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
Welcome back, everybody.
I guess you could say Sammi Cheng's career officially started in 1990 with the
release of her debut album, Sammi.
It was good but not good enough to put her on the A-list.
In the years that followed, Sammi polished her singing skills, delved into
acting and started shaping her image.
It all paid off in 1996, the year she earned the title "Queen of Pop".
Let's continue learning about Sammi Cheng's phenomenal rise to the top on line
9.
Sammi Cheng.
From then on, her audience began to grow.
"Fiery Motion," a 1992 album by Cheng and three other singers, contributed to
her success.
So did her 1993 album "Happy Maze." Soon Cheng was one of Hong Kong's most
popular female singers.
She continued creating new albums and won many awards - 23 of them in 1996
alone.
That same year she began giving solo concerts, performing eight nights in a row.
These concerts were so successful that her second concert, "Sammi Star Show,"
was held 16 nights.
Friends, I hope you enjoy her music video.
That is from Sammi's most recent album.
But right now we're talking about her first album called: Sammi.
OK. Now we saw that she began this album in 1990.
And from that time forward, or from then on, her audience began to grow.
That's right.
Her audience began to grow, which means people began to talk about her and her
fame became more and more popular.
People enjoyed her music.
And it makes sense that once you have an album released, people can actually buy
and listen to your music.
So you're... you do become more popular; your audience grows.
Yeah. You have an audience.
People are buying your music, listening to your music.
And that's what an audience is.
Ffriends, "Fiery Motion," which is a 1992 album by Cheng and three other
singers, that album contributed to her success.
That's right.
So this album is called "Fiery Motion." And it was not just her on the album.
It was three other singers.
So it's a combination of people working together.
And it contributed to her success.
All right.
The word "contribute" means to give something in order to make something else
better, basically to help.
That's right.
So even though it wasn't just her singing, it helped her become more successful.
So did her 1993 album called: Happy Maze.
OK. So she released two more albums within a couple of years, and then she
became more successful.
She had a better career.
That's right.
So we see this word "album" over and over and over again.
So we know she is working extremely hard.
It takes a lot of work to put out, to produce and release music.
So we know she's had to be exhausted.
She was working so hard to get three albums out in just three years.
Yeah, she did it very quickly.
But that work paid off because she quickly became one of Hong Kong's most
popular female singers.
That's right.
So soon, it didn't take long, Cheng was one of Hong Kong's most popular female
singers.
So she was starting to make her mark.
People started to recognize her.
Yeah, especially as a woman becoming very popular in Hong Kong.
Maybe she wasn't as popular in the world yet, but that would come later.
That's right.
Well, she continued creating new music, new albums.
She was taking on new challenges.
So she wasn't just doing old music, she was actually creating her own stuff.
And because of this, she won many awards - 23 of them in 1996 alone.
OK. So she created her albums.
People were listening to them.
She was becoming popular.
But she also won awards.
And an "award" is a prize you get for something. Right, Kaylah?
That's right.
An award is money or prize that is following an official decision of something
you have done well and are rewarded with.
So the award is the prize itself.
Well, that sentence there is an interesting phrase.
It says 23 of them in 1996 alone.
And I'm going to let Liz talk to you.
So let's visit Liz with Grammar on the Go.
Hello, friends.
Greetings from Hong Kong.
My name is Liz.
And it's time for Grammar on the Go.
We're talking about Sammi in today's article.
And here's our Grammar Tip sentence.
She continued creating new albums and won many awards - 23 of them in 1996
alone.
Our focus today is on the word, alone.
Normally we use this word to talk about how a person is by himself or herself,
and that there is no one else, like:
Bob was alone in the empty parking lot.
But in the case of today's sentence, "alone" has a different meaning.
Here the word means "only." And in today's sentence, it's emphasizing how just
within the year of 1996, Sammi won 23 awards.
You can use "alone" like this when you want to show how someone or something is
the only one who can do something or has a special characteristic.
For example: Candace can't afford a trip to Europe; the price of airfare alone
is more than her monthly salary.
Or: The professor tells her students that their class participation alone
determines whether they will pass the course or not.
So friends, next time when you want to talk about how someone or something is
the only one able to do something,
or has a certain characteristic, then try using the word: alone.
And if you'd like to see some more example sentences, check out today's Grammar
Tip section.
You'll find more example sentences there.
That's it for today.
This is Liz with Grammar on the Go, signing off, in Hong Kong.
Bye-bye.
All right.
Thank you very much, Liz.
We see here that Sammi Cheng won 23 awards only in the year 1996 alone.
Well, that same year she also began giving solo concerts, performing eight
nights in a row.
Wow! That's a lot of work for one year.
She began giving solo concerts.
Now "solo" means you are doing something alone or without other people.
So even though she did one CD with three other artists, she's now a solo artist
working alone.
She has her own band, but she is the only singer.
And she would perform her concerts for eight nights in a row.
Yeah. Now friends, if you do something "in a row," that means you do not take
any breaks in between, so.
She did this in one week and a day.
That's right.
That's a lot of work.
It's a lot of very tiring work.
Well, these concerts were so successful that her second concert tour, which was
called "Sammi Star Show," was held 16 nights.
So she started with 8, but she was so successful, they double that.
Yes, that's right.
So 16 nights in a row, that is a very long show.
And of course, this was called "Sammi Star Show," named after her, so it was a
solo concert as well.
That's right.
Now it's impressive to add just a couple of nights, two or three nights.
But to double that amount means she is growing in popularity and becoming an
extremely famous artist.
OK, friends, join us tomorrow for even more on Sammi Cheng.
For right now, let's visit the Chat Room.
Excuse me, Ken.
Here's something you might find interesting.
Oh, yeah? What is it?
It's a violin recital given by Phoebe Johnson.
It'll be held here this Friday evening at the library.
A violin recital?
Is that like a concert?
Yes. It's a special kind of concert.
A recital is a solo performance.
Solo? You mean a person singing a song or playing an instrument by themselves?
That's right.
You got it.
Hey, Bryan, what about when two people singing or playing an instrument
together?
Is there a term for that?
Sure. That's called a duet.
And when three people sing or play instruments together, it is called a trio.
Also, when someone does something by themselves, we can say they're doing
something solo.
For example, if I travel by myself, I'm traveling solo.
If I work by myself, I'm working solo.
Ah. That's good information.
So Bryan, you're working solo today.
Do you ever work duet with someone?
Ken, you can't say it that way.
"Duet" is mainly used in music, while "solo" can be used as a noun or adverb in
different situations.
If two people are doing something together, you could say that they're working
in pairs or they are partners.
You could also call them a duo, D-U-O.
What if three people are working together?
Well, in that case, you could say they're working in threes, or you could say
that they are a working trio.
I see.
Well, let me show this to my wife.
Maybe she'll be interested in this recital.
OK.
Hope to see you there.
(Chinese).
Hi, everyone. I'm Michelle.
(Chinese).
And that concludes our Language Tips today.
I'll see you next time.
Bye-bye.
Thanks again, Michelle.
We appreciate that.
Now as an indication of just how unbelievably successful Sammi Cheng was as a
singer,
in 1996, when she was just 24 years old, she already had released not 1, not 2
or 3, but 4 Greatest Hits albums.
Are you serious?
How many singers have a Greatest Hits album in their entire career?
Could Sammi Cheng be any more successful?
Well, yes, she can.
Friends, we still need to talk about Sammi Cheng's career as an actress, which
we'll do tomorrow.
So until then, I hope all of you have a fantasticday.