The unimaginable has happened.
令人意想不到的事情發生了。

After five glorious years of boy-band perfection, Zayn Malik has -- there's really no way to soften this -- quit One Direction.
在經歷了五年輝煌歲月后，單向樂隊成員之一的澤恩·馬利克退出了樂隊（對此消息真的難以釋懷）。

Actually, if we're being honest, Malik's departure from the hugely popular British group was absolutely imaginable.
事實上，如果我們坦白講，馬利克離開這一高人氣英國樂團是完全可以想象的。

In a surprise move, Zayn Malik announced he is leaving the boy band One Direction for good. He's hoping to live his life as a 'normal' guy now.
澤恩·馬利克突然宣布他將永久退出單向樂隊，他希望能過上普通男孩的生活。

Last year at the Rose Bowl, where One Direction played three sold-out concerts, the 22-year-old singer looked as bored as I've ever seen anyone look while performing for tens of thousands of screaming fans.
去年，單向樂隊在玫瑰碗體育館舉行了三場滿座演唱會，這位22歲的歌手在為成千上萬的尖叫粉絲表演時看起來很厭倦，就像任何一個疲倦的人一樣。

And just last week Malik left the band's current tour, with One Direction's publicist citing "stress" as his reason for flying home to Britain.
就在上周，馬利克退出了樂隊正在進行的世界巡回演出自己飛回英國的家中，單向樂隊的公關人員給出的解釋是“壓力大”。

But the inevitability of this outcome won't likely blunt its impact on the group's ultra-devoted following.
這一結果雖必不可免，但不會對樂隊的超忠實粉絲產生影響。

In a statement Wednesday on the band's Facebook page, Malik apologized "to the fans if I've let anyone down, but I have to do what feels right in my heart."
周三，在樂隊臉書主頁的一份聲明中，馬利克對粉絲說：“如果我讓你們任何人失望了，我道歉，但是我不得不順從我的內心。”

He said his life with One Direction "has been more than I could ever have imagined," but added that he's leaving "because I want to be a normal 22-year-old who is able to relax and have some private time out of the spotlight."
他說，他與單向樂隊在一起的生活的意義已經超出了他的想象，但是他補充道，他要離開，因為他想做一個普通的22歲男孩，一個能夠放松，能夠擁有遠離聚光燈下私人時間的普通男孩。

One Direction was formed in 2010 after its five members -- Malik, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne and Niall Horan -- tried out separately for the British edition of "The X Factor."
單向樂隊于2010年由五位成員共同組成——馬利克，哈里·斯泰爾斯，路易斯·湯姆斯通，利亞姆·佩恩和尼爾·霍拉尼。他們分別從英國版真人選秀比賽“X音素”中脫穎而出。

The group found instant success; private time since then has probably become something the members joke about rather than experience.
因樂隊的一炮而紅，私人空間這樣的事自此變成了隊員間的玩笑話，他們卻不再享有。

On Facebook, Malik's former bandmates said they're "really sad to see Zayn go, but we totally respect his decision and send him all our love for the future."
在臉書上，馬利克的前樂隊成員表示：“看到澤恩要走了我們真的非常傷心，但是我們完全尊重他的決定，并祝他未來一切都好。”

The four will continue recording a new album -- the follow-up to November's excellent (and prophetically titled?) "Four" -- which the statement said would be released this year.
單向樂隊的其他四位成員將繼續錄制新專輯，是去年11月表現不俗的專輯《Four》（這名字取的很有預測性？）之后的又一張，他們在聲明中表示，這張專輯將于今年發行。

Vocabulary

blunt：減弱

prophetically：預言地

（翻譯：旋轉木馬0930 編輯：Helen）