本课您将学到：focus on(集中精力)，句型have the honor(很荣幸……)

　　走过年少的平凡，看淡成名的光环。周杰伦的成长历程，让我们一起分享……

　　His teacher thought he was dumb. Talent spotters(星探) thought he was ugly. But Jay Chou,(周杰伦) 24, is now one of Asia's hottest pop stars. Last week he had the honor of being the first Asian male singer to make the cover of Time.

　　Chou did poorly at math, science and English. But his mother noticed the quiet, shy boy was sensitive to(对……敏感) music: when he heard western pop music, he seemed to vibrate.(颤动、摆动) So she took Chou to piano school at four years old. He practiced all the time, focusing on the keys the way other children focus on ice cream.

　　后来，吴宗宪在一次演出中发现了他。

　　Although Wu didn't think Chou's ordinary-looking appearance would help him become an entertainer,(表演者) Chou proved that he could be more than a songwriter. His catchy(反复不定的) tunes have mainstreamed(成为主流) rap and R&B in the Mando-pop world. And his success proves that the music still matters(紧要) more than looks and image.

　　【世博读书笔记】

　　dumb本是“耳聋的”意思，在美国口语里却经常表示stupid，比如当你问了一个很蠢的问题，别人可能就会说What a dumb question.在今天的文章里，这个词和周杰伦联系在了一起。

　　老师认为他愚笨，(His teacher thought he was dumb)星探认为他其貌不扬，(Talent spotters thought he was ugly)但是24岁的周杰伦现已成为亚洲最耀眼的明星之一。(Jay Chou, 24, is now one of Asia's hottest pop stars)上周他还有幸成为美国著名《时代》杂志封面的第一位亚洲男歌手。(he had the honor of being the first Asian male singer to make the cover of Time)

　　周杰伦的数学、自然科学和英语成绩很差。(Chou did poorly at math, science and English)但他妈妈却注意到这个安静、内向的孩子对音乐十分敏感：(But his mother noticed the quiet, shy boy was sensitive to music)一听到西方流行乐，(when he heard western pop music)他就好像要跳舞的样子。(he seemed to vibrate)所以在四岁时妈妈就送他学钢琴。(So she took Chou to piano school at four years old)他利用一切可能的时间练习，(He practiced all the time)他练琴时的专注不亚于其他孩子对冰淇淋的迷恋。(focusing on the keys the way other children focus on ice cream)

　　Focus的意思是to pay particular attention to (使)集中，常和介词on连用。它原表示照像时“调焦”的意思，常用短语是in/out of focus对准／没对准焦距，举个例子：

　　This photo of John isn't in focus; I can't see his face clearly.

　　John的照片没对准焦距，我看不清他的脸。

　　在这段中，它的意思经过引申，表示“集中精力、集中注意力”的意思，集中精力在……方面，就是focus on…，比如：

　　You must try to focus your mind on work and study.

　　你应该努力把思想集中在工作的学习上。

　　在做名词时，focus可以指“焦点，注意的中心”，当然，这种注意可能是由于你打扮出众，引人侧目，也可能像下面这个人一样：

　　Because of his strange clothes, he immediately became the focus of attention when he entered the office.

　　他由于服装奇特,一走进办公室便成了大家注意的中心。

　　(所以，回头率高不见得就是好事哦！)

　　尽管吴宗宪认为周杰伦相貌平平，不太可能成为歌手，(Although Wu didn't think Chou's ordinary-looking appearance would help him become an entertainer)但是周杰伦最终证明了自己能做的不仅是写歌的而已。(Chou proved that he could be more than a songwriter)他的反复不定的曲调已经引领了华语rap和R&B乐坛的主流。(His catchy tunes have mainstreamed rap and R&B in the Mando-pop world)他的成功也证明了音乐终究比相貌和形象更重要。(his success proves that the music still matters more than looks and image)

　　【世博句型留言板】

　　今天，我们来学一个表达恭敬意思的很正式的句型，have the honor意思是“很荣幸……”

　　honor意思是“荣誉、光荣的事”，如果有一天我们见到了一位德高望重的老教授，第一句话这样说会比较好：It's an honor to meet you.见到您很荣幸。

　　Have the honor字面上看就是“得到这个荣幸”，也就是“有幸……”，可以接to do也可以接动名词(别忘了动名词前面要加上介词of)。来看看例子：

　　I have the honor to introduce the great scientist to you.

　　我很荣幸把这位伟大的科学家介绍给你们。

　　过去，男士在向女士求婚的时候，态度都是恭恭敬敬的，所以，用这个句型就很恰当：

　　May I have the honor of asking for your hand in marriage?

　　我有这个荣幸请你嫁给我吗？

　　今天的节目就到这里，我们讲的短语focus on意思是“集中精力”，句型have the honor意思是“很荣幸……”。最后大妮子也想小声地问一句：May I have the honor of asking for your attention next time?

　　本栏目是由世博英语(360abc.com)大妮子原创编写！从零开始，循序渐进，地道英语，轻松入门！世博英语版权所有！未经书面授权，请勿转载！