BBC English News--Susan Boyle: An Unlikely Superstar?
zhichao Yun
Less than a few weeks ago Susan Boyle was a virtual unknown. However
since auditioning for Britain’s got Talent, a televised talent
competition, she has experienced a stratospheric rise to fame.
A YouTube video of her audition has been watched by more than 26
million people, making it one of the most watched videos on the
internet in recent times. It is undeniable that technology such as
YouTube, Facebook and Twitter has helped to spread the word about
Susan’s performance.
So just what is it about Susan that the people find so fascinating?
Arguably, it is the fact she is such a class act. However, many have
suggested that her biggest appeal lies in her unassuming persona.
Susan’s persona and appearance have been somewhat controversial and
the initial reaction to her audition has made many people question
whether they are guilty of judging a book by its cover. With her plain
Jane, middle-aged looks and her no-nonsense approach to life, Susan is
perhaps the most unlikely star to be discovered of late.
Commenting on her rise to fame, Max Clifford, a renowned PR guru said
that the massive public interest in her is partly due to people having
to challenge their own assumptions and prejudices.
Talking about her audition, Susan said “I expected people to be a wee
bit cynical.” However, she must have been pleased as punch when she
heard the deafening applause and saw the audience’s standing ovation.
So what’s next for Susan? For the moment, she is preparing for her
next appearance on Britain’s got Talent and she is the odds-on-
favourite to win.
Looking forward, with talk of record contracts and celebrity duets, it
is very likely that we’ll soon be seeing a Susan Boyle album in the
charts.
单词注解：
virtual unknown 不出名的
audition [C:5diFEn] v. 进行试演
stratospheric [5strAtEusfErik] adj. 同温层的
spread the word 传出消息
class act 出类拔萃的人
unassuming [5QnE5sju:miN] adj. 不爱显示自己的，谦逊的
persona [pE:5sEunE] n. 人格外貌
judging a book by its cover 以貌取人
plain Jane 外表朴素的女孩子
no-nonsense 严肃的
renowned PR guru 有声望的公关专家
assumption [E5sQmpFEn] n. 假想
prejudice [5predVudis] n. 偏见
wee [wi:] adj. 稍微有一点儿
cynical [5sinikEl] adj. 愤世嫉俗的
pleased as punch 非常高兴
applause [E5plC:z] n. 掌声
standing ovation 长时间的喝彩
odds-on-favourite 有希望获胜的
苏珊.博伊尔：不被看好的新星？
就在几个星期之前，苏珊·博伊尔还不被人所熟知。但是自从在《英国达人》这个电视选秀节目中试演之后，她的名气渐渐攀升了。
有超过两千六百万人观看了她在YouTube上的一个试演片段，成为最近互联网上点击率最高的视频之一。不可否认，像YouTube、
Facebook 和Twitter这些网络科技的确帮助宣传了苏珊的表演。
那么是什么让人们对苏珊如此之痴迷呢？可以说，事实上，她的确很出类拔萃。但是，很多人觉得，她最大的吸引力在于她谦逊的外表。
苏珊的外貌受到很大争议，最初人们听到她的歌声时的反应使他们产生了疑问，以貌取人是不是错的。平平的相貌、中年妇女的打扮、严肃的生活态度，苏珊或许
是近期发掘出来的最不像明星的人了。
对于苏珊逐渐上升的名气，著名的公关专家马克思·克利福德评论到，大众喜欢她的部分原因是，人们不得不挑战他们自己的假想和偏见。
谈到她的视唱，苏珊说“我觉得人们对我有一点点愤世嫉俗。”不管怎样，当她听到那震耳欲聋的掌声及长时间的喝彩的时候，她应该感到高兴和满足了。
接下来苏珊在做什么呢？目前她正在准备《英国达人》的下一场表演，她很有希望赢得这场比赛。
期待一下吧，谈到唱片合同，我们很有可能在不久的将来在歌曲排行榜上看到苏珊·博伊尔的专辑。