英语听力精选进阶版 6041

Boy band Take That have made their comeback complete with their first UK number one single in more than a decade.

'Patience' climbed to the top spot after landing at number four a week ago based on download sales alone.

The group's first number one was the hit 'Pray' in 1993. Take That split¹ up three years later but not before they had amassed² a huge fan base, sold more than 15 million records and scored eight number one hits.

Robbie Williams went on to become even more successful as a solo³ artist after he left the band but, for the others, their days as Take That members remained their main claim to fame.

Today, Take That joins a growing number of bands who have re-formed or who are re-releasing previous hits. In the album charts this week, Irish boy band Westlife fended⁴ off competition from Oasis⁵, U2 and the Beatles to take the top slot⁶ with The Love Album. All four of these bands have been together (or in the case of the Beatles were together) for many years. In fact, together, these bands have been making music for almost 50 years.

The rest of the current top ten features greatest hits collections from the likes of Jamiroquai, George Michael and Girls Aloud, meaning that Razorlight's self-titled album is the only top 10 album consisting of new material.

So what's the attraction of all these re-worked and re-released songs? Why do people buy tracks they've bought before? For many fans it's a chance to relive their teenage years, to remember and celebrate the early years of their music buying lives.

But why do the singers keep performing the same material year after year? The cynics amongst you might think it's all just another way for them to make more money for less work. But 61 year-old Rod Stewart, whose latest album has recently gone to number one in the USA, disagrees. He continues to sing the same songs that he's sung for more than 20 years because of the emotional outlet⁷ they give him. Singing gives him total freedom. He says "When you're singing it's the most wonderful feeling."

GLOSSARY 词汇表

boy band 男子组合/乐队

comeback 重返；东山再起    

number one single 榜首单曲

download sales （网上）下载销售  

split up 解散；分道扬镳

amassed 聚拢  

fan base 粉丝群  

scored 获得  

a solo artist 独唱艺术家

claim to fame 靠老牌子叫响    

re-formed 重组  

re-releasing 重新发行     

the album charts 专辑榜

fended off competition 击败竞争对手  

top slot 榜首

greatest hits collections 精曲专辑   

self-titled 以个人名字命名的 

cynics 玩世不恭者；嘲笑者

tracks 唱片   

outlet 释放；发泄；排遣

1 split   

n.劈开，裂片，裂口；adj.分散的；v.分离，分开，劈开

参考例句：

• Who told you that Mary and I had split up?谁告诉你玛丽和我已经离婚了？
• The teacher split the class up into six groups.老师把班级分成6个小组。

2 amassed   

v.积累，积聚( amass的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He amassed a fortune from silver mining. 他靠开采银矿积累了一笔财富。
• They have amassed a fortune in just a few years. 他们在几年的时间里就聚集了一笔财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 solo   

n.独奏，独唱；adj.单独的；adv.单独地；v.放单飞，单独表演

参考例句：

• Tara is currently working on a solo album.塔拉眼下正忙着制作个人专辑。
• There's wonderfully lyrical flute solo in the middle of this symphony.在交响乐中间有一段奇妙的抒情长笛独奏。

4 fended   

v.独立生活，照料自己( fend的过去式和过去分词 )；挡开，避开

参考例句：

• He neatly fended off a jab at his chest. 他利落地挡开了当胸的一击。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I fended off his sword thrust with my spear. 他一刀砍来，我拿枪架住。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 oasis   

n.（沙漠中的）绿洲，宜人的地方

参考例句：

• They stopped for the night at an oasis.他们在沙漠中的绿洲停下来过夜。
• The town was an oasis of prosperity in a desert of poverty.该镇是贫穷荒漠中的一块繁荣的“绿洲”。

6 slot   

n.（口）位置，职位，狭长孔，狭槽

参考例句：

• Put a coin in the slot.将硬币放入投币口。
• He's been given a regular ten-minute slot on the radio.电台定期给他十分钟的节目广播时间。

7 outlet   

n.出口/路；销路；批发商店；通风口；发泄

参考例句：

• The outlet of a water pipe was blocked.水管的出水口堵住了。
• Running is a good outlet for his energy.跑步是他发泄过剩精力的好方法。