InAmerica,aftermiddleschoolcom-优题课

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 pyschologist 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.
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

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.

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.

What is the author's attitude toward modern celebrity?

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

Mothers and daughters go through so much—yet when was the last time a mother and daughter sat down to write a book together about it all? Perri Klass and her mother, Sheila Solomon Klass, both gifted professional writers, prove to be ideal co－writers as they examine their decades of motherhood, daughterhood, and the wonderful ways their lives have overlapped(重叠)．
Perri notes with amazement how closely her own life has mirrored her mother's: both have full－time careers; both have published books, articles, and stories; each has three children; they both love to read.They also love to travel—in fact, they often take trips together.But in truth, the harder they look at their lives, the more they acknowledge their big differences in circumstance and basic nature.
A child of the Depression(大萧条), Sheila was raised in Brooklyn by parents who considered education a luxury for girls.Starting with her college education, she has fought for everything she's ever accomplished.Perri, on the other hand, grew up privileged in the New Jersey suburbs of the 1960s and 1970s.For Sheila, wasting time or money is a crime, and luxury is unthinkable while Perri enjoys the occasional small luxury, but has not been successful at trying to persuade her mother into enjoying even the tiniest thing she likes.
Each writing in her own unmistakable voice, Perri and Sheila take turns exploring the joys and pains, the love and bitterness, the minor troubles and lasting respect that have always bonded them together.Sheila describes the adventure of giving birth to Perri in a tiny town in Trinidad where her husband was doing research fieldwork.Perri admits that she can't sort out all the mess in the households, even though she knows it drives her mother crazy.Together they compare thoughts on bringing up children and working, admit long－hidden sorrows, and enjoy precious memories.
Looking deep into the lives they have lived separately and together, Perri and Sheila tell their mother－daughter story with honesty, humor, enthusiasm, and admiration for each other.A written account in two voices，Every Mother Is a Daughter is a duet(二重奏) that produces a deep, strong sound with the experiences that all mothers and daughters will recognize.
Why does Perri think that her own life has mirrored her mother's?

A．They both have gone through difficult times.

B．They have strong emotional ties with each other.

C．They have the same joys and pains, and love and bitterness.

D．They both have experiences as daughter, mother and writer.

The word “luxury” in Paragraph 3 means________.

A．something rare but not pleasant

B．something that cannot be imagined

C．something expensive but not necessary

D．something that can only be enjoyed by boys

What is Paragraph 4 mainly about?

A．The content of the book.

B．The purpose of the book.

C．The influence of the book.

D．The writing style of the book.

How are women's lives explored in this book?

A．In a musical form.

B．Through field research.

C．With unique writing skills.

D．From different points of view.

Pop stars today enjoy what once only belonged to the royalty(皇室)．Wherever they go，people turn out in their thousands to greet them.The crowds go wild trying to catch a brief glimpse of their smiling，colorfully dressed idols.The stars are transported in their chauffeur driven Rolls Royces，private helicopters or executive aeroplanes.They are surrounded by a permanent entourage(随从)of managers，press agents and bodyguards.Photographs of them appear regularly in the press and all their comings and goings are reported，for，like royalty，pop stars are news.If they enjoy many of the privileges of royalty，they certainly share many of the inconveniences as well.It is dangerous for them to make unscheduled appearances in public.They must be constantly shielded from the adoring crowds who idolize them.They are no longer private individuals，but public property.The financial rewards they receive for this sacrifice cannot be calculated，for their rates of pay are great.

