archer¹.

Hello! Well, popstar Britney Spears has hit the headlines again – but not

necessarily for the right reason. As you've probably heard, she's been having

some troubled times; she's separated from her husband, she's raising their 2

small children on her own and even her music career is in question. But most

recently, Britney decided² to go into - or 'check into' a 'rehabilitation³ clinic' –

usually shortened to 'rehab'. But just 24 hours after 'checking into rehab',

Britney checked back out. Well, the next public sighting of Britney was at

Esther Tognozzi's hairdressing salon⁴. But what kind of hairstyle did Britney

want? Try to work that out from Esther's account…

Esther Tognozzi, hairdresser

I said, "Well, I'm not shaving your hair off. And I tried to talk her out of it. I said: "Are you

sure you're not having a bad day and tomorrow, you'll feel differently about it? Why don't we

wait a little bit?" She said: "No, I absolutely want it shaved off now".

Yvonne: Britney Spears wanted all her hair shaved off but Esther didn't want to do it. As

we heard, she tried to talk Britney 'out of it' - she tried to persuade Britney not

to shave off her hair. But as we all know, trying to 'talk someone out of

something' – an action or an idea - isn't always easy. Now, as we hear the rest

of that story, try to catch what Esther said to Britney to try to talk her out of

having her head shaved – and, try to find out who shaved off Britney's hair in

the end?

Esther Tognozzi, hairdresser

Entertainment © BBC Learning English

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bbclearningenglish.com

I said, "Well, I'm not shaving your hair off." And I tried to talk her out of it. I said, "Are you

sure you're not having a bad day and tomorrow, you'll feel differently about it? Why don't we

wait a little bit?" She said, "No, I absolutely want it shaved off now". And as I was talking to

her bodyguard⁵, next thing I know, she grabbed the buzzer⁶ and she went to the back of my

salon and she was shaving off her own hair. And she actually enjoyed shaving off her own

hair.

Yvonne: Esther asked Britney whether she was 'having a bad day' – because people can

make bad decisions when they're in a bad mood or are worrying about too

many things. Esther also asked Britney whether she might 'feel differently'

about having her hair shaved off the next day – whether she might change her

mind. But Britney's use of the word 'absolutely' told Esther that she'd already

made up her mind… she was going to stick to her decision.

Esther Tognozzi, hairdresser

She said: "No, I absolutely want it shaved off now".

Yvonne: And because Esther wouldn't shave Britney's hair off, Britney grabbed the

'buzzer' – the shears⁷ or shaver – and did it herself! She'd 'absolutely' made up

her mind. Now we can even use 'absolutely' on its own to show that our

decision or our word is final. For example, if I ask: Do you enjoy programmes

from bbclearningenglish.com? You might reply: 'Absolutely'!

By the way, did you notice Esther's style of storytelling? It's one that you might

like to try out yourself after today's Entertainment because it's fairly simple to

use. Esther used a lot of the simple past – for example, 'I said', 'she said', 'and

then I said…'. Esther also used the present tense during her quotes even though

she was quoting from what had been said in the past. For example:

I said, "Can you wait until tomorrow?" and she said, "No!" Here's another

chance to check out Esther's storytelling technique: 

Entertainment © BBC Learning English

Page 3 of 3

bbclearningenglish.com

Esther Tognozzi, hairdresser

I said, "Well, I'm not shaving your hair off." And I tried to talk her out of it. I said: "Are you

sure you're not having a bad day and tomorrow, you'll feel differently about it? Why don't we

wait a little bit?" She said: "No, I absolutely want it shaved off now'. And as I was talking to

her bodyguard, next thing I know, she grabbed the buzzer and she went to the back of my

salon and she was shaving off her own hair. And she actually enjoyed shaving off her own

hair.

Yvonne: Well, as for public opinion, many people are saying that Britney's shaved head

doesn't suit her – while the media are wondering whether she did it as a

publicity⁸ stunt⁹ – to draw more attention to herself because her music career

isn't doing well at the moment. Here's what Dean Piper has to say – he's from

"Closer Mag" – a sort of celebrity¹⁰ gossip magazine…

Dean Piper

I mean Britney, in particular, is turning into a car-crash soap opera. You know, this is the

latest in a long line of stuff. You know, we've seen her outfits¹¹ change, the motherhood's gone

to the back – the backpage. She's going out clubbing with the likes of Paris Hilton. You know,

she was a pop girl…

Yvonne: According to Dean Piper, she's been wearing different types of clothes, her job

as a mother doesn't seem to be a priority – as he put it, 'mother's gone to the

backpage' while she goes out to nightclubs. As Dean put it, Britney's turning

into a 'car-crash soap opera'. So there's always something tragic¹² or

controversial going on in her life, just like in a soap opera. And sadly, as with a

car crash, the public and the media just can't resist watching to find out what

the next tragedy will be or what bad decision Britney Spears will make next.

You've been listening to Entertainment from bbclearningenglish.com where we

hope that Britney will soon be back in the news headlines for all the right

reasons – her hit songs! Goodbye.

1 archer   

n.射手，弓箭手

参考例句：

• The archer strung his bow and aimed an arrow at the target.弓箭手拉紧弓弦将箭瞄准靶子。
• The archer's shot was a perfect bull's-eye.射手的那一箭正中靶心。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 rehabilitation   

n.康复，悔过自新，修复，复兴，复职，复位

参考例句：

• He's booked himself into a rehabilitation clinic.他自己联系了一家康复诊所。
• No one can really make me rehabilitation of injuries.已经没有人可以真正令我的伤康复了。

4 salon   

n.[法]沙龙；客厅；营业性的高级服务室

参考例句：

• Do you go to the hairdresser or beauty salon more than twice a week?你每周去美容院或美容沙龙多过两次吗？
• You can hear a lot of dirt at a salon.你在沙龙上会听到很多流言蜚语。

5 bodyguard   

n.护卫，保镖

参考例句：

• She has to have an armed bodyguard wherever she goes.她不管到哪儿都得有带武器的保镖跟从。
• The big guy standing at his side may be his bodyguard.站在他身旁的那个大个子可能是他的保镖。

6 buzzer   

n.蜂鸣器；汽笛

参考例句：

• The buzzer went off at eight o'clock.蜂鸣器在8点钟时响了。
• Press the buzzer when you want to talk.你想讲话的时候就按蜂鸣器。

7 shears   

n.大剪刀

参考例句：

• These garden shears are lightweight and easy to use.这些园丁剪刀又轻又好用。
• With a few quick snips of the shears he pruned the bush.他用大剪刀几下子就把灌木给修剪好了。

8 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

9 stunt   

n.惊人表演，绝技，特技；vt.阻碍...发育，妨碍...生长

参考例句：

• Lack of the right food may stunt growth.缺乏适当的食物会阻碍发育。
• Right up there is where the big stunt is taking place.那边将会有惊人的表演。

10 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

11 outfits   

n.全套装备( outfit的名词复数 )；一套服装；集体；组织v.装备，配置设备，供给服装( outfit的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He jobbed out the contract to a number of small outfits. 他把承包工程分包给许多小单位。 来自辞典例句
• Some cyclists carry repair outfits because they may have a puncture. 有些骑自行车的人带修理工具，因为他们车胎可能小孔。 来自辞典例句

12 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。