★Britney File★
Name: Britney Jean Spears
Date of birth: December 2, 1981
Sibling1: Older brother Bryan; younger sister Jamie Lynn
Education: High-school graduate
FYI(for your information): She's made a lot, and she gives a lot: Her Britney Spears Foundation was set up to help kids in need (including a camp for kids interested in performing arts), and her Dream Within a Dream tour raised over $1 million for the families of September 11 victims.
★The Rags－to－riches2 Story
“Every parent thinks her child is wonderful, but I sensed right away3 that Britney took performing very seriously,” her mother, Lynn Spears, has said. “Right from the start, I felt that it was what she really wanted, and I was going to do everything I could to support her dreams.”
For the Spears family, that meant making sacrifices. But it's the memory of those low-income years, says her mom, that keeps Britney's feet firmly planted on the ground.
“I'm not the person you see on stage,” Britney has said about herself. Her new book, Stages, seeks to show the real person behind the icon. A visit to Kentwood4 may provide all the proof you need: There (despite the new multimillion-dollar 71/2-acre estate5 she built for Mama a few miles from their old home), she's no bubble-gum6 pop princess making a mint7 nor the sexual8 woman in those videos. She's just plain Britney.
Britney Jean Spears was born on December 2, 1981. Her dad was a contractor9 and her mom was an elementary school teacher. Their salaries barely10 made ends meet11； often, the electricity was shut off because of unpaid bills, the car broke down, and there was little more than12 a pint13 of ice cream in the fridge. Still, the Spears family wanted Britney to have every possible opportunity. Lynne “begged and borrowed” from generous friends, family, and neighbors so she could pay for dancing and singing lessons and trips to talent shows. Finally, at the age of 10, efforts paid off14：Britney won a spot on the national show Star Search. She sang her heart out but lost in the second round. The defeat brought her to tears but she quickly picked herself up15 and moved on. The next stop was New York City. She got a part in the musical16 Ruthless!
It was 1993's new Mickey Mouse Club on the Disney Channel that helped her sharpen her talents. Along with Christina Aguilera, NSYNCers J.C. Chasez and Justin Timberlake (who later became her boyfriend and now her ex), she walked proudly across the stage, performing pop tunes and comedy skits17. When the show ended a year later, she went back home. She rejoined her high-school classmates, back to being a normal teenager. But the itch18 to be a star was still there — and getting stronger. This time, her parents sought out some expert advice from a New York entertainment lawyer who knew everything of the record industry. The boy bands like Backstreet Boys and 'N SYNC were staying top of the pop charts. Larry Rudolph took the 15-year-old around to several recording companies, trying to make them believe the market was ripe for a young girl to challenge these bands. Several said no, but Jive Records signed her and in 1999, she released “...Baby One More Time”. It was Britney's idea to parade19 around the video in pigtails20 and a schoolgirl uniform tied up to show her waist. Her look was pure and lovely; her sound was achy21 and infectious22. The single rose to No.1, the album of the same name sold upwards of 13 million copies, and Britney became famous.
She was determined, however, not to be just a flash-in-the-pan23 like some young teen queens who had come before her. A long life in the music business usually means never to stop reinventing yourself (like her idol Madonna). So she said bye-bye to the healthy image and prepared herself for the backlash24. As predicted, Britney's new grown-up look, exhibited on countless magazine covers and in her videos, turned off some of her younger fans and their protective parents. But in general, the public was refreshed by the new and improved Britney and her lively, belly-baring26 look.
Her next albums, Oops!．．．I Did It Again and Britney, featured songs and videos with adult things. The school uniform image has since been replaced by a sexual lady. Now she's ready to spread her wings. She did so by making fun of herself on Saturday Night Live and starring in her first film, Crossroads. She opened a New York City restaurant, Nyla; became Pepsi's spokesmodel27； and appeared in the Austin Powers Goldmember. She's also signed on to shoot28 a NASCAR29 related movie in 2003.
“It's really weird30, because you're a star, and everything is about you all the time,”she recently told Rolling Stone. “I'm tired of that. I want to have a different perspective31.” Despite the fact that people like her —and she has a 350 lb32 bodyguard she calls “Big Rob” following her everywhere —she has anything but the star attitude. She prefers her General Foods instant coffee every morning. She will proudly show you how to bite the head off a crawfish33. She has the habit of exclaiming “Lordy34!” and politely calling strangers “Sir” and “Ma'am.” After her recent Dream Within a Dream world tour, she's decided to retire for a few months and relax. No doubt she is thinking about the next bold thing she will do with her career. Some said she was burned out35 from too much partying and her recent stormy breakup with Timberlake, but Britney has a better explanation.
“I'm waiting for the next exciting project to come along36. I'll know it when it grabs me.” Until then, we'll just have to wait until she hits us one more time.
