前段时间,“苏珊大妈”红遍网络,大红大紫之势连美国总统都自叹不如。这位其貌不扬的大妈级人物拥有夜莺般的天籁歌声。自从在“Britain's Got Talent”(《英国达人》)节目上一鸣惊人之后,她的粉丝数量火速增加,上至总统夫人、好莱坞明星,下至平民百姓,全为了她一曲高歌而欢呼雀跃,感动流泪。
其实,“苏珊大妈”只是全球“选秀”活动的一个成功缩影。美国的“American Idol”(《美国偶像》)、中国的《超级女声》,还有全球各地轰轰烈烈举行的各种选秀比赛,捧出了不少明星。他们拥有不容置疑的才华,这是他们成功的根本。假若我们用更理性的角度来评断“苏珊大妈”的爆红现象,是否可以说,正是一对本应是无限对立的矛盾—平凡到有些抱歉的外形条件 vs. 精彩到近乎纯粹的才艺展示,它们之间的巨大对比才成就了“苏珊大妈”?
亲爱的读者朋友,你对这个话题又有什么看法呢?欢迎来信、来邮,或是登录《疯狂英语口语版》官方博客(http://csblogs.blog.163.com/)与我们讨论!
Clip 1
With a projected 15 million watching on live TV, this would be the performance of a lifetime.
Host of “Britain’s Got Talent”: This is the one we’ve all been waiting for.
For the retiring 48-year old Scottish woman, Susan Boyle, and nine other finalists in the “Britain’s Got Talent” show, who would win the $160,000 first prize and the promise of a 1)lucrative musical career?
拥有一千五百万电视直播观众的关注,这可谓是一场一生中绝无仅有的表演。
《英国达人》主持人:这是一场我们期盼已久的比赛。
是这位(将近)48岁、失业的苏格兰女子苏珊·博伊尔,还是其他9位进入《英国达人》决赛的参赛选手,究竟,谁将赢得16万美元(约等于10万英镑)的冠军奖金和一份前途无限的音乐道路发展承诺?
Host of “Britain’s Got Talent”: DIVERSITY!
In the end, Boyle was runner-up to a dance 2)troupe called “Diversity”, whom she congratulated graciously.
Boyle: The best people won.
She’s still likely to make millions of dollars in CD deals and 3)endorsements.
《英国达人》主持人:万象!
最终,博伊尔败给街舞组合“万象”,获得亚军。但她诚恳优雅地对冠军表达了祝贺。
博伊尔:最好的选手获得了冠军。
不过她仍很有可能从CD唱片交易和合约中赚到数百万。
(Boyle singing)
Boyle, the 4)front-runner, exploded on the scene 7 weeks ago, her golden voice 5)belying her looks…(Boyle singing) making her an instant Internet superstar. The audition, downloaded more than 200 million times, 6)propelled her into the semi-finals.
(博伊尔比赛歌唱中)
博伊尔,这个冠军候选的大热门,7个星期前亮相便一鸣惊人。与她普通的外表不符的甜美歌声……(博伊尔歌唱中)让她马上成为网络红人。她的参赛视频在网络上被下载次数超过两亿次,也帮助她获得进入半决赛的资格。
(Boyle singing)
There, a slightly made-over if 7)jittery Susan Boyle stunned fans when she missed the opening notes of “Memories”, the theme from the musical “Cats”, before recovering to rousing applause.
But that was enough for some critics to question her talent. And then disturbing reports that Boyle shouted 8)obscenities at reporters in a hotel; she was said to be feeling the strain.
Piers Morgan (“Britain’s Got Talent” Judge): Someone who’s come from 9)anonymity to global stardom almost overnight, and we feel responsible for her and for her well-being.
Boyle was advised to stay in a safe-house to better cope with her new fame. Tonight she responded with her best effort yet.
(博伊尔歌唱中)
就是这里,如果说一开始紧张的苏珊·博伊尔在演唱音乐剧《猫》的主题曲《回忆》开头部分就出现几个音调走音,让她的粉丝们紧张不已的话,她余下的发挥精彩到足以引起满堂喝彩。 但那已经留下足够的证据让一些评论家对她的才能品头论足一番了。随后就有报道说,博伊尔在旅馆对着记者大骂脏话,她开始感受到成名的巨大压力。
皮尔斯·摩根(《英国达人》评委):她就是那种一夜之间从默默无闻变成全球明星的人,我们觉得应该对她和她的生活安宁负责任。
博伊尔被建议呆在一个不受侵扰的地方,以求更快更好地适应这些突如其来的光环与名声。今晚,她用她最好的表现来回应一切。
(Boyle singing)
Simon Cowell (“Britain’s Got Talent” Executive Producer): You have the 10)guts to come back here tonight, face your critics, and you beat them.
