5.Over One Billion People Watched Michael's Memorial

5.超过十亿人观看了迈克尔的悼念仪式

Although it depends on the source, most estimates suggest that around a billion people around the worldwatched Michael Jackson's memorial when it aired in 2009. Most of the time, sports broadcasts reign supreme as far as most-watched television programs are concerned. For example, the Super Bowl has the most records for total viewers in the United States while Germany's biggest audiences watch FIFA World Cup games. A total of 19 networks around the United States aired the memorial, and official ratings 

company Nielsen reported that over 31 million people tuned in to watch. In addition, the memorial scored large audiences in Europe where it was broadcast during the prime time hours. Over seven million people watched the broadcast on various BBC networks in the UK, and a variety of other countries like Germany, Australia, and France also aired the memorial. Many more 

millions of people reportedly chose to stream the memorial through the internet, and major websites reported huge spikes in traffic after the memorial was streamed online. For example, CNN said its memorial stream got over 80 million page views and a whopping 9.7 million streams. Other big internet news names like MSNBC, Fox News, and Yahoo News all also reported millions of live video streams.

根据原始资料记载，在2009年迈克尔·杰克逊的悼念仪式直播之时，世界各地观看的人数达十亿左右。一般情况下，体育直播是占主导地位的，还有那些收视率最高的电视节目，这些节目会受到人们的关注。例如，"超级碗"在美国拥有最高收视率，而德国的大多数人却喜爱观看国际足联世界杯的比赛。美国19个广播电视网直播了那次悼念仪式。并且，据官方评级公司尼尔森报道，全球约有超过31，000,000人次收看了此次直播。另外，此次悼念仪式在欧洲的黄金时段被直播时，也吸引了大量听众。在英国，超过7,000,000人通过英国广播公司的各种网站收听此次直播节目，同时其他各个国家，如德国，澳大利亚和法国的媒体也直播了迈克尔的悼念仪式。据报道，数以百万计的人在互联网上观看悼念仪式，以至于一些主要的网站出现了严重的网络瘫痪。例如，美国有线电视新闻网络称，超过80,000,000次的访问量和9700,000次的数据流都是冲着观看纪念迈克尔的直播来的。其他一些有名的网络新闻媒体，如微软全国广播公司节目，福克斯新闻频道和雅虎新闻也都报道了当天数以百万计的视频点击量。

In a sign that his fans weren't yet ready to give him up, Michael Jackson's Facebook page became the most liked page on the social media website shortly after his death. Before Michael's page took the number one spot, the only page with more "likes" was the page of President Barack Obama. Just after his death, two of Michael's albums rose to the top of the sales charts, and the top 10 songs on iTunes included four Michael Jackson songs.

有迹象表明，迈克尔·杰克逊的粉丝无法接受他已离去的事实，他在FaceBook上的个人网页在他死后那段时间里成为社交网络中获点赞量最多的页面。在这之前，获点赞量最多的是贝拉克·奥巴马的页面。迈克尔去世后，他的两个唱片集销售量位居销售排行榜的首位，其中有四首歌曲也进入苹果公司音乐播放器排行榜前十位。

4.Some of Michael's First Audiences Were in Strip Clubs

4.迈克尔的首批粉丝产生于脱衣舞俱乐部

When Michael started his career as a child with his brothers as the Jackson Five, the clan's father was willing to have them perform almost anywhere to get them exposure with new audiences. Oddly, some of the first stages on which Michael sang were in strip clubs. The Jackson Five's first promoted song was called "Big Boy," which was released in 1968. Many of the performances of this early hit took place in strip clubs at night after the boys had already had a full day of school. Michael was just five or six years old at the time of these performances.

当迈克尔·杰克逊和他的兄弟们以"杰克逊五兄弟"的组合开始演出生涯时，他们的父亲便允许他们在任何地方演出，以接触到更多新观众。不可思议的是，迈克尔·杰克逊刚开始表演的地方居然是些脱衣舞俱乐部。1968年，杰克逊五兄弟发行了首张单曲《Big boy》。他们早期的很多演出，都是他们放学后去脱衣舞俱乐部举行的。当时，迈克尔·杰克逊年仅五六岁。

The newspaper "The Guardian" reported some fairly lurid details about the early years Michael spent touring with the Jackson Five. According to the information that came out after Michael's death, the singer usually shared a motel room with two of his older brothers, Jermaine and Marlon. Reportedly, Jermaine would bring fans back after the show, and Michael and his brother were supposed to feign sleep no matter what happened in the room. This very early exposure to adult activities meant Michael never really had a healthy view of women and relationships, particularly when combined with performances at age five in strip clubs. Over the years, Michael would have several failed relationships and marriages. In the 1990s, he was married to Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis, for less than two years. After divorcing Lisa, he married the assistant of his dermatologist, a woman named Debbie Rowe. The pair would have two children together, but they would divorce in 1999 with Jackson gaining full custody of the kids. Audio recordings of Michael that were released after his death revealed the star had romantic feelings for his good friend, Elizabeth Taylor.

