英文原文1

【英文原文】

'King of Pop' Michael Jackson Is Dead at 50

摘要：迈克尔•杰克逊(Michael Jackson)周四下午在洛杉矶家中发生心跳骤停，送往医院后被宣布死亡，这位50岁的流行音乐之王怪异而悲剧性的一生也因此划上了句号，杰克逊在这其中的45年都是世界上最具象征性的流行音乐人之一。

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.

英文原文2

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.

中文译文1

【中文译文】

迈克尔•杰克逊(Michael Jackson)周四下午在洛杉矶家中发生心跳骤停，送往医院后被宣布死亡，这位50岁的流行音乐之王怪异而悲剧性的一生也因此划上了句号，杰克逊在这其中的45年都是世界上最具象征性的流行音乐人之一。

知情人士透露，杰克逊被送到加州大学洛杉矶分校医疗中心时处于昏迷状态，在被送入手术室前去世。

去世前，杰克逊正试图重新开始自己的演唱生涯；此前几年他一直备受争议，这令他实际上停止了演出和发行新专辑。甚至在他2005年因娈童的指控而受到刑事审判、并最后被判无罪之前，他的演唱事业已经处于停顿状态。

5月份，演唱会宣传公司AEG Live宣布，杰克逊将在伦敦的O2 arena举行系列演唱会。事实证明，演唱会门票需求火爆，场次最终被加到50场，卖出的门票有数十万张。演唱会的日期被分散在好几个月里，从7月初一直到2010年。

杰克逊与AEG Live的协议包括一项进一步增加演唱会场次的雄心勃勃选择，在三年甚至更长的时间里在欧洲、亚洲、北美各地举办演唱会。所有的巡演加在一起能让他赚4亿美元。AEG Live由丹佛富豪安舒兹(Phil Anschutz)所有。

中文译文2

在为伦敦演唱会作准备期间，杰克逊进行了一次5个小时的全面体检。AEG Live首席执行长菲利普斯(Randy Phillips)当时说，杰克逊轻松通过了体检。

不过，在杰克逊为首轮演唱会作准备的时候就出现了问题的迹象。前四场演唱会被推迟了，表面的理由是杰克逊需要更多的时间进行场内带装彩排。一些熟悉杰克逊的人怀疑他是否能完成这么多的演唱会，尽管演出日程中有充足的间歇时间。

周四下午，加州大学洛杉矶分校医疗中心外的人行道上挤满了人。甚至在官方宣布杰克逊的死讯前，一些人已经忍不住痛哭失声。

有人表演他的招牌太空步，唱着他的流行歌曲。街道对面的一个学生公寓用音响大声播放着杰克逊的歌。用于新闻报导的直升机在天空中盘旋。

杰克逊1958年出生于印地安那州加里市，他很快就被推上了众人注目的中心。甚至在很小的时候，他显然就已经是“杰克逊五兄弟”(Jackson Five)中的明星了。该演唱组合是他的父亲约瑟夫•杰克逊(Joseph Jackson)把五个儿子召集在一起组成的。

“杰克逊五兄弟”很快从当地的业余歌手演唱会和地方演唱会中脱颍而出，登上了全国舞台。他们与高迪(Berry Gordy)的Motown Records签了约，推出一系列风靡一时的歌曲，包括“ABC”和“I Want You Back”。不过在严厉的父亲和经理的控制下，他们的人生付出了代价，杰克逊没有正常的童年。

在单飞之后，杰克逊名气越来越大。1982年的个人专辑《Thriller》是历史上最畅销的专辑之一。

《Thriller》连续80周高居Billboard 200排行榜的前十名，其中的热门单曲“Billy Jean”、“Wanna Be Startin”和“Beat It”更是大受欢迎。据美国唱片工业协会(Recording Industry of Association of America)的数据，该专辑常常列为有史以来最畅销的专辑，美国的销量为2,800万张。据估计，全球销量超过5,000万张。《Thriller》的MV如今仍是YouTube上观看次数最多的视频之一，排在第54位。这段13分钟的视频观看人次有37,083,417。