Reporter: She may have lost tonight, but win or lose, Susan Boyle has become a successful trademark at home and abroad.
Susan Boyle’s dream almost came true. Back in Scotland her friends reacted to her loss with disbelief. But the shy woman, who lives alone with her cat, had won something too—a new life.
(博伊尔歌唱中)
西蒙·考威尔(《英国达人》执行制作人):你今晚有勇气回来,站在这个舞台上,直面那些评论家,并最终打败了他们。
记者:她今晚可能输了,但无论输赢,苏珊·博伊尔都已经成为全国甚至全世界家喻户晓的人物。
苏珊·博伊尔的梦想几乎要成真了。在她的老家苏格兰,她的朋友对她失利都表示难以置信。但这个只与她的猫共渡人生的腼腆女人,也赢得了另一些东西——一种崭新的生活。
Clip 2
(这段声音资料中,苏珊·博伊尔的苏格兰英语口语颇为浓重。建议读者进行泛听即可,当然,想领略苏格兰乡下口音的读者朋友也完全可以从“苏珊大妈”的访谈中感受一二。嘻嘻～)
Boyle: That’s not the response I expected, no.
博伊尔:那不是我料想的反应。完全不是。
Yeah, it’s understandable that 47-year old 11)amateur singer Susan Boyle didn’t expect her performance on “Britain’s Got Talent” to turn her into an overnight global phenomenon. But that’s exactly what it’s done. The unemployed church-goer has now proved more popular than Barack Obama on YouTube, and she has her own fans camped outside her home in Blackburne.
是的,这位47岁的业余歌手苏珊·博伊尔未曾料想过她在《英国达人》上的表演竟能一夜之间成为全球热门话题,这件事是完全可以理解的。但这件事的确发生了。这个没有固定工作的基督教徒如今在YouTube上的受欢迎程度比巴拉克·奥巴马还高。在她位于布莱克本的家外面,也经常聚集了她的歌迷。
Boyle: I do feel rather overwhelmed and 12)humbled. I’m very humbled and very grateful.
博伊尔:我的确感到很有压力,有点受宠若惊。我很受惊,同时也很感激。
Her new 13)mentor, Simon Cowell, is delighted for her. In a recent interview the talent 14)guru 15)marveled at how amazing it is that just a week or so ago no one had heard of Susan, and now there’s millions of people all over the world talking about her.
她的新导师,西蒙·考威尔,也为她感到很高兴。在一次最近的采访中,这位选秀专家也惊叹于一两个星期前还默默无闻的苏珊,现在竟成为世界上数百万人谈论的焦点。
This isn’t Miss Boyle’s first taste of fame. She started singing when she was a child and has appeared on TV before.
但这不是博伊尔小姐的首次亮相。她从小开始唱歌,也曾经在电视上出现过。
Boyle: …singing from age 12, and I was in a lot of productions at school and a lot of productions in the…well, you know, in the choirs at school; stuff like that. And…there was a time when there was a bit of a gap and then went to acting school…did singing there, and then was taught privately singing, and another gap because of circumstances at home, and I decided then to turn professional, and…I did Michael Barrymore’s “My Kind of People (talent show)” after that, and then after that I did “Britain’s Got Talent”.
博伊尔:……我从12岁开始唱歌,我参加了学校的许多活动,还有……你知道,学校合唱队的许多活动,类似这样的。然后……有一段时间我中止了唱歌,又去了表演学校,在那儿唱歌;然后又接受了个人演唱培训,后来因为家里的情况又中断了一段时间,最后我决定要成为职业歌手,于是,在那之后我参加了迈克尔·巴里摩尔主持的《我这样的人》才艺表演节目,最终,我参加了《英国达人》。
And the rest, as they say, is history. Like any pro star she won’t talk about her private life.
就像其他人说的,以前已经成为历史。跟别的职业明星一样,她也避免谈及她的私生活。
Boyle: Aah, No comment. No comment.
博伊尔:啊,我不作评论,不作评论。
And she also reckons, like most of today’s 16)celebs do, that fame hasn’t and won’t change her.
Boyle: (It) hasn’t changed me one little bit. I keep me feet very firmly on the ground.
