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All Access |
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The leading
ladies of pop |
流行天后們 |
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| Anyone who has looked at the international
pop music charts in the last few years will probably have noticed a growing
trend: the prominence of female pop singers. From the Madonna to Whitney
Houston, strong female solo stars have always had an important place in the
pop music world. Usually, however, they have taken a back seat to boy bands,
girl bands and rock groups. This has changed dramatically over the past few
years. |
任何關注近年國際流行音樂榜的人，大概都會發現一個愈來愈明顯的趨勢：流行女歌手聲勢日盛。從瑪丹娜到惠妮休士頓，實力堅強的女藝人在流行樂壇總是擁有一席之地。但是，她們通常落居男女偶像團體和搖滾樂團之後，可是這現象在過去幾年間已大幅改觀。 |
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| A quick glance at Forbes' annual list of
the highest-paid celebrities under 30 shows exactly how prominent female
solo stars have become. Taylor Swift, the 23-year-old country-pop artist,
topped Forbes' recently published annual list, reportedly raking in around
US$57 million (approximately NT$1.7 billion) between May 2011 and May 2012.
And she's not alone. |
從《富比士》雜誌每年公佈的卅歲以下最高收入名人榜單中，就能發現女藝人的聲勢之強。廿三歲的鄉村流行歌手泰勒絲在最近公佈的榜單上高居第一，在二○一一年五月到二○一二年五月期間的總收入據傳高達五千七百萬美元（約新台幣十七億元）。而且她並不是榜單上唯一的女性。 |
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| Rihanna came in third on the list with an
estimated US$53 million (approximately NT$1.59 billion) for the same period.
Lady Gaga was in fourth place at US$52 million (approximately NT$1.56
billion), although this was a significant drop from her No. 1 slot last year
at US$90 million (approximately NT$2.7 billion) due to a gap in touring.
Katy Perry rounded out the top five with US$45 million (approximately
NT$1.35 billion). |
排名第三的蕾哈娜，同期收入約為五千三百萬美元（約新台幣十五點九億元）。第四名的女神卡卡雖然因為巡迴演出的空檔而跌出去年的第一名（總收入九千萬美元，約新台幣廿七點億元），但仍以五千兩百萬美元（約新台幣十五點六億元）的收入排行第四。凱蒂佩芮今年排名第五，收入達四千五百萬美元（約新台幣十三點五億元）。 |
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| Justin Bieber, whose album "Believe"
earned strong sales and reviews, was the only guy in the top five, landing
at No. 2. The No. 6 spot was also a female star — British singer Adele, who
earned US$35 million (approximately NT$1.05 billion). Forbes' list only
cements the fact that when it comes to pop music, girls definitely run the
world in 2012. |
小賈斯汀因廣受好評且熱賣的專輯《相信》而躍居第二，也是前五名中唯一的男性。第六名也由女歌手取得──英國歌手愛黛兒的同期收入約為三千五百萬美元（約新台幣十億零五千萬元）。《富比士》雜誌的排行榜突顯了女歌手稱霸二○一二年流行樂壇的局面。 |
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| The girls are cleaning up in more than
just the financial sphere, too. Rihanna led the field, along with Drake,
after being nominated for five awards at this year's MTV Video Music Awards.