And why not？Society has always rewarded its top entertainers lavishly.The great days of Hollywood have become legendary：famous stars enjoyed fame，wealth and adulation(奉承)on an all time scale.By today's standards，the excesses of Hollywood do not seem quite so spectacular.A single gramopphone record nowadays may earn much more in royalties than the films of the past ever did.The competition for the title“Top of the Pops”is fierce，but the rewards are truly huge.
It is only right that the stars should be paid in this way.Don't the top men in industry earn enormous salaries for the service they perform to their companies and their countries？Pop stars earn vast sums in foreign currency—often more than large industrial companies—and the taxman can only be grateful for their massive annual contributions to the exchequer(国库)．So who would begrudge them their rewards?
It's all very well for people in boring jobs to complain about the successes and rewards of others.People who make envious remarks should remember that the most famous stars represent only the tip of the iceberg.For every famous star，there are hundreds of others struggling to earn a living.A man working in a steady job and looking forward to a pension at the end of it has no right to expect very high rewards.He has chosen security and peace of mind，so there will always be a limit to what he can earn.But a map who attempts to become a star is taking enormous risks.He knows at the outset that only a handful of competitors ever get to the very top.He knows that years of concentrated effort may be rewarded with complete failure.But he knows，too，that the rewards for success are very high indeed：they are the payback for the huge risks involved and once he makes it，he will certainly earn them.That's the essence of private enterprise.
The author develops the passage mainly by ________.

A．comparing different ideas

B．giving explanations

C．inferring

D．listing typical examples

The underlined word “begrudge” in the third pararaph is closest in meaning to ________.

A．be jealous of	B．be satisfied with
C．be anxious about	D．be crazy about

According to the passage，which of the following can match the view of the author?

A．He who laughs last laughs best.

B．If you venture nothing，you will gain nothing.

C．He who makes no mistakes makes nothing.

D．Success belongs to the persevering.

Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A．People are blind in idolizing stars.

B．There is fierce competition in becoming pop stars.

C．The government taxes pop stars very little.

D．Pop stars' life is more luxurious than that of royalty.

My mind went blank when I saw the gun pointing against the car window as we pulled out of the garage. This can't be happening to me. Then I felt the gun, cold, against my head, and I heard my friend Jeremy saying，“What do you want? Take my wallet，” but at the time I thought of nothing.
I remember being a little annoyed when the gunman pulled me from the car by the hair. I remember the walk to the house—Jeremy, me, the two men with two guns. I remember the fear and anger in the gunmen's voices because Jeremy was being slow, and I remember wondering why he was being slow. I did not realize that Jeremy had thrown the keys into the bush. But I remember that sound of the gun hitting Jeremy's head and the feeling as the man who had hold of my hair released me. And I remember the split second when I realized he was looking at Jeremy，and I remember wondering how far I could run before he pulled the trigger. But I was already running, and upon reaching the car across the street, I didn't crouch (蹲伏) behind it but screamed instead.
I remember thinking there was something ridiculous and illogical about screaming “Help, help！” at eight o'clock on a Tuesday evening in December and changing my plea(恳求) to the more specific “Help, let me in, please let me in！” But the houses were cold, closed, unfriendly, and I ran on until I heard Jeremy's screams behind me announcing that our attackers had fled.
The neighbors who had not opened their doors to us came out with baseball bats and helped Jeremy find his glasses and keys. In a group they were very brave. We waited for the police to come until someone said to someone else that the noodles were getting cold, and I said politely，“Please go and eat. We're OK.”
I was happy to see them go. They had been talking of stricter sentences for criminals, of bringing back the death penalty(处罚) and how the President is going to clean up the country. I was thinking, they could be saying all of this over my dead body, and I still feel that stiffer sentences wouldn't change a thing. In a rush all the anger I should have felt for my attackers was directed against these contented people standing in front of their warm, comfortable homes talking about all the guns they were going to buy. What good would guns have been to Jeremy and me?
People all over the neighborhood had called to report our screams, and the police turned out in force twenty minutes later. They were illtempered about what was, to them, much trouble about nothing. After all, Jeremy was hardly hurt, and we were hopeless when it came to describing the gunmen. “Typical，” said one policeman when we couldn't even agree on how tall the men were. Both of us were able to describe the guns in horrifying detail, but the two policemen who stayed to make the report didn't think that would be much help.
The policemen were matteroffact about the whole thing. The thin one said，“That was a stupid thing to do, throwing away the keys. When a man has a gun against your head you do what you're told.” Jeremy looked properly embarrassed.
Then the fat policeman came up and the thin one went to look around the outside of the house. “That was the best thing you could have done, throwing away the keys，” he said. “If you had gone into the house with them...” His voice became weaker. “They would have hurt her” ——he twisted his head toward me——“and killed you both.” Jeremy looked happier. “Look，” said the fat policeman kindly, “ there's no right or wrong in the situation. There's just luck.”
All that sleepless night I replayed the moment those black gloves came up to the car window. How long did the whole thing last? Three minutes, five, eight? No matter how many hours of my life I may spend reliving it, I know there is no way to prepare for the next time—no intelligent response to a gun. The fat cop was right. There's only luck. The next time I might end up dead.
And I’m sure there will be a next time. It can happen anywhere, anytime, to anyone.Security is an illusion(幻觉); there is no safety in locks or in guns. Guns make some people feel safe and some people feel strong, but they're fooling themselves.
When the writer saw the gun pointing against the car window，________.

