Question

Does Fame Drive You Crazy?

Although being famous might sound like a dream come true, today’s star, feeling like zoo animals, face pressures that few of us can imagine. They are at the center of much of the world’s attention. Paparazzi (狗仔隊) camp outside their homes, cameras ready. Tabloids (小報) publish thrilling stories about their personal lives. Just imagine not being able to do anything without being photographed or interrupted for a signature.

According to psychologist Christina Villareal, celebrities — famous people — worry constantly about their public appearance. Eventually, they start to lose track of who they really are, seeing themselves the way their fans imagine them, not as the people they were before everyone knew their names. “Over time,” Villareal says, “they feel separated and alone.”

The phenomenon of tracking celebrities has been around for ages. In the 4th century B.C., painters followed Alexander the Great into battle, hoping to picture his victories for his admirers. When Charles Dickens visited America in the 19th century, his sold-out readings attracted thousands of fans, leading him to complain (抱怨) about his lack of privacy. Tabloids of the 1920s and 1930s ran articles about film-stars in much the same way that modern tabloids and websites do.

Being a public figure today, however, is a lot more difficult than it used to be. Superstars cannot move about without worrying about photographers with modern cameras. When they say something silly or do something ridiculous, there is always the Internet to spread the news in minutes and keep their “story” alive forever.

If fame is so troublesome, why aren’t all celebrities running away from it? The answer is there are still ways to deal with it. Some stars stay calm by surrounding themselves with trusted friends and family or by escaping to remote places away from big cities. They focus not on how famous they are but on what they love to do or whatever made them famous in the first place.

Sometimes a few celebrities can get a little justice. Still, even stars who enjoy full justice often complain about how hard their lives are. They are tired of being famous already.

63. It can be learned from the passage that stars today ______.

A. are often misunderstood by the public

B. can no longer have their privacy protected

C. spend too much on their public appearance

D. care little about how they have come into fame

64. What is the main idea of Paragraph 3?

A. Great heroes of the past were generally admired.

B. The problem faced by celebrities has a long history.

C. Well-known actors are usually targets of tabloids.

D. Works of popular writers often have a lot of readers.

65. What makes it much harder to be a celebrity today?

A. Availability of modern media.

B. Inadequate social recognition.

C. Lack of favorable chances.

D. Huge population of fans.

66. What is the author’s attitude toward modern celebrity?

A. Sincere.     B. Sceptical.   C. Disapproving.    D. Sympathetic.

Answer 1

【語篇解讀】這是一篇夾敘夾議的文章。作者給我們講述了名人們光鮮背后由于備受關注而帶來的煩惱，以及處理這些煩惱的方式。

段落	關鍵詞、句	大意推測
第一部分（Para. 1-2）	feeling like zoo animals；face pressures；lose track of who they really are	名人們因過度被關注而煩惱： 感覺像動物園的動物一樣；面對壓力；迷失自我
第二部分（Para. 3）	the phenomenon of tracking celebrities； for ages；	關注名人自古有之： 跟蹤名人的現象；很久了；
第三部分（Para. 4）	more difficult than it used to be；spread the news in minutes；keep……alive forever	今天名人的處境： 比過去更艱難；消息立即得以散布；經久不衰
第四部分（Para. 5）	stay calm；focus not on how famous……but on what they love	對待這些煩惱的方式： 保持平靜；不關心多有名而關注有多熱愛（自己做的事情）
第五部分（Para. 6）	complain about; are tired of being famous already	依舊存在厭倦自己目前生活的名人：抱怨；厭倦已經成名

【解析】

63.B。細節推理題。難度：較易。找到題干關鍵詞stars today，定位第一段。根據today’s star, feeling like zoo animals（今天的明星，感覺就像動物園的動物），可知他們幾乎無法保護自己的隱私。

64.B。大意推測題。難度：較易。找到題干題眼Paragraph 3，細讀此段，我們可以看出首句是對整個段落的概括，下文以Alexander the Great和Charles Dickens為例進行例證。因此根據首句The phenomenon of tracking celebrities has been around for ages.（跟蹤名人的這一現象已經很長的年代了），鎖定答案。

65.A。細節判斷題。難度：較易。找到題干關鍵詞harder和today，定位第四段。根據……, there is always the Internet to spread the news in minutes and keep their “story” alive forever.（總是會有網絡立即散布消息而且讓這些糗事經久不衰），可知，由于現代網絡技術的運用，名人們的日子更不好過了。因此，正確答案A。Availability of modern media（現代媒介的可利用性）。

66.D。態度判斷題。難度：較難。通讀全文，可以看出，作者在文中多出使用這樣的字眼：worry；complain；more difficult；troublesome；are tired of等，來描述名人們的生活狀態。而且作者用Paparazzi（狗仔）來描寫記者，可見作者對名人們的態度是同情的，而不是“忠誠的、懷疑的或者不贊成的”態度。