VOA标准英语2014--Top 5 Countdown for Week Ending Jan. 18

 

Top 5 Countdown for Week Ending Jan. 18

We’re looking at the five most popular songs in the Billboard¹ Hot 100 pop singles chart, for the week ending January 18, 2014.

This week, three of our songs change places - that’s major movement compared with the last two weeks.

We start in fifth place, where A Great Big World and Christina Aguilera hold steady with “Say Something.” Christina heads to New Orleans in April for a high-profile gig. The lineup for this year’s New Orleans Jazz & Heritage² Festival was announced this week, and Christina is in the mix; other headliners include Arcade³ Fire, Eric Clapton, Bruce Springsteen, and Vampire⁴ Weekend. Festivities begin on April 25.

 

Lorde, who holds steady at number four with "Royals" has concert news of her own. The New Zealand teenager kicks off her headlining North American tour on March 3 in Austin, Texas…and all 16 U.S. dates are sold out.

Now here's where things change: after four weeks at the top, Eminem and Rihanna fall to third place with “The Monster.” The rapper took Canada by storm in 2013. He was the bestselling artist of the year, while The Marshall Mathers LP 2 was the year’s top album: it sold 242,000 units.

OneRepublic has never enjoyed a U.S. number one single, but that may soon change: “Counting Stars” this week rises a slot⁵ to second place, edging one slot closer to its first Stateside Hot 100 victory. The song already hit first place in Israel, Poland, Scotland, and the United Kingdom.

Earlier this month, Pitbull and Ke$ha went all the way to the top in the U.K. with “Timber,” and this week we in the United States follow suit - it jumps one slot to take the prize.  Unfortunately, Ke$ha’s currently⁶ in rehab for an eating disorder⁷, while her mother recently checked herself into the same facility for post-traumatic stress disorder.

Will “Timber” hold at the top for a second week? Katy Perry’s new hit “Dark Horse” is moving up fast - join us next week to see what happens.

1 billboard   

n.布告板，揭示栏，广告牌

参考例句：

• He ploughed his energies into his father's billboard business.他把精力投入到父亲的广告牌业务中。
• Billboard spreads will be simpler and more eye-catching.广告牌广告会比较简单且更引人注目。

2 heritage   

n.传统，遗产，继承物

参考例句：

• The ancient buildings are part of the national heritage.这些古建筑是民族遗产的一部分。
• We Chinese have a great cultural heritage.我们中国人有伟大的文化遗产。

3 arcade   

n.拱廊；(一侧或两侧有商店的)通道

参考例句：

• At this time of the morning,the arcade was almost empty.在早晨的这个时候，拱廊街上几乎空无一人。
• In our shopping arcade,you can find different kinds of souvenir.在我们的拱廊市场，你可以发现许多的纪念品。

4 vampire   

n.吸血鬼

参考例句：

• It wasn't a wife waiting there for him but a blood sucking vampire!家里的不是个老婆，而是个吸人血的妖精！
• Children were afraid to go to sleep at night because of the many legends of vampire.由于听过许多有关吸血鬼的传说，孩子们晚上不敢去睡觉。

5 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。

6 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。

7 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。