☆从赤贫到巨富
“每一个家长都认为自己的孩子很棒，但是布兰妮对演出的认真劲儿，我马上就感觉到了。”布兰妮的母亲林恩·斯皮尔斯曾说：“从一开始我就发现，那是她真正想要的，而我会全力去支持她的梦想。”
对斯皮尔斯一家来说这意味着作出牺牲，不过布兰妮的妈妈却认为，正是那些日子拮据的记忆让布兰妮有了踏踏实实的今天。
“我可不是你们在舞台上看到的那个人。”布兰妮这样说自己。她的新书《舞台》试图表现偶像背后那个真正的她。去肯伍德看一看，你想知道的一切便可得以证实。尽管布兰妮在离老家几英里的地方为妈妈建了占地7.5英亩、价值数百万的新居，但在肯伍德，她既不是风格还未成熟却已财源滚滚的流行歌坛公主，也不是MTV里性感十足的女郎，她仅仅是平凡普通的布兰妮。
布兰妮·琼·斯皮尔斯生于1981年12月2日，爸爸是个建筑承包商，妈妈是一名小学老师。他们的收入勉强维持家用，家里常常因为欠费被断电，汽车出毛病也是常有的事儿；冰箱里的冰淇淋几乎从不超过一品脱。即使这样，家里还是希望布兰妮不错过每一个可能的机会。林恩从慷慨的亲朋好友、左邻右舍那儿东求西借，以支付女儿上歌舞培训班及才艺秀巡回演出的费用。所有的付出终于在布兰妮10岁时有了回报，她在全国“星探秀”中赢得了名次。尽管已竭尽全力，布兰妮却在比赛的第二轮出局。这让她伤心落泪，但很快她就收拾好心情继续前进了。下一站是纽约，在音乐剧《冷酷无情》中得到一个角色！
1993年迪斯尼频道的新“米老鼠俱乐部”开播，这次经历磨砺了她的才能。和她一起的还有克里斯蒂娜·阿奎莱拉、“超级男孩”的J.C.查塞、贾斯汀·廷伯雷克（后来成了她的男友，现为前男友）。她自豪地在舞台上移步，一展歌喉和幽默表演的才华。一年的演出结束后，她回到了家乡，与高中时代的同学为伍，重新成为一名普通的少女。但是做明星的渴望却一如既往，甚而越来越强烈。这一次，她的父母找到了纽约娱乐界一位精通录音这一行的律师，征求行家建议。当时流行排行榜榜首一直是像“后街男孩”和“超级男孩”这样男生组合的天下。拉里·鲁道夫带着15岁的布兰妮到一个又一个唱片公司去试图说服他们，让一个少女来挑战这些组合的市场已经成熟。有的拒绝了，但Jive唱片公司与她签约，并于1999年发行了她的《……宝贝，再爱我一次》。录像中她头扎马尾，往上一系的校服露出腰身，这些都是布兰妮的主意。她扮相清纯可爱，嗓音极富杀伤力和感染力。这首单曲跃居榜首，同名专辑也卖了1300多万张，布兰妮一举成名。
然而她决心不做一个昙花一现的人物，就像此前的一些少女皇后一样。在音乐界要想长青就得不停地突破自己（像她的偶像麦当娜）。于是她告别健康形象，做好了大逆转的准备。正如所料，布兰妮出现在不计其数的杂志封面上和MTV中的成人新形象，受到部分年龄偏小的歌迷及其颇具保护意识的家长冷落。但总的来说，这个与以前截然不同、露出肚脐、活力十足的布兰妮让大众耳目一新。
随后的专辑《哦，我又作了一次》和《布兰妮》中，成人事物成了歌曲和录影的特色，校服的形象被性感女郎取代。这时她准备展翅飞翔了：她在周六晚间直播节目中拿自己开涮，还主演了第一部电影《十字路口》；在纽约她开了一家餐馆Nyla，又出任百事可乐的代言模特，还加盟了电影《王牌大贱谍3》，并签约在2003年出演一部与全美赛车协会有关的电影。
最近布兰妮向《滚石》音乐杂志诉苦：“真是不可思议，就因为你是明星，什么事总是和你有关。我都烦了。我想有一个不同的角度。”尽管大家都喜欢她，她还有一个350磅的随身保镖，她叫他“大个子罗伯”。布兰妮从没有明星架子。她每天早上喜欢喝大众食品的速溶咖啡，她会自豪地向别人演示怎么一口就咬下龙虾的头，她有惊呼“天哪”的习惯，会彬彬有礼地称陌生人为“先生”、“女士”。最近的“梦中梦”环球演出结束后，她决定休息放松几个月。无疑她在为演艺生涯的下一步作大胆的设想。有人说太多的晚会以及不久前和廷伯雷克的分手使她元气大伤，但布兰妮自有更好的解释：
“我在等下一个激动人心的计划出现，只要它吸引我，时机就到了。”那我们只有拭目以待了，等待她再一次带给我们震动。
1. sibling n． 兄弟，姐妹
2． from rags－to－riches: from being very poor to being very rich 从赤贫走向暴富
3． right away 立刻
4． Kentwood n． 肯伍德 （美国南部路易斯安那州一镇名）
5． estate n． 不动产，财产
6． bubble－gum adj． 风格幼稚的，品味不成熟的
7． make a mint 赚大钱
mint [mint] n． 钱币
8． sexual adj． 性感的
9． contractor n． 承包者，承建者
10． barely adv． 勉强
11． make ends meet 收支相抵
12． little more than和……无差别
13． pint [paint] n． 品脱
14． pay off 回报
15． pick oneself up 使恢复精神
16． musical n． 音乐(喜)剧
17． skit [skit] n． 幽默短剧
18． itch n． (此处意为)渴望
19． parade v． 炫耀
20． pigtail n． 马尾辫
21． achy adj． 疼痛的
22． infectious adj． 有感染力的
23． flash－in－the－pan 昙花一现
24． backlash n． 反冲，对抗性反应
25． turn off 驱逐，使走开
26． belly－baring adj． 露肚脐的
27． spokesmodel 代言模特
28． shoot v． （此处意为）拍摄
29． NASCAR National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing (美国) 全国汽车比赛协会
30． weird adj． 奇怪的
31． perspective n． 观点，看法
32． lb (重量)英磅
33． crawfish n． 小龙虾
34． Lordy n． lord的变体，用于表示吃惊
35． burn out 累垮
36． come along 出现， 发生