英伦广角 2009-06-28 成功之外的争议

Well, as the youngest member of the family troupe--The Jackson Five, Michael Jackson became a child star and later claimed he had never had a childhood while also accusing his father of abuse. As a self-proclaimed Peter Pan, Jackson bought his infamous¹ Neverland ranch² in 1987. It was the height of his solo stardom and his private life became a subject of much speculation³, amid rumors⁴ that he slept in an oxygen tent, and adopted a chimp  called 'Bubbles' with whom he allegedly shared a bed. In the early 90s with his skin noticeably paler, Jackson admitted having undergone plastic surgery, but he claimed it was due to a rare skin condition.

In 1993, 13-year-old Jordan Chandler claimed Jackson sexually abused him at Neverland. Jacko paid out 10.6 million pounds in a settlement although he always denied the claims.

Many saw his 1994 marriage to Elvis' only child Lisa Marie Presley as a publicity⁵ stunt⁶. It lasted just 19 months. He swiftly married the Australian nurse Debbie Rowe in 1996. Their marriage was to last three years and produced two children, Prince Michael and Paris Michael Jackson. Well, following  that divorce, Jackson took on sole custody⁷ of the children but his parenting skills came into question when he dangled⁸ baby 'Blanket', his third child born to a mystery surrogate mother, out of a hotel balcony. Remember the outcry of those pictures. And a year later Jackson invited Martin Bashir to interview him, a now infamous documentary in which Michael Jackson described sharing a bed with a young boy as 'a beautiful thing'. A warrant was issued for his arrest on charges of sexually molesting⁹ a 12-year-old boy. He pleaded not guilty and in 2005 he was cleared of all charges. But his fortune had all but disappeared. A year later Neverland officially closed and Jackson sought a reclusive life out of the public glare.

With record-breaking sales a distant memory now, Jackson arrived in London in March of this year to unveil a string of dates, his first live tour in a decade. He described the gigs as his 'final curtain call', but the king of pop would never take to the stage again.
 

1 infamous   

adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的

参考例句：

• He was infamous for his anti-feminist attitudes.他因反对女性主义而声名狼藉。
• I was shocked by her infamous behaviour.她的无耻行径令我震惊。

2 ranch   

n.大牧场，大农场

参考例句：

• He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
• The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。

3 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

4 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

6 stunt   

n.惊人表演，绝技，特技；vt.阻碍...发育，妨碍...生长

参考例句：

• Lack of the right food may stunt growth.缺乏适当的食物会阻碍发育。
• Right up there is where the big stunt is taking place.那边将会有惊人的表演。

7 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

8 dangled   

悬吊着( dangle的过去式和过去分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口

参考例句：

• Gold charms dangled from her bracelet. 她的手镯上挂着许多金饰物。
• It's the biggest financial incentive ever dangled before British footballers. 这是历来对英国足球运动员的最大经济诱惑。

9 molesting   

v.骚扰( molest的现在分词 )；干扰；调戏；猥亵

参考例句：

• He was accused of sexually molesting a female colleague. 他被指控对一位女同事进行性骚扰。 来自辞典例句
• He was charged with molesting a woman. 他被指控调戏妇女。 来自辞典例句