Mini-Biography for Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn was born on May 4, 1929 in Brussels, Belgium, with the given name of Edda Kathleen van Heemstra Hepburn-Ruston. She really was blue-blood from the beginning with her father, a wealthy English banker, and her mother, a Dutch baroness. After her parents divorced, Audrey went to London with her mother where she went to a private girls school. Later, when her mother moved back to the Netherlands, she attended private schools as well. While vacationing with her mother in Arnhem, Holland, Hitler's army suddenly took over the town. It was here that she fell on hard times during the Nazi occupation. Audrey suffered from depression and malnutrition. After the liberation, Audrey went to a ballet school in London on a scholarship and later began a modeling career. As a model, she was graceful and, it seemed, she had found her niche in life--until the film producers came calling. After being spotted modeling by a producer, she was signed to a bit part in the European film Nederlands in 7 lessen (1948) in 1948. Later, she had a speaking role in the 1951 film, Young Wives' Tale (1951) as Eve Lester. The part still wasn't much, so she headed to America to try her luck there.
奧黛麗·赫本小傳
奧黛麗·赫本出生于1929年5月4日的比利時布魯塞爾，教名是Edda Kathleen Heemstra Hepburn-Ruston。她是貴族血統，父親是英國富有的銀行家，母親是荷蘭女男爵。父母離婚后，奧黛麗·赫本和母親去了倫敦，在那里上了一所私立女子學校。后來，母親返回荷蘭，她同樣在荷蘭上私立學校。她和母親在荷蘭阿納姆度假時，希特勒的軍隊突然接管了城鎮。在納粹分子統治時期，奧黛麗·赫本在那里過了一段艱苦的生活。她一直忍受著抑郁和營養不良的痛苦。解放后，赫本去了倫敦的一所芭蕾舞學校，獲得了學位，后來就開始了她的模特生涯。作為一名模特，她的儀態優雅，她感到似乎已經找到適合她一生的位置---直到電影制片人打來電話。1948年，被制片人發現后，她簽約在一部歐洲電影里扮演一個小角色，“7 lessen”(1948)。過后，1951年，她在電影“Young Wives' Tale”里飾演Eve Lester，是正式的演員。角色一直不很多，因此她前往美國去試試運氣。
Audrey gained immediate prominence in the US with her role in Roman Holiday (1953) in 1953. This film turned out to be a smashing success as she won an Oscar as Best Actress. This gained her enormous popularity and more plum roles. One of the reasons for her popularity was the fact that she was so elf like and had class, unlike the ***-goddesses of the time. Roman Holiday was followed by another similarly wonderful performance in the 1957 classic Funny Face (1957). Sabrina (1954), in 1954, for which she received another Academy nomination, and Love in the Afternoon (1957), in 1957, also garnered rave reviews. In 1959, she received yet another nomination for her role in _Nun's Story (1959). Audrey reached the pinnacle of her career when she played Holly Golightly in the delightful film, Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) in 1961. For this she received another nomination. One of Audrey's most radiant roles was in the fine production of My Fair Lady (1964), in 1964. Her co-star Rex Harrison once was asked to identify his favorite leading lady. Without hesitation, he replied, "Audrey Hepburn in MY FAIR LADY". After a couple of other movies, she hit pay dirt and another nomination in 1967's Wait Until Dark (1967).
