VOA标准英语2014--Top 5 Songs for Week Ending Feb. 8

 

Top 5 Songs for Week Ending Feb. 8 

We’re counting down the five most popular songs on the Billboard¹ Hot 100 pop singles chart, for the week ending February 8, 2014.

We get a new singles champ this week, who’s no stranger to the throne. That’s still to come; for now let’s start in fifth place, where Eminem and Rihanna hold steady with “The Monster.” Both artists just made it onto a high-powered list.  The International Federation² of the Phonographic Industry just issued its list of the 10 most popular acts in the world - and both Eminem and Rihanna made the cut. He’s in second place, she’s in eighth. In case you’re wondering, One Direction took first place.

A Great Big World and Christina Aguilera tread water in fourth place with “Say Something.” A Great Big World also debuts⁴ on this week’s album chart. On January 21, the group released its debut³ album Is There Anybody Out There? The answer is definitely “yes” - because it opens at a healthy number three on the latest Billboard album chart.

It looks like OneRepublic will fall short of achieving a chart milestone⁵. They stay put in third place with “Counting Stars.” Although this song hit number one in the United Kingdom, it stopped at second place in the United States. To date, OneRepublic has never topped the Hot 100 chart - but of course, that could all change next week.

Speaking of changes, Pitbull and Ke$ha end their reign⁶ atop the hit list, as “Timber” falls to number two. Ke$ha was not the first choice for this song. Pitbull initially⁷ wanted Rihanna; however, she was busy recording⁸ her duet with Shakira, “Can’t Remember To Forget You.”

Jumping a slot to number one is Katy Perry with "Dark Horse" featuring Juicy J of Three 6 Mafia. This is her ninth U.S. number one pop single in only five years.... pretty impressive.  Katy also places fifth in the aforementioned list of the world’s most popular recording stars.

Can “Dark Horse” win the race again next week? Join us in seven days to find out.

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 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

3 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

4 debuts   

演员首次演出( debut的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He never really debuts the idea of taking money from his parents any longer. 他从此就再也没有认真起过向父母要钱的念头。
• This young soprano debuts next month at the metropolitan opera. 这位年轻的女高音歌唱家下个月将在纽约大都会歌剧院举行首演。

5 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。

6 reign   

n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势

参考例句：

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
• The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。

7 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

8 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。