《英国卫报》报道了关于迈克尔·杰克逊早年跟随杰克逊五兄弟外出演唱时发生的一些相当耸人听闻的事情。据迈克尔·杰克逊去世后的一些消息称，迈克尔通常是和他的两个哥哥杰迈恩和马隆同住一间汽车旅馆房间的。据报道，每当演出结束后，杰迈恩都会带女粉丝回住处，而不管房间里发生什么事，迈克尔和他的另一个兄弟都必须假装睡觉。对于成人性爱的过早目睹，尤其是只有5岁就在脱衣舞俱乐部演出的经历，扭曲了迈克尔对性和婚姻的认识。多年来，迈克尔有过几段失败的婚恋史。在20世纪90年代，他和猫王的女儿丽莎·玛丽·普雷斯利结婚，然而这场婚姻维持不到2年便以失败告终。和丽莎离婚后，他与一个叫黛比·罗的皮肤科护士结婚了。他们育有两个孩子，但在1999年时，他们宣告离婚。同时，迈克尔获得了孩子的监护权。迈克尔去世后，有音频记录流传开来，传言说他和好友伊丽莎白·泰勒之间有过暧昧关系。

3.Michael Wanted to Advertise with a Giant Robot

3.迈克尔的"巨型机器人广告"

One of the most devastating parts of Michael Jackson's early passing is the enthusiasm and ideas he had for his comeback tour and how none of those plans ever made it to fruition. Known for his crazy stunts and spending habits, one of the strangest ideas to come out before his death was a giant 50-foot robot that would walk around Las Vegas to advertise a Las Vegas show to people landing at the local airport. Before settling on his "This is It" tour, Michael had been planning a show in Las Vegas, and the robot would welcome people to town as they arrived by airplane. The initial plans for a giant robot were drawn up in 2007, but the Las Vegas show never came to fruition for a variety of reasons. Michael had just come out of his third trial for child molestation, and while he was acquitted, he had problems securing funding for a new show in Las Vegas. Investors were nervous about partnering with Michael because of his legal troubles. At the time, Michael's money problems also extended to his Neverland Ranch, which was eventually sold off as debt to a financier.

在迈克尔早期宣传中，最令人称奇的是他对自己复出巡回演唱会付出的热情和提出的新颖想法。他能让那些奇妙的安排设计"开花结果"。迈克尔·杰克逊以他惊人的表演特技和不惜"一掷千金"打造完美演唱会的个性著称。在他去世前那场演唱会上，他曾萌生一个最奇怪的想法——他希望能有一个50英尺高的巨型机器人环绕着拉斯维加斯行走，给他的拉斯维加斯机场演唱会做广告。在"就是这样"巡回演唱会之前，迈克尔就已经在计划好了一场拉斯维加斯机场表演，届时将有机器人将在场欢迎所有坐飞机前来的人们。早在2007年，迈克尔关于巨型机器人的最初设想就已经产生了，但是由于种种原因，拉斯维加斯演出一直没能实现。那时迈克尔刚刚结束儿童性侵案的第三次审判，尽管他被判无罪，但是他却没有足够资金来举办拉斯维加斯演唱会。投资者们也担心迈克尔的法律纠纷会给他们之间的合作关系带来影响。当时，迈克尔的资金问题也波及到他的梦幻庄园的运营，最终，此庄园由于债务问题出售给了金融家用来抵债。

The idea for the robot and its subsequent promotion to potential investors was meant to draw money in for Michael's Las Vegas show. The robot was supposed to show investors that Michael still had big ideas and was ready to stage a comeback show in Sin City. After his failure to raise enough money to put on his Vegas show, Michael moved on and started planning his "This is It" 

tour that would begin with several shows in London. Unfortunately, Michael died while preparing for that tour.

