VOA标准英语2014--Top 5 Countdown for Week Ending July 26

 

Top 5 Countdown for Week Ending July 26

This is the Top Five Countdown! We’re taking a look at the five most popular songs in the Billboard¹ Hot 100 pop singles chart, for the week ending July 26, 2014.

You’ve no doubt heard the old expression “Good things come to those who wait.” That’s sure true this week, as our singles championship changes hands.

First, however - we need to begin at the beginning. Sam Smith spends another week in fifth place with “Stay With Me.” If you’re a fan, you’ll be happy to know another single is on the way. The 22-year-old sensation² has pulled a fourth single from his debut³ album In The Lonely Hour. “I’m Not The Only One” arrives August 31 in the United Kingdom as a digital download, and the U.S. should soon follow.

Staying put in fourth place is the duo of Nico & Vinz, with “Am I Wrong.” Their upcoming album bears the title Black Star Elephant. They named it after the football teams from their ancestral countries: Nico’s from the Ivory⁴ Coast with their Elephants, while Vinz’s parents came from Ghana - home of the Black Stars.

Holding at number three are Ariana Grande and Iggy Azalea with their double platinum⁵ hit “Problem” - it’s sold two million downloads in the United States. Ariana says she’s suffering from a problem of her own: noisy frogs. This week, she took to Twitter to complain about “insufferably loud frog sex” outside her bedroom window. She found respite⁶ through an iPhone app which simulates⁷ ocean sounds. Sleep well, Ariana.

Here’s where everything changes: seven-week champ Iggy Azalea and Charli XCX lose their Hot 100 title, as “Fancy” slips to second place. Comedian⁸ Weird⁹ Al Yankovic recently parodied¹⁰ the double platinum hit.  His song is titled “Handy,” and he says he got Iggy’s permission the old-fashioned way: by asking her in person. Al corralled Iggy after a performance in Denver…and says she agreed to it right away.

We have a new Hot 100 champion: MAGIC! takes the prize with “Rude.” The last reggae song to top the chart was Sean Paul’s “Get Busy” back in 2003. Furthermore, MAGIC! is a Canadian group - and the last bunch from north of the border to rule the Hot 100 was Nickelback with “How You Remind Me,” way back in 2001.

That’s all for today, but the charts never sleep! Join us next week for an exciting new lineup.

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 sensation   

n.感觉，感知力，激动，轰动

参考例句：

• He lost all sensation in his legs through cramp.他的腿部因抽筋而失去知觉。
• Seeing him again after so many years was a strange sensation.那么多年以后又见到他，是一种不可思议的感觉。

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 ivory   

n.象牙，乳白色；adj.象牙制的，乳白色的

参考例句：

• My grandmother has some jewelry made of ivory.我祖母有一些象牙首饰。
• It is carved from ivory.它是用象牙雕成的。

5 platinum   

n.白金

参考例句：

• I'll give her a platinum ring.我打算送给她一枚白金戒指。
• Platinum exceeds gold in value.白金的价值高于黄金。

6 respite   

n.休息，中止，暂缓

参考例句：

• She was interrogated without respite for twenty-four hours.她被不间断地审问了二十四小时。
• Devaluation would only give the economy a brief respite.贬值只能让经济得到暂时的缓解。

7 simulates   

假装( simulate的第三人称单数 )； 模仿； （用计算机或模型等）模拟

参考例句：

• Viral bovine rhinotracheitis simulates and may be combined with shipping fever. 牛病毒性鼻气管炎和运输热相似，并可能和运输热同时发生。
• The insect simulates a twig. 这种昆虫看上去像一个小树枝。

8 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

9 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

10 parodied   

v.滑稽地模仿，拙劣地模仿( parody的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• All these peculiarities of his style have been parodied by his assailants. 他的所有这些风格特征都受到攻击者模仿嘲弄。 来自互联网
• The above examples are all slightly parodied versions of classical dance steps. 上述例子都可以说是经典舞步的模仿版本。 来自互联网