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For Susan Boyle, the last few years have been like a fairy tale. Before she appeared on a British TV talent show in 2009, she was a shy, middle-aged woman from Scotland. Then she sang ‘I dreamed a dream’ from the musical Les Miserables for her audition and she became famous overnight. She didn’t win the contest, but the YouTube video of her performance has been watched by millions of people and her debut album I dreamed a dream has sold over 9 million copies.

The road to stardom hasn’t been easy for Susan. She was born in 1961 in a small Scottish town, the youngest of nine children. She had some learning difficulties and was bullied at school. She left with few qualifications and she has had just one job as a cook at a college. But singing was always part of Susan’s life – at school and at her local church and pub. She had singing lessons and auditioned for talent shows, but she never found the success she was looking for. It was her mother who encouraged her to enter the popular UK Britain’s Got Talent show. The rest is history.

So, how has life changed for this unlikely celebrity? Things have never been quite the same since that extraordinary night in January 2009. She has performed to audiences of thousands of fans and has just completed a huge tour of the UK and the US. Known to the press - and to many of her fans - as SuBo, she has recorded six albums and sold millions of copies. Although she hasn’t won a Grammy award, she has been nominated twice.

But Susan has never forgotten where she came from. She still lives in Scotland. She has bought a new house, but she hasn’t sold the home where she grew up. She has never married or had children, but she has said that she would like to adopt a child. Her powerful voice has given pleasure to millions of fans all over the world. But above all, perhaps, she has been an inspiration for all the people who have ever wanted to follow a dream.

Session vocabulary

audition (试音）

a short test in which you sing, act, dance or play an instrument to show if you are good enough to be in a play, show , concert ,etc.

Performance

singing, acting, dancing or playing an instrument in front of other people

Debut （首张专辑）

first (often used to describe the first CD made by a singer)

Stardom (明星身份）

being very famous, usually as a singer, actor or dancer

to bully (欺负）

to act in a threatening way towards other people, often making them do something they don't want to do.

celebrity（明星）

famous person

the press

new media including newspapers, magazines, online news sites etc.

award

prize you get for an achievement

to nominate (推荐）

to recommend someone for a prize or job

to adopt

to bring up someone else's child as if they are your own child

perhaps

maybe

inspiration

(here) a person who you admire and try to be like