雙語新聞:流行音樂之王邁克爾•傑克遜去世
【英文原文】
'King of Pop' Michael Jackson Is Dead at 50
摘要：邁克爾•傑克遜(Michael Jackson)週四下午在洛杉磯家中發生心跳驟停，送往醫院後被宣佈死亡，這位50歲的流行音樂之王怪異而悲劇性的一生也因此劃上了句號，傑克遜在這其中的45年都是世界上最具象徵性的流行音樂人之一。
After suffering cardiac arrest at his Los Angeles home on Thursday afternoon, Michael Jackson was pronounced dead at a hospital, marking a bizarre and tragic end to a 50-year life -- 45 years of which were spent as one of the world's most iconic popular entertainers.
Mr. Jackson was in a coma when he reached UCLA Medical Center, according to a person close to his family, and was dead before he could be brought to an operating room.
Mr. Jackson was in the midst of attempting to rehabilitate his career after several years' worth of controversy that saw him essentially stop performing or releasing new music. Even before a criminal trial on child-molestation charges that ended in acquittal in 2005, Mr. Jackson's career was in a holding pattern.
In May, concert promoter AEG Live announced that Mr. Jackson would perform a series of shows at its O2 arena in London. Demand for tickets proved to be enormous, and the run was eventually extended to 50 concerts, with hundreds of thousands of tickets sold. The dates were spread over several months, starting in early July and stretching well into 2010.
Mr. Jackson's agreement with AEG Live, owned by Denver billionaire Phil Anschutz, included an ambitious option to extend the concert series even further, adding dates throughout Europe, Asia and North America over three years or more. All told the tour could have earned him $400 million.
In preparation for the London performances, Mr. Jackson had undergone an extensive, five-hour physical examination. AEG Live Chief Executive Randy Phillips said at the time that Mr. Jackson had 'passed with flying colors.'
But signs of trouble arose even as the singer was preparing for the initial concerts. The first four dates were postponed, ostensibly because the singer needed more time for dress rehearsals in the venue. Some people close to the singer expressed doubt whether he would be able to pull off so many concerts, even ample down time built into the schedule.
The sidewalks outside UCLA Medical Center were overflowing with people by mid-afternoon on Thursday. Some onlookers burst into tears even before an official announcement of his death had been made.
Others practiced his signature moonwalk and sand Jackson pop songs. A student residence across the street blared Jackson music from a stereo. News helicopters swirled overhead.
Born in 1958 in Gary, Ind., Mr. Jackson was quickly pushed into the limelight. Even at a very young age he was obviously the star of the Jackson Five, the singing group his father, Joseph Jackson, assembled with five of the Jackson sons.
The Jacksons quickly graduated from local talent shows and regional concerts to the national stage. They signed to Berry Gordy's Motown Records and enjoyed a string of hits that included 'ABC' and 'I Want You Back.' But life under their hard-charging father and manager took its toll, and Mr. Jackson had anything but a normal childhood.
After striking out on his own, Mr. Jackson's fame grew. His 1982 solo album Thriller is one of the best-selling albums in history.
Thriller remained on the Billboard 200's top 10 list for 80 consecutive weeks, buoyed by the hit singles 'Billy Jean,' 'Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' and 'Beat It.' The album itself is often ranked as the best-selling of all time, with 28 million copies having been shipped in the U.S., according to the Recording Industry of Association of America. Estimates put total worldwide sales at more than 50 million copies. The 'Thriller' music video remains one of the most-watched videos on YouTube today, #54. The 13-minute version had 37,083,417 views.
【中文譯文】
邁克爾•傑克遜(Michael Jackson)週四下午在洛杉磯家中發生心跳驟停，送往醫院後被宣佈死亡，這位50歲的流行音樂之王怪異而悲劇性的一生也因此劃上了句號，傑克遜在這其中的45年都是世界上最具象徵性的流行音樂人之一。
知情人士透露，傑克遜被送到加州大學洛杉磯分校醫療中心時處於昏迷狀態，在被送入手術室前去世。
去世前，傑克遜正試圖重新開始自己的演唱生涯；此前幾年他一直備受爭議，這令他實際上停止了演出和發行新專輯。甚至在他2005年因孌童的指控而受到刑事審判、並最後被判無罪之前，他的演唱事業已經處於停頓狀態。
5月份，演唱會宣傳公司AEG Live宣佈，傑克遜將在倫敦的O2 arena舉行系列演唱會。事實證明，演唱會門票需求火爆，場次最終被加到50場，賣出的門票有數十萬張。演唱會的日期被分散在好幾個月裏，從7月初一直到2010年。
傑克遜與AEG Live的協議包括一項進一步增加演唱會場次的雄心勃勃選擇，在三年甚至更長的時間裏在歐洲、亞洲、北美各地舉辦演唱會。所有的巡演加在一起能讓他賺4億美元。AEG Live由丹佛富豪安舒茲(Phil Anschutz)所有。
在爲倫敦演唱會作準備期間，傑克遜進行了一次5個小時的全面體檢。AEG Live首席執行長菲利普斯(Randy Phillips)當時說，傑克遜輕鬆通過了體檢。
不過，在傑克遜爲首輪演唱會作準備的時候就出現了問題的跡象。前四場演唱會被推遲了，表面的理由是傑克遜需要更多的時間進行場內帶裝彩排。一些熟悉傑克遜的人懷疑他是否能完成這麼多的演唱會，儘管演出日程中有充足的間歇時間。
週四下午，加州大學洛杉磯分校醫療中心外的人行道上擠滿了人。甚至在官方宣佈傑克遜的死訊前，一些人已經忍不住痛哭失聲。
有人表演他的招牌太空步，唱着他的流行歌曲。街道對面的一個學生公寓用音響大聲播放着傑克遜的歌。用於新聞報導的直升機在天空中盤旋。
傑克遜1958年出生於印地安那州加里市，他很快就被推上了衆人注目的中心。甚至在很小的時候，他顯然就已經是“傑克遜五兄弟”(Jackson Five)中的明星了。該演唱組合是他的父親約瑟夫•傑克遜(Joseph Jackson)把五個兒子召集在一起組成的。
“傑克遜五兄弟”很快從當地的業餘歌手演唱會和地方演唱會中脫潁而出，登上了全國舞臺。他們與高迪(Berry Gordy)的Motown Records簽了約，推出一系列風靡一時的歌曲，包括“ABC”和“I Want You Back”。不過在嚴厲的父親和經理的控制下，他們的人生付出了代價，傑克遜沒有正常的童年。
在單飛之後，傑克遜名氣越來越大。1982年的個人專輯《Thriller》是歷史上最暢銷的專輯之一。
《Thriller》連續80周高居Billboard 200排行榜的前十名，其中的熱門單曲“Billy Jean”、“Wanna Be Startin”和“Beat It”更是大受歡迎。據美國唱片工業協會(Recording Industry of Association of America)的數據，該專輯常常列爲有史以來最暢銷的專輯，美國的銷量爲2,800萬張。據估計，全球銷量超過5,000萬張。《Thriller》的MV如今仍是YouTube上觀看次數最多的視頻之一，排在第54位。這段13分鐘的視頻觀看人次有37,083,417。