对那些潜在的投资者们来说，要实现这个机器人的设想及其后续推广，意味着他们要预支款项，以确保迈克尔拉斯维加斯演出的精彩呈现。机器人的设想向投资者们展示了迈克尔的大胆想法，以及他已准备好在罪恶之城（拉斯维加斯别称）东山再起的决心。最终，迈克尔未能筹集足够资金来举办拉斯维加斯的演出，但他没有气馁，他转而着手筹备"就是这样"，准备在伦敦机场做巡回演出。然而，在这场巡回演出的筹备期间，迈克尔却不幸离世。

2.Michael Jackson Didn't Invent the Moonwalk

2.迈克尔·杰克逊并没有发明太空步

Some of Michael Jackson's dance moves were as famous as his songs, and the moonwalk was definitely one of his most famous creations. However, Michael Jackson didn't invent the moonwalk. The artist first unveiled what would become one of his signature dance moves in 1983 during a taping for a television show. Given Michael's incredible stage presence and performances, it's not hard to assume Michael created the move in the early 1980s. However, in the decades since he made it famous, a variety of performers have revealed that they, too, used the move decades before Michael ever used it on stage. Over the years, different stories have been told to describe how Michael came to use the move in his show. Michael's brother, Jermaine, once said that 

Michael made his dance moves up on the spot and that they weren't usually rehearsed before they were performed. On the other hand, his sister, LaToya, said that the move came from a dance that kids were performing for fun in the streets at the time and that Michael actually got lessons from a backup dancer named Jeffrey Daniel, who already knew how to do the moonwalk. Before 

Michael started doing the moonwalk on stage, it was called "the backslide."

迈克尔·杰克逊的一些舞蹈动作与他的歌一样出名。其中，"太空步"无疑是他最出名的动作之一。而实际上，迈克尔·杰克逊并没有发明太空步。在1983年的一次电视录音节目中，这位艺术家首次表演了他最经典的太空步。考虑到迈克尔·杰克逊极好的舞台感和表现力，人们自然而然就认为是他在二十世纪八十年代早期发明了太空步。然而，在迈克尔使得太空步得以"轰动一时"的前几十年里，就有许多舞者表示他们早已登台表演过这种舞步。这些年来，关于迈克尔如何在表演中使用太空步的说法不尽相同。迈克尔的兄弟杰曼曾经说过，迈克尔在演出中跳的这种舞步与他们之前演出和排练时的舞步不同。而另一方面，他的妹妹托娅却说，太空步是源于当时街上的孩子们为了好玩而跳的舞步。实际上，迈克尔师从于一位名为杰夫瑞丹尼尔的伴舞演员，他知道如何跳太空步。在迈克尔登台表演太空步之前，它被称作"滑步"。

When Michael wrote his autobiography, he admitted that he'd already been practicing the moonwalk in his kitchen before the fateful television appearance where he debuted the dance move. He echoed LaToya's suggestion that the move originally came from street kids who were performing in the ghetto. Interestingly, the kids who Michael credited with teaching him the dance move were actually older than Michael and hadn't been kids for quite some time.

在迈克尔的自传中，他说道，在那次重要的电视首秀之前，他曾多次在厨房里练习太空步。他从托娅的建议中得到启示，太空步的灵感最初源自在贫民区街头表演的小孩子。有趣的是，迈克尔说的教他跳太空步的"小孩们"事实上比他还要大，他们已经不当小孩好多年了。

1.Michael Jackson Only Admitted to Having Two Plastic Surgeries

1.迈克尔·杰克逊只承认自己做了两个整形手术

Michael's dramatic changes in appearance over the years were reportedly due to frequent visits to the plastic surgeon, but he only ever admitted to having two surgeries. Depending on the source, some say Michael had somewhere around a dozen procedures while other sources actually claim he had over 100 operations. While alive, Michael only admitted to having a nose job and work on his chin, and he blamed his strangely white skin on a condition called vitiligo. Although gossip surrounding his skin color was common during his lifetime, an autopsy revealed the singer did indeed suffer from the skin pigmentation ailment. An interview in "People" magazine with a Los Angeles plastic surgeon named Dr. Wallace Goodstein said the King of Pop came into the office frequently for procedures. Goodstein only worked for about two years at the office where Michael's doctor practiced, but he said Michael came in for around a dozen procedures in that short time. Procedures Michael allegedly had included many nose jobs, the insertion of a cleft into his chin, and implants in his cheeks. Jackson would never arrive for his surgeries during the day and had his doctor do the procedures in the evenings when no one was likely to see the pop star at the office. J. Randy Taraborrelli, who wrote Michael's biography, said Michael had his first rhinoplasty in 1979 after an accident during a dance routine. Apparently, the procedure made it difficult for Michael to breathe, so he had another rhinoplasty in 1981. However, conflicting reports from Michael's family members, his alleged doctors, and his own autobiography have made it impossible to confirm what procedures Michael had and how many nose jobs he underwent. Besides his nose job, the only other surgery Michael admitted to was getting the chin cleft.

