Long Live the King(b) |传奇流行乐天王——麦可‧杰克森(b)

by Marcus Maurice

It's been a year since his death, but Michael Jackson has not been forgotten.

麦可‧杰克森逝世已一周年，但他的传奇将永远不会被人遗忘。

Michael Jackson soon went on to much bigger things. In 1979, Jackson put out his first solo album, Off the Wall, with producer Quincy Jones. In 1982, Jackson teamed up with Jones again and released Thriller, which went on to become the most popular album of all time. With its 37 weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, Thriller was compared to a household necessity like a refrigerator or a couch because everybody had to have it.

The crazy thing about fame is that it is fleeting, and many superstars have a hard time staying on top. Soon, tabloids were filled with stories about Michael Jackson's plastic surgery, his pet chimpanzee, his amusement park home, and more. In the mid-1990s, he was accused of child abuse, and even though he was never convicted, he became the butt of many jokes. Unfortunately, the damage was done, and his reputation was stained for the rest of his life.

In the weeks before his untimely death in 2009, Jackson was rehearsing for his comeback tour of 50 sold-out shows at London's O2 arena. Footage of the effort going into the production was made into the documentary, Michael Jackson's This Is It. When the film was released, it became the highest grossing musical documentary ever. In the end, some of Jackson's quirky habits overshadowed his immense talent as a singer, but no one will ever be as influential or as popular as the King of Pop was in the prime of his career.

1.  What happened first in Michael Jackson's career?

(A) He shut down the Internet.

(B) He changed record companies.

(C) He released the hottest record of all time.

(D) He had four number one hits with his brothers.

2.  According to the article, how did Jackson feel about his father?

(A) He wanted to escape from him.

(B) He preferred working with Quincy Jones to his father.

(C) He was afraid of him but thought that his work ethic was the reason for his success.

(D) He never saw his father after he became a solo artist.

3.  What does the author mean when he writes that fame is fleeting?

(A) It's not as easy as everyone thinks it is to be famous.

(B) One minute you can be popular, and the next minute you can be forgotten.

(C) Everyone has the opportunity to become famous.

(D) Jackson became more famous after he died.

4.  What was Jackson doing at the time of his death?

(A) Working on a new music video.

(B) Moving to England.

(C) Practicing for a concert.

(D) Fighting rumors about his plastic surgery.

麦可‧杰克森不久便接着展开更伟大的事业。1979年，杰克森发行了他个人的第一张专辑《疯狂》，当时的制作人是昆西‧琼斯。1982年，杰克森和琼斯再次携手合作，发行了《颤栗》，这张专辑后来成为史上最热卖的专辑。由于 37 周稳坐《告示牌》百大单曲排行榜冠军宝座，《颤栗》被比喻为像冰箱或沙发这类的家庭必需品，因为每个人都非有不可。

　　名声这东西难以驾驭的地方在于它有如昙花一现，许多超级巨星都无法让自己永远处在巅峰。很快地，小报上充斥着麦可‧杰克森整容、养猩猩当宠物、把家里布置得像游乐场之类的消息。1990年代中期，他被指控虐童（编按：这里是指性骚扰），虽然他从未被定罪，但他却成了许多玩笑嘲弄的对象。不幸的是，这件事对他已经造成伤害，他往后的名声也蒙上了污点。

2009 年在杰克森骤逝的前几个星期，他一直在为自己的复出演唱会做排练，原本要在伦敦 O2 体育馆举行的 50 场演唱会门票全数销售一空。彩排的影片被制作成纪录片《麦可‧杰克森未来的未来演唱会电影》，这部影片上映后，成为史上最卖座的音乐纪录片。虽然在后期，杰克森的一些古怪习惯盖过了他歌唱天赋的光彩，不过，再也不会有人能够像这位流行乐天王在事业巅峰时期那样具有影响力或受人欢迎。

   1.  在麦可‧杰克森的事业中，下列何者最先发生？

(A) 他瘫痪了网络。

(B) 他换了唱片公司。

(C) 他发行了有史以来最畅销的唱片。

(D) 他和兄弟共发行 4 首冠军单曲。

   2.  根据本文，杰克森对他的父亲有何想法？

(A) 他想要逃离他父亲。

(B) 比起他的父亲，他比较喜欢和昆西‧琼斯合作。

(C) 他很畏惧他父亲，但认为父亲对工作的坚持是自己成功的原因。

(D) 他单飞后就从未见过他父亲。

   3.  作者用 "fleeting" 来形容名声的意思为何？

(A) 要出名不如大家所想的那样容易。

(B) 前一刻你可能很受欢迎，但下一秒你可能就被大家所遗忘。

(C) 人人都有机会成名。

(D) 杰克森在去世后更加出名。

   4.  杰克森去世前正在进行什么事？

(A) 拍摄一支新的音乐录像带。

(B) 搬去英国。

(C) 为一场演唱会做练习。

(D) 反驳有关他整形的谣言。

答案：1. (D)2. (C)3. (B)4. (C)

For Your Information

麦克‧杰克森在 1983 年配合新专辑 Thriller《战栗》的同名歌曲所发行的音乐录像带，被美国国会图书馆（Library of Congress ）纳入国家电影收藏。这个长度有 14 分钟的音乐录像带，是 2009 年被美国国会图书馆收藏的 26 部影片中，唯一的一部音乐录像带。国会图书馆形容它是音乐工业一项革命性的制作。《战栗》也是全球第一支有故事内容的 MV，麦可‧杰克森在影片中化身为疆尸，大秀舞技。