VOA标准英语2014--Top 5 Songs for Week Ending Sept. 6

 

Top 5 Songs for Week Ending Sept. 6

We’re counting down the five most popular songs in the Billboard¹ Hot 100 pop singles chart, for the week ending Sept. 6, 2014.

Wow! is our expert assessment² of this week’s lineup, as the Top Five rouses itself from its August slumber³. We get two new titles - that’s a 40 percent turnover⁴! 

MAGIC! falls to number five with “Rude,” after ruling the Hot 100 chart for six weeks. Bandleader Nasri Atweh has been an aspiring⁵ star in Canada for a decade, and says he won’t be satisfied until they’re a stadium-level attraction. He tells the U.K. Daily Star that they want to play at Glastonbury and Wembley Stadium. He describes his group as “guys who do not mess around when it comes to music.”

Sam Smith steps down a slot to number four with “Stay With Me.” Speaking with the London Sun, the openly gay singer says his debut⁶ album In The Lonely Hour was inspired by his unrequited love for a straight man. Sam says the other man knows all about it, and they get along well now.

American singer, songwriter and record producer known for the pop single "All About That Bass⁷" Meghan Trainor poses for a portrait, on Aug. 7, 2014 in New York.

American singer, songwriter and record producer known for the pop single "All About That Bass" Meghan Trainor poses for a portrait, on Aug. 7, 2014 in New York.

So near, and yet so far: Meghan Trainor falls to third place after hitting the runner-up slot with “All About That Bass" - her salute⁸ to full-figured fans everywhere. On Sept. 9, the young Massachusetts native will drop her first major-label release, an EP titled…Title.

Speaking of the full-figured: last month, Nicki Minaj nearly broke the Internet when she released the twerk-filled video for her latest single “Anaconda.” This week, the song roars into championship contention⁹, moving from 39th to second place. Nicki’s only other second-place showing came in 2009, as a member of the Young Money crew in the song “BedRock.”

It takes a lot to upstage Nicki Minaj…but Taylor Swift gets it done. She opens atop the Hot 100 with “Shake It Off”. She previously¹⁰ hit the bulls-eye in 2012, with “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.” On October 27, Taylor releases her fifth album, 1989. Named for her birth year, it’s billed as her “first documented, official pop album.” Goodbye, Nashville…although Taylor still maintains a home there.

Don't forget to check us out next week when we'll count them down together.

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 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

3 slumber   

n.睡眠，沉睡状态

参考例句：

• All the people in the hotels were wrapped in deep slumber.住在各旅馆里的人都已进入梦乡。
• Don't wake him from his slumber because he needs the rest.不要把他从睡眠中唤醒，因为他需要休息。

4 turnover   

n.人员流动率，人事变动率；营业额，成交量

参考例句：

• The store greatly reduced the prices to make a quick turnover.这家商店实行大减价以迅速周转资金。
• Our turnover actually increased last year.去年我们的营业额竟然增加了。

5 aspiring   

adj.有志气的；有抱负的；高耸的v.渴望；追求

参考例句：

• Aspiring musicians need hours of practice every day. 想当音乐家就要每天练许多小时。
• He came from an aspiring working-class background. 他出身于有抱负的工人阶级家庭。 来自辞典例句

6 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。

7 bass   

n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴

参考例句：

• He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
• The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。

8 salute   

vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮

参考例句：

• Merchant ships salute each other by dipping the flag.商船互相点旗致敬。
• The Japanese women salute the people with formal bows in welcome.这些日本妇女以正式的鞠躬向人们施礼以示欢迎。

9 contention   

n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张

参考例句：

• The pay increase is the key point of contention. 加薪是争论的焦点。
• The real bone of contention,as you know,is money.你知道，争论的真正焦点是钱的问题。

10 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。