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歌星的生活
Pop stars today enjoy a style of living which was once the prerogative only of Royalty. 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 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 which 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 astronomical.
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 on an unprecedented scale. By today's standards, the excesses of Hollywood do not seem quite so spectacular. A single gramophone 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 colossal.
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 services they perform to their companies and their countries? Pop stars earn vast sums in foreign currency – often more than large industrial concerns – and the taxman can only be grateful fro their massive annual contributions to the exchequer. So who would begrudge them their rewards?
It's all very well for people in humdrum jobs to moan 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 man 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 recompense for the huge risks involved and if he achieves them, he has certainly earned them. That's the essence of private enterprise.
1. The sentence Pop stars' style of living was once the prerogative only of Royalty means
[A] their life was as luxurious as that of royalty.
[B] They enjoy what once only belonged to the royalty.
[C] They are rather rich.
[D] Their way of living was the same as that of the royalty.
2. What is the author's attitude toward top stars' high income?
[A] Approval.
[B] Disapproval.
[C] Ironical.
[D] Critical.
3. It can be inferred from the passage
[A] there exists fierce competition in climbing to the top.
[B] People are blind in idolizing stars.
[C] Successful Pop stars give great entertainment.
[D] The tax they have paid are great.
4. What can we learn from the passage?
[A] Successful man should get high-income repayment.
[B] Pop stars made great contribution to a country.
[C] Pop stars can enjoy the life of royalty.
[D] Successful men represent the tip of the iceberg.
5. Which paragraph covers the main idea?
[A] The first.
[B] The second.
[C] The third.
[D] The fourth.
答案詳解
1. B 他們享受一度只屬於貴族享用的一切。第一段集中談了這些：他們走到哪裡，成千上萬人們出來歡迎，卻中發瘋地要看一眼穿著花哨的偶像的笑容。這些歌星坐著司機開動的Rolls-Royces汽車、私人直升飛機，高階長官飛機到處走，永遠圍著一批經紀人、報界記者和保鏢隨從人員。他們的照片定期登在報刊上，因為歌星象貴族一樣是新聞人物。A.他們的生活和貴族一樣奢侈。C.他們很富。D.他們的生活方式和貴族生活方式一個樣。
2. A 贊成。在第一段最後一句：“他們為他們的犧牲所獲取的報酬難以計算，支付率驚人。”第二段一開始就點明“為什麼不驚人?社會對高階表演者總是慷慨解囊。好萊塢的鼎盛時期名揚天下，著名歌星先手空前絕後的名、利、奉承。”第三段更明確指出：應該這樣支付星族，這完全正確。企業中的頂尖人物因為他們為公司和國家所作的一切不也掙得高額工資?稅務員應感謝他們每年為國庫做出了巨大的貢獻。所以誰會忌妒他們的報酬呢?最後一段進一步說明：欲成為星族的人冒著很大的風險，誰都知道只有一小撮人能成為頂尖人物，也可能多年的努力以徹底失敗而告終，而成功的報酬確實很高，這是對他們冒險的補償。這些內容都說明作者贊成鉅額報酬。A. 不同意。C. 諷刺的。D. 批評的`。
3. A 在攀登頂峰中存在著激烈的競爭。這在第三段最後一句明確指出：獲取頂尖的流行歌星的稱號競爭激烈，但其報酬確實驚人。最後一段的風險說。還有最後一段第二句：說忌妒話的人應記住：最有名的星族代表的只是冰山之巔――人極少。每個成名的歌星身後就有成千上百個其他歌者為生存而奮鬥。這都說明“競爭激烈”。B.人們盲目崇拜偶像歌星。C.成功的流行歌星演出給人極大的享受。D.他們支付的稅收巨大。
4. D 成功者只是冰山的頂尖――少極了。A.成功的人應當獲得高收入。B.流行歌星對國家做出巨大貢獻。C.流行歌星能享受貴族生活。
5. D 第四段。主旨句是倒數第一、二句，成功的報酬確實很高，這是對其高度風險的還報補償，如果他成功了，他肯定掙得多。那就是私人事業的根本/本質。A.第一段。這段之對比了貴族和歌星的生活方式。B.第二段。這段講了掙得多，但競爭激烈。C.第三段。歌星和企業頂尖人物對比。
