The Homeless DJ 無家可歸的DJ－看BBC學英文

A Homeless Man Achieves Overnight Stardom 乞丐一夜成名

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Here is a heart-warming story to help you fight the freezing weather.

Two weeks ago, Ted Williams was homeless and begging for change on the streets of Columbus in Ohio, USA. Now his fortunes have been reversed because Mr Williams has that most valued of commodities, a natural 'radio voice'.

His rags-to-riches journey started when a reporter with the Columbus Dispatch discovered Mr Williams on a street corner. The 53-year-old was holding a cardboard sign explaining that he was an ex-radio announcer "fallen on hard times".

The reporter videoed Ted Williams doing a radio spot right there on the street corner. He had exactly the sort of mellifluous voice that typifies American radio adverts – unusually smooth, rich and commanding.

The video also featured a mini-interview with Williams, who was known in the local homeless community as 'Radio Man'. He told the Columbus Dispatch:

"The voice just became something of a development over the years and I went to school for it. And then alcohol and drugs and a few other things became a part of my life."

The video went viral on the internet and within days Mr Williams was appearing on chat shows, introducing NBC's Today Show and signing a contract to be the voice of the company Kraft Macaroni & Cheese. Since then, there have even been rumours of a possible film role for 'Golden Voice'.

This being an American fairy tale, everything has been captured on camera, even Ted Williams' tearful reunion with his 90-year-old mother. He told her, "This reunion means more to me than anything I've been offered."

She offered her son some tough love, saying: "Please don't disappoint me."

Ted Williams has been clean for two years, but some commentators fear that so much sudden media attention could be too much for anyone. Let's hope that Ted Williams' American dream has a happy ending.

Glossary 單字表

heart-warming暖人心房的
to beg for change乞討零錢
fortunes... reversed乾坤大扭轉
commodity有用的東西
rags-to-riches白手起家的
announcer播音員
to fall on hard times遭遇不幸
radio spot廣播廣告
mellifluous甜美的，悅耳的
advert廣告
rich深沉的
commanding有力的
school大學
to go viral像病毒一樣傳播開來
this being因為這是
fairy tale童話
tearful淚流滿面的，使人流淚的
tough love嚴厲的愛
to be clean戒毒
American dream美國夢

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