A．she felt very annoyed

B．she lost consciousness

C．she felt very much nervous

D．she lost the power of thinking

What most possibly drove the two gunmen away?

A．Jeremy's fighting.

B．The author's screaming.

C．Their neighbour's brave action.

D．The police's arrival.

When the author called for help, the neighbors didn't come out immediately because________.

A．they were much too frightened

B．they were busy preparing dinners

C．they needed time to find baseball bats

D．they thought someone was playing a trick

What the author wants to tell us is that________.

A．neighbors are not helpful in moments of difficulty

B．the police are not reliable when one is in trouble

C．security is impossible as long as people can have guns

D．preventing robbers entering your house is the best choice

With the average temperature for January standing at －50 ℃，it is no wonder the Russian village of Oymyakon is the coldest permanently inhabited settlement in the world.Known as the“Pole of Cold”，the coldest ever temperature recorded in Oymyakon is －71.2 ℃.This is the lowest recorded temperature for any permanently inhabited location on Earth and the lowest temperature recorded in the northern hemisphere(北半球)．
Ironically，Oymyakon actually means“nonfreezing water”due to a nearby hot spring.Most homes in Oymyakon still burn coal and wood for heat and enjoy few modern conveniences.
Nothing grows there so people eat reindeer(驯鹿)meat and horsemeat.A single shop provides the town's bare necessities and the locals work as reindeerbreeders，hunters and icefishermen.
There are few modern conveniences in the village—with many buildings still having outdoor toilets—and most people still burn coal and wood for heat.When coal deliveries are irregular，the power station starts burning wood.If the power ceases，the town shuts down in about five hours，and the pipes freeze and crack.
Daily problems that come with living in Oymyakon include pen ink freezing，glasses freezing to people's faces and batteries losing power.Locals are said to leave their cars running all day for fear of not being able to restart them.Even if there was coverage for mobile phone reception，the phones themselves would not work in such conditions.
Another problem caused by the frozen temperatures is burying dead bodies，which can take anything up to three days.The earth must first have thawed(融解)sufficiently in order to dig it，so a bonfire is lit for a couple of hours.Hot coals are then pushed to the side and a hole couple of inches deep is dug.The process is repeated for several days until the hole is deep enough to bury the coffin.
Travel companies offer tourists the opportunity to visit the village and sample life in the freezing conditions.
From the passage we can infer that people in Oymyakon ________.

A．prefer meat to any other kind of food

B．seldom have fresh vegetables and fruits

C．can buy anything in the shop

D．might row a boat to catch fish

Which of the following is the first step when burying a dead body?

A．The coffin must be put in place.

B．A bonfire has to be lit first.

C．Hot coals have to be pushed to the side.

D．A hole couple of inches deep is dug.

Mobile phones would not work in Oymyakon because ________.

A．the batteries are of poor quality

B．there was no coverage for phone reception

C．batteries can't be charged in such conditions

D．the extreme coldness makes the batteries lose power

Why do the locals have their cars running all day?

A．They are afraid they can't get the car started.

B．They want to keep warm in the car.

C．They have abundant oil resources.

D．They have little awareness of saving.