英语短文精读【14】乐坛金童周杰伦 Jay Chou

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【开篇小问】

周杰伦是被谁捧红的？
a. 他的妈妈
b. 王小燕
c. 白冰冰
d. 吴宗宪

答案：d.

乐坛金童周杰伦

走过年少的平凡，看淡成名的光环。周杰伦的成长历程，让我们一起分享……

His teacher thought he was dumb. Talent spotters（星探） thought he was ugly. But Jay Chou,（周杰伦） 24, is now one of Asia's hottest pop stars. Last week he had the honor of being the first Asian male singer to make the cover of Time.

老师认为他愚笨，星探认为他其貌不扬，但是24岁的周杰伦现已成为亚洲最耀眼的明星之一。上周他还有幸成为美国著名《时代》杂志封面的第一位亚洲男歌手。

Chou did poorly at math, science and English. But his mother noticed the quiet, shy boy was sensitive to（对……敏感） music: when he heard western pop music, he seemed to vibrate.（颤动、摆动） So she took Chou to piano school at four years old. He practiced all the time, focusing on the keys the way other children focus on ice cream.

周杰伦的数学、自然科学和英语成绩很差。但他妈妈却注意到这个安静、内向的孩子对音乐十分敏感：一听到西方流行乐，他就好像要跳舞的样子。所以在四岁时妈妈就送他学钢琴。他利用一切可能的时间练习，他练琴时的专注不亚于其他孩子对冰淇淋的迷恋。

Although Wu didn't think Chou's ordinary-looking appearance would help him become an entertainer,（表演者） Chou proved that he could be more than a songwriter. His catchy（反复不定的） tunes have mainstreamed（成为主流） rap and R&B in the Mando-pop world. And his success proves that the music still matters（紧要） more than looks and image.

尽管吴宗宪认为周杰伦相貌平平，不太可能成为歌手，但是周杰伦最终证明了自己能做的不仅是写歌的而已。他的反复不定的曲调已经引领了华语rap和R&B乐坛的主流。他的成功也证明了音乐终究比相貌和形象更重要。

【世博读书笔记】

1.dumb本是“耳聋的”意思，在美国口语里却经常表示stupid，比如当你问了一个很蠢的问题，别人可能就会说What a dumb question.

2．focus的意思是to pay particular attention to (使)集中，常和介词on连用。它原表示照像时“调焦”的意思，常用短语是 in/out of focus 对准／没对准焦距，举个例子：
This photo of John isn't in focus; I can't see his face clearly.
John的照片没对准焦距，我看不清他的脸。

它引申为“集中精力、集中注意力”的意思，集中精力在……方面，就是focus on…，比如：
You must try to focus your mind on work and study.
你应该努力把思想集中在工作的学习上。

【世博句型留言板】

今天，我们来学一个表达恭敬意思的很正式的句型，have the honor意思是“很荣幸……”

I have the honor to introduce the great scientist to you.
我很荣幸把这位伟大的科学家介绍给你们。

May I have the honor of asking for your hand in marriage?
我有这个荣幸请你嫁给我吗？

练习：
1．我有这个荣幸介绍苏珊娜吗？
2．见到您很荣幸。

练习答案：
1．May I have the pleasure/ honor of introducing Susanna？
2．It’s an honor to meet you.