1953 年，奧黛麗·赫本在“羅馬假日”(1953)中的演出使她在美國變的引人注目。這部電影取得了了不起的成功，她因此而獲得了奧斯卡最佳女主角獎，并且備受好評，有很多角色來找她。赫本成為明星的原因之一是她能那天真清純的小精靈形象以及她那古典美，不象當時的那些性感女郎。“羅馬假日”后是另一部同樣極好的電影杰作“甜姐兒”(1957)。1954年，“莎賓娜”(1954)讓她獲得了一個奧斯卡獎提名，1957年的“午戀”(1957)也得到了很多好評。1959年，“修女傳”(1959)讓她又獲得一次提名。1961年，當奧黛麗·赫本在“帝凡尼的早餐”中飾演令人喜愛的Holly Golightly時，達到了她事業的頂峰。這次她又獲得一次提名。赫本最光彩的形象是在名作“窈窕淑女”(1964)中的角色。她的合作者Rex Harrison曾被問及他最喜愛的女主角。他毫不猶豫地回答，“‘窈窕淑女’中的奧黛麗·赫本。”兩部其他電影之后，她又碰到了好運，因為1967年的 “盲女驚魂記”而再次獲得提名。 * prominence (n.) 突起，凸出，顯著，杰出，卓越，聲望

周杰倫，這位備受矚目的華語樂壇巨星，其英文名是Jay Chou。他出生于臺灣省新北市，祖籍福建省泉州市永春縣，自幼便展現出音樂天賦。4歲時，母親葉惠美便引導他接觸鋼琴，這為他后來的音樂之路奠定了基礎。
在成長過程中，周杰倫經歷了家庭的變故。初中二年級時，父母離婚，他跟隨母親生活。盡管中考未能考入普通高中，但他憑借出眾的鋼琴技藝，被淡江中學第一屆音樂班錄取。然而，臺北大學音樂系的兩次報考均未成功，這并未阻礙他的音樂追求，他轉而在餐館打工，繼續磨練自己的技藝。
周杰倫的音樂才華橫溢，他不僅是一位技藝精湛的現場創作者，對各種音樂理論和樂器駕輕就熟，更以其獨特的創作風格引人注目。他的歌曲融合了多種音樂元素，如爵士、藍調、搖滾、納卡西、民謠、嘻哈、美國鄉村音樂和電子音樂，這些元素的巧妙結合使他的音樂具有鮮明的個性，且與傳統音樂形式截然不同，每一首歌都充滿新穎和驚喜。
綜上所述，周杰倫以他的天馬行空的創作思路，不僅在華語樂壇獨樹一幟，也在國際音樂舞臺上留下了深刻的印記，他的英文名Jay Chou，正是他音樂才華的象征。

YOU love Jay Chou’s songs and you can even sing some quite well. So you make a video of your performance and post it online for your friends to see. But what if this led to something beyond your wildest imagination – a career in music?
Canadian teenager Justin Bieber, 16, has just had that magical experience: He posted homemade videos of his versions of songs by American singer Chris Brown online for his relatives. He received a phone call from Brown, telling him how much he liked his performance. His singing eventually earned him a fan base and a record contract (合約). After releasing a popular EP (extended play, 密紋唱片) record in November 2009, his album My World 2.0 came out last Tuesday.
Bieber sings ballads and songs about puppy love (初戀). But is he just another gooey (甜膩的) teen idol? David Malitz, a columnist with the Washington Post, doesn’t think so. “If we truly want the best for American children, let us pause and give thanks for Justin Bieber,” he writes. “After years of humdrum bubblegum (乏味的搖滾舞曲) from Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers, the 16-year-old has thrown a candy-coated wrench (扭轉) into Disney’s heartthrob (甜心) assembly line (生產線) by giving young fans something worth screaming their lungs out for: lovable pop songs.”
From a boy who grew up below the poverty line with his divorced mom to a star who causes near-riots (近乎失控) in shopping malls, even Bieber himself can’t believe his overnight fame, although his kind of success is becoming more and more common in the Internet era (時代).
Interested in hockey (冰球), the national sport of Canada, the boy once put up pictures of players on the walls of his bedroom. He dreamed of being a hockey star and used to practice signing his autograph (簽名). He doesn’t need practice now. He signs autographs, if the girls can get close enough, as a music star.
BONUS
因特網和選秀節目讓不少人一夜成名，談到這個話題，我們可以說:someone achieves overnight fame/success; instant fame; rises from a nobody to a somebody; rockets to stardom.
Teens點金
高考詞匯
lower //
v. 降低，放下，減弱
The flags were lowered to half-mast.
star // v. 由……擔任主角
He stars as the romantic hero in the new film.
capture // vt. 捕獲，俘獲
Government troops have succeeded in capturing the rebel leader.
randomly //
adv. 隨機地，未加計劃地
Participants of the activity were randomly selected.
complex // adj. 復雜的
He seemed to have an instant understanding of the most complex issues.
考點看臺
While some microbes can make their own food out of chemicals in the ocean, complex life like the shrimp can’t, Kim said.
本句中while表示“雖然”，前后分句形成轉折對比關系。
真題演練
1. – I wonder how much you charge for your services.
– The first two are free ______ the third costs $30. (09安徽卷)
A. while B. until
C. when D. before
2. In some places women are expected to earn money ______ men work at home and raise their children. (08四川卷)
A. but B. while
C. because D. though
Key: AB

The best-selling female artist of all time - whose seventeen #1 singles rival all but Elvis Presley and The Beatles - Mariah Carey has made an indelible impact on the global music industry and audiences everywhere. Blessed with a stunning five-octave range and signature vocal abilities, the singularly talented superstar continues to reach new heights of artistic growth and popularity. As a singer and songwriter, she has been recognized with five Grammy Awards, nine American Music Awards, Billboard's "Artist of the Decade" Award and the World Music Award for "World's Best Selling Female Artist of the Millennium," to name but a few honors.
