Does Fame Drive You Crazy?
Although being famous might sound like a dream come true, today’s stars, 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(狗仔队) camp outside their homes, cameras ready. Tabloids(小报) 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 Villarreal, 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,” Villarreal 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.
1.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
2.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.
3.What makes it much harder to be a celebrity today?
A. Availability of modern media.
B. Inadequate(无法适应的) social recognition.
C. Lack of favorable chances.
D. Huge population of fans.
4.What is the author’s attitude toward modern celebrity?
A. Sincere. B. Sceptical.
C. Disapproving . D. Sympathetic.
The National Gallery
Description:
The National Gallery is the British national art museum built on the north side of Trafalgar Square in London. It houses a diverse collection of more than 2,300 examples of European art ranging from 13th-century religious paintings to more modern ones by Renoir and Van Gogh. The older collections of the gallery are reached through the main entrance while the more modern works in the East Wing are most easily reached from Trafalgar Square by a ground floor entrance.
Layout(布局):
The modern Sainsbury Wing on the western side of the building houses 13th- to 15th-century paintings, and artists include Duccio, Uccello, Van Eyck, Lippi, Mantegna, Botticelli and Metaling.
The main West Wing houses 16th-century paintings, and artists include Leonardo da Vinci, Cranach, Michelangelo, Raphael, Bruegel, Bronzino, Titian and Veronese.
The North Wing houses 17th-century paintings, and artists include Caravaggio, Rubens, Poussin, Van Dyck, Velazquez, Claude and Vermeer.
The East Wing houses 18th-to early 20th-century paintings, and artists include Canaletto, Goya, Turner, Constable, Renoir and Van Gogh.
Opening Hours:
The Gallery is open every day from 10 am to 6 pm (Fridays 10 am to 9 pm) and is free, but charges apply to some special exhibitions.
Getting There:
Nearest underground stations: Charing Cross (2-minute walk), Leicester Square (3-minute walk), Embankment(7-minute walk), and Piccadilly Circus(8-minute walk).
1.In which century’s collection can you see religious paintings?
A. The 13th. B. The 17th.
C. The 18th. D. The 20th.
2.Where are Leonardo da Vinci’s works shown?
A. In the East Wing. B. In the main West Wing.
C. In the Sainsbury Wing. D. In the North Wing.
3.Which underground station is closest to the National Gallery?
A. Piccadilly Circus. B. Leicester Square.
C. Embankment. D. Charing Cross.
Going green seems to be a fad(时尚) for a lot of people these days. Whether that is good or bad, we can’t really say, but for the two of us, going green is not a fad but a lifestyle.
On April 22,2012, we decided to go green every single day for an entire year. This meant doing 365 different green things, and It also meant challenging ourselves to go green beyond the easy things. Rather than recycle and reduce our energy, we had to think of 365 different green things to do and this was no easy task.
With the idea of going green every single day for a year, Our Green Year started. My wife and I decided to educate people about how they could go green in their lives and hoped we could show people all the green things that could be done to help the environment. We wanted to push the message that every little bit helps.
Over the course of Our Green Year, we completely changed our lifestyles. We now shop at organic(有机的) stores. We consume less meat, choosing green food. We have greatly reduced our buying we don’t need. We have given away half of what we owned through websites. Our home is kept clean by vinegar and lemon juice, with no chemical cleaners. We make our own butter, enjoying the smell of home-made fresh bread. In our home office anyone caught doing something ungreen might be punished.
Our minds have been changed by Our Green Year. We are grateful for the chance to have been able to go green and educate others. We believe that we do have the power to change things and help our planet.
1.What might be the best title for the passage?
A. Going Green B. Protecting the Planet
C. Keeping Open-Minded D. Celebrating Our Green Year
2.It was difficult for the couple to live a green life for the whole year because .
A. they were expected to follow the green fad
B. they didn’t know how to educate other people
C. they were unwilling to reduce their energy
D. they needed to perform unusual green tasks
3.What did the couple do over the course of Our Green Year?
A. They tried to get out of their ungreen habits.
B. They ignored others’ ungreen behavior.
C. They chose better chemical cleaners.
D. They sold their home-made food.
4.What can we infer from the last paragraph?
A. The government will give support to the green project.
B. The couple may continue their project in the future.
C. Some people disagree with the couple’s green ideas.
D. Our Green Year is becoming a national campaign.
I went to a group activity, “Sensitivity Sunday”, which was to make us more
the problems faced by disabled people. We were asked to “ a disability” for several hours one Sunday. Some members, , chose to use wheelchairs. Others wore sound—blocking earplugs(耳塞) or blindfolds(眼罩).
Just sitting in the wheelchair was a experience. I had never considered before how it would be to use one. As soon as I sat down, my made the chair begin to roll. Its wheels were not . Then I wondered where to put my . It took me quite a while to get the metal footrest(脚凳) into . I took my first uneasy look at what was to be my only means of for several hours. For disabled people, “adopting a wheelchair” is not a temporary .
I tried to find a position and thought it might be restful, kind of nice, to be around for a while. Looking around, I I would have to handle the thing myself! My hands started to ache as I the heavy metal wheels. I came to know that controlling the of the wheelchair was not going to be a(n) task.
My wheelchair experiment was soon . It made a deep impression on me. A few hours of “disability” gave me only a taste of the , both physical and mental, that disabled people must overcome.
1.A. curious aboutB. interested inC. aware ofD. careful with
2.cureB. preventC. adoptD. analyze
3.insteadB. strangelyC. as usualD. like me
4.A. learningB. workingC. satisfyingD. relaxing
5.A. convenientB. awkward C. boringD. exciting
6.A. heightB. force C. skillD. weight
7.A. lockedB. repairedC. poweredD. grasped
8.A. handsB. feetC. keysD. handles
9.A. placeB. actionC. playD. effect
10.A. operationB. communicationC. transportationD. production
11.A. explorationB. educationC. experimentD. entertainment
12.A. flexibleB. safeC. starting D. comfortable
13.A. yetB. just C. stillD. even
14.A. shown B. pushedC. driven D. guided
15.A. realizedB. suggestedC. agreedD. admitted
16.A. liftedB. turnedC. pressedD. seized
17.A. pathB. positionC. directionD. way
18.A. easyB. heavy C. majorD. extra
19.A. forgottenB. repeatedC. conductedD. finished
20.A. weaknessesB. challengesC. anxietiesD. illnesses
—This is your order, a hamburger and an apple pie .
—I’ll have it here.
A. Anything ease B. Is that OK
C. Something to drink D. For here or to go
The old scientist took up walking as a regular form of exercise, which, of course, is of great to his heath.
A. benefit B. favor
C. sense D. relationship