这些年，迈克尔在外观上的巨大变化被媒体频繁报道，因为他经常拜访整形医生。但是，他永远只承认他只做过两次手术。据知情人士透露，迈克尔在身体某处进行了十几次手术，而其他知情人士则说，实际上他已动过上百次手术。生前，他只承认做了鼻子和下巴的手术，而他说他的皮肤之所以变白，实际上是因为他得了白癜风。虽然在他的一生中，关于他肤色的八卦屡见不鲜，但他死后的尸检结果表明，他确实受到过皮肤色素沉着病的折磨。《人物》杂志采访了洛杉矶的一位名为华莱士·古德斯坦的整形外科医生，他说，流行音乐之王经常来他们医院做手术。古德斯坦，作为迈克尔的主治医生的实习生，只在那里工作了两年。他说，迈克尔在这么短的时间内大约做了十几个手术。据称，迈克尔在鼻子上做了许多手术，在下巴和脸颊做了填充手术。杰克逊从未在白天做手术，他让医生在晚上给他做手术，这样就可以避免有人在医院碰见他了。迈克尔传记的作者J.兰迪·塔拉博雷利称，迈克尔在1979年表演一个舞蹈常规动作时出现了事故，在那之后他进行了第一次隆鼻手术。显然，这个手术使得迈克尔呼吸困难，于是他只好在1981年又做了一次隆鼻手术。然而，对此，迈克尔家人的说法与迈克尔医生以及迈克尔在自传中的说法都产生矛盾了。所以，人们已无法确认迈克尔到底经受过什么样手术，以及他到底做了多少隆鼻手术。除了鼻子，迈克尔承认，他还动过手术的一个部位就是下巴。

In life and in death, Michael Jackson has remained one of the biggest entertainers ever to perform on stage. At the time of his passing in 2009, Michael had sold over 200 million albums, as well as hundreds of millions of singles. The consummate performer, Michael was an exacting artist who demanded nothing but the best from himself and everyone around him each time he took the stage. Estimates suggest Michael's records brought in more than a half billion dollars during his lifetime, and several of his albums appear on lists of the best-selling albums of all time. Numbers suggest "Thriller" alone sold more than 50 million copies. His albums and work also won a mind-boggling 56 Grammy Awards, 68 American Music Awards, and 123 Billboard Awards. Although his real-life antics turned him into fodder for the tabloids, even his odd reputation and all the weird rumors surrounding his lifestyle couldn't make his fans abandon him. Even in death, Michael Jackson remains a true music legend.

无论是生前还是死后，迈克尔·杰克逊都是一个对乐坛发展非常重要的歌者。在2009去世的时候，迈克尔售出的专辑已超过两亿多张，售出的单曲也达数百万张。他是完美的表演者，是一位严谨的艺术家。他除了每次登台都要求自己和身边的人表现到最好，其他别无所求。在迈克尔的一生中，他的唱片给他带来了超过五亿美元的收入。并且，他的好几张专辑总是出现在最畅销的榜单上。数据显示，专辑《Thriller》销量超过五千万张。他的专辑和工作获得了56项格莱美奖，68项全美音乐奖，以及123项公告牌音乐奖，这简直让人难以置信。虽然他的真实生活十分古怪，这使得他成为娱乐报刊的"宠儿"，还有他那"奇怪"的声誉和各种不可思议的传闻。但是他的粉丝并没有离他而去。即使在死后，迈克尔·杰克逊仍然音乐界的一个真正的传奇。

晓北老师简介：

原新东方明星教师。曾多次获得各类英语演讲比赛一等奖及总部教师PK赛口语组第一名，并多次成功压中托福雅思考题。现已在大连地区成立自己的英语培训中心“晓北部落”，剑指出国类英语考试及少儿综合英语，更注重对孩子的英语素质培养！（更多晓北老师介绍、战绩以及我们的教学环境请点击“晓北部落微信公众号”下面的菜单项“晓北老师”）

晓北老师微信公众号：xiaobeibuluoEnglish

晓北老师微信号：xiaobeibuluo