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 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 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 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. Skeptical. C. Disapproving. D. Sympathetic.
A person, like a commodity（商品）, needs packaging. But going too far is absolutely undesirable. A little exaggeration(夸张) will do no harm when it shows the person’s unique qualities to their advantages. To show personal attractiveness in a casual and natural way, it is important for one to have a clear knowledge of oneself. A skilled packager knows how to add art to nature without any signs of embellishment so that the person so packaged is not a commodity, but a human being, lively and lovely.
A young person, especially a female, shining with beauty and full of life, has all the favor granted. Youth however, comes and goes in a flash. Packaging for the middle-aged is primarily to hide the marks made by years. If you still enjoy life enough to keep self-confidence and work at pioneering work, you are unique in your natural qualities, and your attractiveness and grace will remain. Elderly people are beautiful if their river of life has been, through plains, mountains and jungles, running its course as it should. You have really lived your life, which now arrives at a self - satisfied stage of quietness and calmness with no interest in fame or wealth. There is no need to make use of hair dyeing. The snow-capped mountain itself is a beautiful scene of fairyland. Let your looks change from young to old in step with the natural ageing process so as to keep in harmony with nature, for harmony itself is beauty, while the other way round will only end in unpleasantness. To be in the company of the elderly is like reading a thick book of good edition, which attracts one so much that one is unwilling to part with it. As long as one finds where one stands, one knows how to package oneself, just as a commodity sets up its brand by the right packaging.
1.The underlined
word in the first paragraph is closest to the word ______ in meaning.
A. decoration B. clarification C. movement D. identification
2.It can be concluded from the text that ______.
A. people should be packaged at all ages
B. people should be packaged in a special way
C. elderly people also care about packaging
D. proper packaging makes people attractive
3.For the middle-aged, attractiveness ______ .
A. hardly exists B. is the strongest
C. comes from the inside D. comes 
from the appearance
4.According to the author, if you want to keep in harmony with nature, you should ______.[源
A. dye your hair B. make up at a young age
C. follow the ageing process D. give up fame and wealth
5.The underlined sentence means that elderly people ______.
A. are usually packaged like a finely-made book
B. experience a lot and have rich knowledge of life
C. do a lot of traveling and can give you much information
D. enjoy reading thick books about beautiful nature and fairyland
When I entered Berkeley, I hoped to earn a scholarship. Having been a Straight-A student, I believed I could tough subjects and really learn something. One such course was World Literature given by Professor Jayne. I was extremely interested in the ideas he in class.
When I took the first exam, I was to find a 77, C-plus, on my test paper, English was my best subject. I went to Professor Jayne, who listened to my arguments but remained . I decided to try harder, although I didn’t know what that because school had always been easy for me. I read the books more carefully, but got another 77. Again, I with Professor Jayne. Again, he listened patiently but wouldn’t change his . One more test before the final exam. One more to improve my grade. So I redoubled my efforts and, for the first time, the meaning of the word “thorough”. But my did no good and everything as before.
The last hurdle(障碍) was the final. No matter what I got, it wouldn’t cancel three C-pluses. I might as well kiss the goodbye. I stopped working hard. I felt I knew the course material as well as I ever would. The night before the final, I even myself to a movie. The next day I decided for once I’d have with a test. A week later, I was surprised to find I got an A. I hurried into professor Jayne’s office. He to be expecting me. “If I gave you the As you , you wouldn’t continue to work as hard.” I stared at him, that his analysis and strategy(策略) were correct. I had worked my head , as I had never done before. I was speechless when my course grade arrived: A-plus. It was the only A-plus given. The next year I received my scholarship. I’ve always remembered Professor Jayne’s lesson: you alone must set your own standard of excellence.
1.A. take B. discuss C. cover D. get
2.A. sought B. presented C. exchanged D. obtained
3.A. shockedB. worried C. scared D. anxious
4.A. butB. so C. for D. or
5.A. unchangedB. unpleasant C. unfriendly D. unmoved
6.A. reflected B. meant C. improved D. affected
7.A. quarreledB. reasoned C. bargained D. chatted
8.A. attitude B. mind C. plan D. view
9.A. choice B. step C. chance D. measure
10.A. memorized B. considered C. accepted D. learned
11.A. ambition B. confidence C. effort D. method
12.A. stayed B. went C. worked D. changed
13.A. grade B. answer C. lesson D. comment
14.A. scholarship B. course C. degree D. subject
15.A. helped B. favored C. treated D. relaxed
16.A. fun B. luck C. problems D. tricks
17.A. happened B. proved C. pretended D. seemed
18.A. valued B. imagined C. expected D. welcomed
19.A. remembering B. guessing C. supposing D. realizing
20.A. out B. over C. on D. off
You can take the rest of the pie with you. ________, I wish you would, since I’m on a diet.
A. On the other hand B. As a matter of fact
C. As a consequence D. In addition to it
With the word “ PM2.5” ________ appearing in media reports, people pay greater attention to it and seek health tips for smoggy days.
A. constantly B. consequently C. permanentlyD. immediately
He is talking so much about America as if he _____ there.
A. has gone B. has been C. was D. had been