另外,她也跟当今的许多名人一样,认为名声没有,也不会改变她。
博伊尔:(名气)一点儿也没改变我。我现在仍然脚踏实地。
“选秀”比赛真能选出天才吗?
Opinion 1
Susan Boyle is totally overrated. She’s definitely not all she’s cracked up to be.
Tips 1: “苏珊大妈”现在无人不晓,但这位说话者却觉得大家对她的评价太言过其实(be overrated),她可远远没有大家说的那么好。“It’s not all it’s cracked up to be.”可谓一句锦囊妙句,表示某事、某物或某人远没有大家说的那么好。
Opinion 2
Of course they find talent! Look at stars like Jane Zhang, Kelly Clarkson and Leona Lewis. They all came from talent shows. The evidence speaks for itself.
Tips 2: 选秀选秀,选出来的当然是优秀的人才。从“选秀”比赛出道的不少明星现在都如日中天,比如《超级女声》出来的张靓颖、首届“American Idol”(《美国偶像》)冠军Kelly Clarkson,还有英国选秀节目“The X Factor”总冠军、曾在北京奥运会闭幕式上为伦敦奥运会高歌而为人熟知的Leona Lewis。看着这些人,还用怀疑“选秀”比赛的意义吗?事实已经说明了一切。“sth. speak(s) for itself”表示某事物已经证明了一切。
Opinion 3
Susan Boyle is a breath of fresh air. She brought the whole world together. What an inspiration!
Tips 3: “a breath of fresh air”,顾名思义,一缕清风。把苏珊·博伊尔称作“一缕清风”,这位说话者必是“苏珊大妈”的支持者无疑了。他说苏珊把整个世界都连在一起,这是一件多么振奋人心的事情!(What an inspiration!)
Opinion 4
They don’t produce anything groundbreaking. They are just for people searching for their 15 minutes of fame.
Tips 4: 这位说话者显然对“选秀”比赛有更理性的看法,他认为,归根到底,“选秀”比赛都还是中规中矩,并没做出什么大胆的、颠覆底线(groundbreaking)的表演。它们迎合了某些人想出名的心情。“15 minutes of fame”这个短语可是大有来头,它由美国艺术家Andy Warhol于1968年提出,原句为:“Everyone has fifteen minutes of fame.”(每个人都能当15分钟的名人。)现在这个短语被广泛用来表示(因媒体舆论关注而)短暂出名、大出风头。
Opinion 5
I’m head over heels for any type of talent shows: singing, dancing, whatever. I think it’s a great way to uncover hidden gems in the world.
Tips 5: “head over heels”从字面上很好理解,就是从头到脚。从头到脚都倾慕于某人或某物,这还不是神魂颠倒的意思?这位说话者喜欢看各种类型的“选秀”节目,包括歌唱、舞蹈,一切一切(whatever)。她认为这是挖掘潜在人才的好方法呢。
Opinion 6
The talent show formula is not a one-way ticket to success. Sometimes they produce some real duds, but every now and then they find a true star.
Tips 6: 从“选秀”节目出来的明星也不能打包票一定会获得成功。“a one-way ticket”本为“单程票”的意思,这里可以理解为“通往成功的必然路径”。因为,“选秀”节目选出来的有一些人最终都归于平凡(duds),只有少数几个成为真正的明星。
Opinion 7
I couldn’t care less about that rubbish. Those shows are just like factories, pumping out cookie-cutter “artists”.
Tips 7: “I couldn’t care less.”=“I don’t care at all.”在非正式场合里,“I couldn’t care less”用来表示对某事毫不在意,毫不关心。说话者觉得这些节目好像工厂一样,制作出大量没有什么特色的样板明星出来。“cookie-cutter”是个很有意思的词,它本来指那些做饼干用的模子,说话者把“选秀”明星们比喻成饼干模子,就是讽刺他们千篇一律,没有个人特色。
Opinion 8
Some people are quick to write talent shows off, but if they bothered to watch and listen, they would realize the talent. These people can actually sing, and a lot of the time they can sing better than “real” recording artists.
Tips 8: 有些人觉得看这类“选秀”节目都是浪费时间(write sth. off),不过如果留心观看一下,说不定能听到或看到比职业人士更好的表演。“write sth. off”也作“write off sth.”,表示在没有任何证据的情况下就断定某事是不好的、不会成功的。无论是对“选秀”节目还是其他事情,这种态度可不太好哦。