Carey's most recent album is also her most intimate, a frank portrayal of both the challenges and successes experienced throughout her rise to fame. Released in April 2005, The Emancipation of Mimi (Island Def Jam) strongly resonated with audiences, becoming that year's best-selling album in the U.S. and selling more than eight million units worldwide to date. While capturing three Grammys for Best Contemporary R&B Album, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Song, Carey broke milestones with the album's three singles. "We Belong Together" (which spent an astonishing fourteen weeks at #1) and "Shake It Off" made her the only female artist ever to occupy the Billboard Hot 100's #1 and #2 spots in the same week. Her subsequent stand-alone single "Don't Forget About Us" became the biggest American radio hit of the year.
With a mother who shared both talent and a love of music, Mariah Carey was named after "They Call the Wind Mariah," a song from the popular Lerner and Loewe musical Paint Your Wagon. She began singing at the age of four, and her extraordinary and innate talent quickly progressed. As a young teenager she began honing her songwriting skills; upon high school graduation, Carey headed straight to New York to pursue a musical career. A luminous talent, her vocals were immediately in demand. Her major break came while singing backup for Brenda K. Starr, who gave her demo tape to then-Sony Music Entertainment Chief Tommy Mottola. Soon after, Mottola signed Carey to her first recording contract with Columbia Records.
With an angelic allure and a vocal intensity never heard before, Mariah Carey exploded upon the scene with the debut of her self-titled album in 1990. Mariah Carey was an immense hit, spawning an extraordinary four #1 singles: "Vision of Love," "Love Takes Time," "Someday" and "I Don't Wanna Cry." It also brought two Grammy Awards for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance ("Vision of Love"). Carey continued her early success with a series of singles from her subsequent Emotions (1991) and MTV Unplugged (1992) albums that consistently placed her at the top of the charts.
With the 1993 release of Music Box, which included the chart-topping hit singles "Dreamlover" and "Hero," Mariah Carey produced her most commercially successful album to date, selling an astounding 30 million units. She hit a new milestone with a holiday album, Merry Christmas (1994), which contained the instant classic "All I Want for Christmas is You." The next year, with the release of Daydream (1995), its single "Fantasy" debuted at #1, making Mariah Carey the second artist in history and the first female performer to accomplish that feat. The album's other single, "One Sweet Day," recorded with Boyz II Men, stayed at the top of the charts for a mind-blowing sixteen weeks. She followed with the hip-hop and R&B-infused Butterfly, which introduced a new chapter in her career, teaming her with the hottest names in the music business including Sean Combs and Missy Elliott.
In 1998, eight years after her debut, Carey released #1's, a compilation of her chart-topping hits. The album also included a new song, "When You Believe" (from the film The Prince of Egypt), a duet with Whitney Houston that paired two of the most successful female recording artists in pop history. Rainbow followed in 1999 with startling success. With the album's first single, the popular "Heartbeaker," Carey became "the first artist to top the charts in each year of the 1990s; the record also pushed her ahead of The Beatles as the artist with the most cumulative weeks spent atop the Hot 100 singles chart," as affirmed by AllMusic.com. Mariah Carey subsequently sparked the interest of Universal Music Group's Island Def Jam Records, which signed her to an exclusive recording contract in May 2002. Later that year she made her label debut with the release of the multi-platinum Charmbracelet.
Evoking a nickname used by those closest to her, The Emancipation of Mimi marked Mariah Carey's tenth studio album with its release in April 2005. Entirely written and co-produced by Carey, and executive produced by Island Def Jam Music Group Chairman Antonio Reid, Mimi revealed an evolved musical sensibility in its tracks and a sophisticated new look on its cover. The album earned three Grammys from eight nominations across multiple categories, following a string of wins at the Vibe Awards, the American Music Awards and Billboard Music Awards.
Apart from her musical achievements, Mariah Carey has generously donated her time and energy to a range of philanthropic causes near to her heart. They include Save the Music, The National Adoption Center and The Make-A-Wish Foundation, which recently bestowed its 2006 Wish Icon Award upon her, permanently rechristening it the Mariah Carey Wish Icon Award. Her active involvement with the Fresh Air Fund resulted in Camp Mariah, the Fund's first camp named in honor of an individual. Through this prism, Mariah Carey's legacy transcends the music industry to leave an indelible imprint upon the world at large.
Source: MariahCarey.com