US pop diva Mariah Carey has produced many hits during her almost three-decade-long career. Among the songs, Carey’s classic “All I Want for Christmas Is You” has earned her and songwriter Walter Afanasieff over US$60 million (NT$1.8 billion) in royalties as of 2017, the Economist reports.
The song was originally released in 1994. With global sales exceeding 16 million copies, it is the 11th best-selling single of all time. Carey and Afanasieff reportedly finished the lyrics and melody for the song together in just 15 minutes. Some joke that the song could easily support her extravagant lifestyle for the rest of her life.
Carey held concerts in Taiwan in 1998 and 2014 respectively, conquering many fans with her “whistle register.” Several days ago, she returned to Times Square in New York to perform for the New Year’s Eve countdown party. She was humiliated at the previous year’s party by the microphone system that began to malfunction as she sang, and was determined to redeem herself this time around.
Photo: AP
照片︰美聯社
(Liberty Times, translated by Eddy Chang)
美國流行歌后「花蝴蝶」瑪麗亞凱莉出道近三十年，唱過多首膾炙人口夯曲。根據「經濟學人」雜誌報導，其中經典「你是我最想要的聖誕禮物」到二○一七年為止，竟讓她和作曲家華特亞方納席耶夫大賺超過六千萬美元（約新台幣十八億）的版稅！
該曲於一九九四年發行，在全球銷售超過一千六百萬張，榮登史上最暢銷單曲第十一名。瑪麗亞和華特據說當年只花了十五分鐘，便完成詞曲創作，該曲也被戲稱是維持瑪麗亞奢華生活的養老歌。
瑪麗亞於一九九八年、二○一四年兩度來台開唱，以「海豚音」征服許多歌迷。她前幾天再次參加了紐約時報廣場的跨年晚會，對比去年演唱因耳麥故障而蒙羞的慘況，這次則決心要一雪前恥。 （自由時報）
★ Bilingual Story is a fictionalized account. 雙語故事部分內容純屬虛構。 “Any New Year’s resolutions?” he asked. Lena put her coffee down. “Yeah,” she said. “To get in shape.... round is a shape, right?” Mark chuckled. “I support this. Fully achievable. Low risk.” “Thanks,” she smiled and lovingly rubbed her round belly. “I like a resolution I can’t fail.” “Funny thing is, I was thinking about getting round too.” Lena nodded her head in approval, “You could put some meat on those skinny bones of yours.” Mark shook his head, “Not that kind of round. Wheel-of-Life round.” She raised an eyebrow.
詞法—不定詞的誤用 1. 我得記住星期五要把報告寫好。 ˇ I must remember to finish my report by Friday. χ I must remember finishing my report by Friday. 註︰remember 後面跟動名詞或不定詞表示兩種不同的概念，與 forget 相類似。 試比較下列句子： I remember meeting him somewhere.（我記得曾經在某處見過他。） I must remember to meet him at the station at six this evening. （我必須記住今晚六點得去車站接他。） He remembered turning off the light when he left the room. （他記得離開房間時曾先把燈熄了。） Remember to turn off the light when you leave the room. （記住離開房間時要把燈關了。） 2. 他提醒她做好她份內的事。 ˇ He reminded her to do her job. χ He reminded her of doing her job. 註︰remind ... of ... 後面跟動名詞，表示「使人想起做過某事」。若是「提醒某人應做某事」，應用 remind ... to do ...。試比較下列句子： He reminded me of my attending the lecture last Friday. （他讓我想起我上星期五去聽過那次演講。） He
Skating is a popular recreational and competitive activity that involves sliding over surfaces using specially designed footwear. Its origins date back over 1,000 years to Northern Europe, where people first strapped animal bones to their feet to move across frozen lakes and rivers. In the 17th century, the Dutch transformed skating into a leisure activity. They also replaced bone blades with metal, leading to the creation of modern ice skates. Today, ice skating is enjoyed as a global sport and an exciting pastime by people of all ages. Figure skating is one of the best-known and most graceful forms of skating.
對話 Dialogue 清清：最近天氣越來越冷，感覺很容易感冒，要不要一起去吃薑母鴨或是羊肉爐？ Qīngqing: Zuìjìn tiānqì yuèláiyuè lěng, gǎnjué hěn róngyì gǎnmào, yào bú yào yìqǐ qù chī jiāngmǔyā huòshì yángròulú? 華華：最近我覺得有點累，想吃薑母鴨，可是又怕一下子吃太補會上火。 Huáhua: Zuìjìn wǒ juéde yǒudiǎn lèi, xiǎng chī jiāngmǔyā, kěshì yòu pà yíxiàzi chī tài bǔ huì shànghuǒ. 清清：那我們去喝香菇雞湯吧，不太容易上火，喝了也會很暖和。 Qīngqing: Nà wǒmen qù hē xiānggū jītāng ba, bú tài róngyì shànghuǒ, hē le yě huì hěn nuǎnhuo. 華華：聽起來不錯！你們家平常冬天都吃什麼進補？ Huáhua: Tīng qǐlái búcuò! Nǐmen jiā píngcháng dōngtiān dōu chī shénme jìnbǔ? 清清：我家都煮麻油雞，吃完整個人手腳都會熱起來。我也很久沒喝香菇雞湯了，正好可以去打打牙祭。 Qīngqing: Wǒ jiā dōu zhǔ máyóujī, chī wán zhěnggè rén shǒujiǎo dōu huì rè qǐlái. Wǒ yě hěn jiǔ méi hē xiānggū jītāng le, zhènghǎo kěyǐ qù dǎ dǎ yájì. 華華：可是我最近在減肥，會不會吃得太補，肉又長回來了？ Huáhua: Kěshì wǒ zuìjìn zài jiǎnféi, huì bú
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