Katy Perry landed four nominations. The always eventful television event
takes place in Los Angeles in the U.S. on Sept. 6. |
女歌手橫掃四方的不只是收入排行。名列前茅的蕾哈娜和德瑞克同樣在今年的 MTV
音樂錄影帶大獎中獲得五項提名；凱蒂佩芮則獲得了四項。這項備受注目的電視大獎頒獎典禮九月六日將於美國洛杉磯舉行。 |
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| While Adele is only nominated for one
award this year, the British star can console herself with the fact that
people cannot get enough of her album "21." Adele's "21," the top-selling
album in 2011 with 5.82 million copies, is also leading the 2012 race. The
British singer has sold an additional 3.7 million copies this year. |
雖然愛黛兒今年只獲一項提名，但粉絲對她的專輯《廿一》持續支持，仍足堪安慰。《廿一》是二○一一年最暢銷的專輯，總銷售量高達五百八十二萬張，而且今年的銷量仍穩居冠軍寶座。這位英國歌手今年的專輯銷量已高達三百七十萬張。 |
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| Her take is more than the combined total
of the next four albums and is the only title to exceed sales of 1 million
copies. Unless a similar smash hit album appears this year, "21" is likely
to finish 2012 as the top-selling record. Even her 2008 debut album, "19,"
is placed at No. 10. |
她專輯的銷量超過第二至第五名專輯銷量的總和，也是唯一銷量逾百萬的專輯。除非今年出現類似的大賣專輯，《廿一》可望成為二○一二年最暢銷的專輯。而她二○○八年的首張專輯《十九》至今仍高居排行榜第十。 |
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| Among the pop princesses, however, it is
clear who the queen is. Besides earning the most money on the Forbes list,
Taylor Swift was also named Billboard Woman of the Year in 2011.
Twenty-three-year-old Swift gushed that it was "magical" to receive the
honor. "I get to wear this beautiful dress and go to this wonderful event.
It's an amazing way to end what's really been an incredible year," she
noted. The other major award winner at the event was also a woman: Nicki
Minaj, who picked up the Rising Star award. So what is it about pop's
leading ladies that makes them so successful? How have they managed to leave
the boys so far behind? |
但在這群流行小天后中，誰是天后歌手是顯而易見的。泰勒絲除了高居富比士最高收入榜首，也成了《告示牌》雜誌二○一一年的年度風雲女性。廿三歲的她激動地表示獲得這項殊榮有如「一場美夢」，並指出：「我要打扮得漂漂亮亮去參加這盛會，為這奇妙的一年劃下不可思議的句點。」另一位大贏家也是一名女歌手，即榮獲「後起之秀」獎的妮琪米娜。流行天后們會如此成功的原因為何？她們是如何把男歌手們遠拋在後？ |
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News Flash |
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A same-sex union in Taiwan shows changing views in Asia |
台灣同志結婚顯示亞洲的心態已有所轉變 |
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| The wedding of two women in Taiwan is the
latest sign that Asia is becoming more open about same-sex unions. Fish
Huang and You Ya-ting, both 30, received their blessings recently from Shih
Chao-hui, a Buddhist master, in Taoyuan County — and no one seemed to mind.
"I think it is their human right," said Chih Chun, a Buddhist nun who
attended the ceremony. |
兩名台灣女子完成終身大事，是亞洲對同志婚姻愈來愈開放的最新指標。同樣卅歲的黃美瑜和游雅婷最近在桃園縣接受佛家法師釋昭慧的祝福，且似乎沒有人在意這件事。參加這場婚禮的佛門尼姑智春（音譯）表示：「我認為這是她們的人權。」 |
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Writer's Corner |
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Exquisite
love |
精雕細琢的愛 |
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| The wind whipped his coat and the chilly
air slapped his face. He could practically taste the breeze as it streamed
across his face. The cold only motivated him further. Thoughts of his love
clouded his mind. He knew no one else so beautiful. His excitement grew as
he rounded the corner. |
狂風拍打他的外套，冰冷的空氣掠過他臉頰；在微風從他臉龐吹拂而過時，他甚至能嚐出風的滋味。冰冷的天氣進一步地驅使他，心頭滿是對所愛之人的思念，他明白無人能更美好。他走過轉角，興奮之情於是更加高昂。 |
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Dream Catcher |
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Building
bridges of friendship |
搭建友誼橋樑 |
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Although the Republic of China has formal
diplomatic relations with only 23 countries, the government is very keen to
promote diplomatic and cultural exchanges with these nations. One of the key
initiatives designed to promote cultural exchanges is the Taiwan Youth
Ambassador program.
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雖然中華民國只有廿三個官方邦交國，但政府仍致力於推廣和這些國家的外交與文化交流。其中一個推廣文化交流的重要政策，就是中華民國青年大使交流計畫。 |
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