英语听力精选进阶版 6071

One of the UK's top young female vocalists has cancelled a series of high-profile European concerts following a short stay in hospital after suffering "severe exhaustion¹".

Smokey-voiced jazz and soul singer Amy Winehouse has backed out of a number of dates, including two concerts supporting veteran UK rockers The Rolling Stones.

Fears are growing for the health of the 23-year-old singer who has cancelled a number of live performances already this summer citing "exhaustion", a word often used by publicists to mask more serious problems.

The pressures of fame may be taking their toll² on Amy who has frequently appeared in newspapers and celebrity³ magazines clearly the worse for wear.

The award-winning jazz star has admitted to battling anorexia⁴ and bulimia in the past and has appeared to be drunk while participating in television shows.

Amy herself has cited perfectionism as one reason for some of her recent cancellations.

She said: "I know it's last-minute and a bit irresponsible. But I'm a perfectionist and would rather reschedule a show than do it half-heartedly."

Amy is not the UK's only new female star who is becoming as famous for her party lifestyle as her music.

Other young artists like Lily Allen and Joss Stone have also cancelled concerts and been portrayed⁵ behaving erratically⁶ in the media.

Lily however has a doctor's note to prove her illness – she posted the note on her blog along with an entry saying she was now "back in London eating my mum’s chicken soup".

GLOSSARY 词汇表

female vocalists 女歌唱家

severe exhaustion 筋疲力尽

smokey-voiced 嘶哑低沉的声音

backed out of 退出；谢绝

dates 日期

citing 措辞

publicists 新闻发布人士

mask 面具

pressures of fame 成名的压力

taking their toll 付出其代价 

the worse for wear 穿得破旧不堪，（喻）精疲力尽/醉醺醺的

anorexia 厌食症 

bulimia 贪食症

perfectionism 完美主义者 

last-minute 最后一刻

half-heartedly 半心半意地 

party lifestyle 派对生活方式

behaving erratically 怪僻/反常的表现 

doctor's note 医生证明

blog 博客

1 exhaustion   

n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述

参考例句：

• She slept the sleep of exhaustion.她因疲劳而酣睡。
• His exhaustion was obvious when he fell asleep standing.他站着睡着了，显然是太累了。

2 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

3 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。

4 anorexia   

n.厌食症

参考例句：

• Anorexia can creep up on young girls when they least expect it.年轻女子可能在最没有防备的情況下患上厌食症。
• Anorexia is a common eating disorder.厌食是一种常见的饮食紊乱症。

5 portrayed   

v.画像( portray的过去式和过去分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• Throughout the trial, he portrayed himself as the victim. 在审讯过程中，他始终把自己说成是受害者。
• The author portrayed his father as a vicious drunkard. 作者把他父亲描绘成一个可恶的酒鬼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 erratically   

adv.不规律地，不定地

参考例句：

• Police stopped him for driving erratically. 警察因其驾驶不循规则而把他拦下了。 来自辞典例句
• Magnetitite-bearing plugs are found erratically from the base of the Critical Zone. 含磁铁岩的岩栓不规则地分布于关键带的基底以上。 来自辞典例句