节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2012-09-03
难易度:Low
关键字:pop [popular], contract, contribute, award, striking, solo
Hi, everybody. Welcome to Studio Classroom Worldwide.
My name is Steve.
Thanks for joining us today.
Now I don't know how or why it happens, but in this age of reality shows,
fanzines, chat shows and Twitter,
people without any talent are becoming famous.
So I think it's refreshing when we can introduce and discuss someone who does
really have some talent.
someone like this month's Studio Classroom PROFILE personality, Sammi Cheng.
Now Sammi Cheng's great talents in singing and acting have earned her award
after award after award.
Let's open our Studio Classroom magazines now and learn about this very gifted
entertainer's journey to stardom on page 14.
Sammi Cheng.
This star's journey out of darkness.
In Hong Kong, a city filled with stars, Sammi Cheng stands out.
Her talent in singing and acting and her sense of style are striking.
It is no wonder that some have called her the "Queen of "Pop"!
A successful career.
Cheng's great talent became obvious at a singing contest when she was 16.
She won third place and received a contract with a music company.
Two years later, in 1990, she released her first album, "Sammi.".
Hello, friends.
Thank you so much for joining us right here in the studio.
My name is Kaylah.
And my name is Ryan.
And friends, we are taking a look at our PROFILE article this month where we're
talking about a famous actress and musician.
Kaylah, what is her name?
Well, her name is Sammi Cheng.
And this... we're talking today about this star's journey out of darkness.
Now Ryan, this kind of sounds weird.
What does it mean to go through a journey of darkness?
OK. Well, she's leaving the darkness on this journey.
And we're going to see over the next couple of days what that darkness is in her
life.
But first, we see she is a star.
And this is not talking about stars in the sky.
This means she is a famous person.
That's right.
Now we're going to get started.
It says "In Hong Kong," so we know she is from Hong Kong.
In Hong Kong, a city filled with stars, Sammi Cheng definitely stands out.
So Hong Kong is famous for having a lot of actors and musicians come from there.
Ryan, can you name any other Hong Kong movie stars?
I can. Friends, I'm sure you have heard of Jackie Chan.
He is also a star that comes out of Hong Kong.
That's right.
Well, she is from Hong Kong.
And even though there're so many famous people that come from there, she still
stands out.
That means we still recognize her, we still see her as something special.
That's right, friends.
Her talent in singing and in acting and her sense of style are all striking.
Now she's got a lot of things she does here:
She's a singer, she's an actress, but she's very popular for her sense of style.
And that means the way that she dresses or the kind of clothes that she chooses.
That's right.
Friends, you can see a picture of her style on page 14, and it is definitely
striking.
That's right.
Now the word "striking" means it's very unusual and easily noticed.
So if you have a striking personality, maybe you stand out as someone very happy
or very excited.
She has striking clothes.
Ryan, who's another artist that would have very striking style?
Definitely Lady Gaga.
This is an easy answer.
Lady Gaga has a very unusual and striking sense of style.
That's right.
But Sammi has been around longer, and she has a striking sense of style.
Well, it is no wonder that some have called her the "Queen of Pop"!
All right.
Friends, "pop" music is music that is very modern and very popular in this time.
It usually has a very strong beat.
That's right.
We like to dance to pop music.
"Pop," the name comes from the word popular.
So it's what people enjoy to listen to.
Now let's talk about her career, how she got started and how she got to where
she is so successfully.
OK. Well, yes, we see she has a successful career.
So let's start at the beginning.
Her great talent became obvious at a singing contest when she was just 16.
That's right.
Ryan, we do often talk about famous artists.
And we see so many of them are talented from the time they're just young,
children sometimes, even just teenagers.
And Sammi is one of those.
She had the courage to start competing.
And by 16, she was winning competitions.
Yeah. She was in a singing contest, like you said, is a competition, people try
and sing and see who is the best.
Were you ever in a competition like that?
Uh... no. I never was in any singing contest.
But I'm glad Sammi was because she won third place and received a contract with
a music company by competing.
OK. So she didn't get first place in this contest, but it didn't matter because
she got a contract.
And what does that mean?
A "contract" is that agreement, it's a legal document an agreement that states
or explains how the relationship is going to work.
So in more simple terms when we talk about music, she signed with people who are
going to help her get her music out.
And in turn, she will pay them.
OK. So a contract is basically a legal promise to do something.
And so if she got a contract with a music company, that means she gets to record
with them, she promises to work for them.
So even though she was in third place, she was still very talented that this
music company wanted her.
Well, two years later, in 1990, she released her first album called Sammi.
OK. So she released an album.
Friends, when you release something, that means you make it available for people
to buy.
And she released an album.
Can you explain that?
Well, an album is referring to a set of music.
So now we would call them a CD.
But an album is the list of songs, the music itself, that comes on either the CD
or a tape or a record.
OK. Now friends, a lot has happened in her life since 1990.
And we'll get to learn all about that after we watch this music video.