蔣建平

有人說邁克爾·杰克遜渾身上下充滿了一股神秘的力量，在音樂響起時(shí)，他的節(jié)奏能帶動(dòng)全世界的脈搏。這樣傳奇的人物有著怎樣的成長(zhǎng)歷程呢？

難詞探意

1. steel /sti?l/ n. 鋼

2. solo /?s??l??/ n. 獨(dú)唱

3. career /k??r??（r）/ n. 生涯;事業(yè)

Michael Jackson was on the road of performing when he was five years old. As is known to all， the road to fame and fortune is a long and hard one.

Michael remembered those early years when he was young. “My father was a machine operator，” he explained， “and he worked at a steel plant. My mother worked at Sears， a big department store. But they were both musicians.”

Michaels father Joe Jackson realized his sons had a lot of talent， and he knew he could train them to become fine musicians. In those days there were plenty of music groups and some of them were very good. He knew if his sons were to stand out， they would have to be the best.

Practice makes perfect. And they practiced！ Gradually the group took shape. Then word of this group began to get around. Thus Michael got a chance to do some solo songs. In the following years， Michael was always on the top. One million records of his were sold in New Zealand， which has only a total population of three million！

When Michael was eighteen， he entered another field of his career—acting. “I plan to star in movies，” he told his friends. “But of course， my first love is music.” Michael wrote a lot of his own songs. “Songs came about in the strangest ways，” he said. “Ill just wake up from sleeping and there is a whole song coming into my head. And then I put it down on the paper.”

Still， with all his success， Michael managed to keep his head calm. “I just do a different job from other people，” he said， “but it doesnt make me think Im better than other people.” To be quite honest， his fans just love to hear and watch him！

Reading?Check

1. What can we know about Michael from the text？

A. Michaels father spent a lot of time in drinking.

B. Michaels parents enjoyed music a lot.

C. Michaels mother worked in a factory when he was young.

D. Michael began to earn money when he was only four years old.

2. What did Joe Jackson realize？

A. His children didnt need much practice.

B. His children had little talent for being musicians.

C. There were a small number of music groups in those days.

D. His children couldnt become famous if they werent the best.

3. Whats the text mainly about？

A. How Michael became so popular all over the world.

B. Why Michael was so popular all over the world.

C. How the Jacksons became successful.

D. How Mr Jackson trained his children.

Language Study

熟詞生義

Then word of this group began to get around. 然后，關(guān)于這個(gè)樂隊(duì)的消息就傳開了。

word n. 信息;消息

e.g. Theres been no word from them since before Christmas. 自圣誕節(jié)前就一直沒有他們的消息。

Useful expressions

on the road of 在……的路上

be known to... 被……所熟知

stand out 引人注目;出色

take shape 成形;形成

Cultural Background

邁克爾·杰克遜——世界舞王

邁克爾·杰克遜曾獲得格萊美終身成就獎(jiǎng)，他也被吉尼斯世界紀(jì)錄認(rèn)定為世界歷史上最偉大的藝術(shù)家，更被譽(yù)為流行音樂之王、世界舞王。他是世界樂壇和演藝圈里絕無僅有和最具代表性的風(fēng)云人物，從20世紀(jì)80年代起為整個(gè)現(xiàn)代流行音樂史締造了一個(gè)傳奇時(shí)代。