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名人) 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(隐私). Tabloids(小报) 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(famous people名人)today?

A. Availability(可利用性)of modern media.

B. improper social recognition认可.

C. Lack of favorable chances.

D. Huge population of fans.

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

A.Sincere B. Skeptical怀疑的.

C. Disapproving不赞成的. D. Sympathetic同情的

When it comes to President Obama,most of his personal business is already known by the public. Personal information about his children, Malia and Sasha,however,has been kept a little more under wraps.

The New York Times recently released a list of rules that Michelle Obama has mentioned over the years that Malia and Sasha must follow during their time in the White House,as well as in general. See how the first family educates their children:

The girls must write reports about what they've seen on their trips,even if it's not required by their school.

Malia may use her cell phone only on the weekend,and she and her sister cannot watch television or use a computer for anything but homework during the week.

Malia and Sasha have to play two sports:one they choose and one selected by their mother.

Malia must learn to do laundry(洗衣服)before she leaves for college.

The girls have to eat their vegetables,and if they say they are not hungry,they cannot ask for cookies or chips later.

While these might be shocking to some,Michelle said,“They're not little princesses. It's just basic rules,boundaries, and expectations that we would have normally.”

Michelle also mentions another set of rules:

The girls must do their chores(家务),though the White House has a large staff. Malia and Sasha have chores of their own.

They must play a team sport, because it's about learning how to play on a team,how to lose and how to win gracefully.

It sounds like Michelle and Barack want the best for their kids and to make them as well ­rounded as possible. What are your thoughts on the Obama family rules?

1.What's the passage mainly about?

A.The first family rules.

B.The first family daily life.

C.How to be good parents.

D.How to be good children.

2.What do the underlined words “under wraps” in Para 1 probably mean?

A.Attractive. B.Secret.

C.Calm D.Public.

3.What has to be followed after the girls' every trip?

A.Emails B.Reports.

C.Homework. D.Photos.

4.Which of the following is the exception for the girls?

A.To learn to do laundry.

B.To play two sports.

C.To use cell phone freely.

D.To eat their vegetables.

A阅读理解

One of those big social networking sites, Facebook, has attracted over 58 million members. Commentator Melody Cramer is no longer one of them. Here is what she shares with us about her story.

I deleted all 1,281 of my co?workers, second?grade classmates and people who I don’t know at all. I shut down my account, completely. I’m 30, and I’ve been on Facebook since March of 2004, which makes me one of the website’s earliest users.

At first, I used it obsessively. If I had a free moment, I’d log on to see whether my friends had updated their profiles. I’d sit alone scrolling through these updates and then run into someone at a coffee shop and have nothing to say because I already knew everything about them, and they knew everything about me.

In November, I went to my ten?year high school reunion and was not pleasantly surprised. Lauren became a model, Josh went to law school, Dina was a teacher. I hadn’t talked to any of them since graduation, but I knew exactly what they were doing, both now and last week. But lately, I’m overwhelmed(应接不暇). Facebook opened up to everyone, not just college students, and my co?workers started to join, which meant they now knew what I was doing when I wasn’t at work.

And as a rule: you can NOT make friends with your coworkers because then they’ll ask you the next day. But I thought we were friends. And you are friends but not the kind of friends who tell each other what they do outside of work. So now the people you work with can see what you did last night, and you’re constantly worrying what people might say about what you did last night instead of actually doing anything tonight.So Iquit. I became a 30?year?old Luddite, a person who is strongly against technology development. I’ve retuned to how the world worked when I was 20, before I knew when my friends and co?workers were counting down the seconds to vacation or entering a complicated relationship. I’m hoping life will be a lot simpler now. Peoplewill be more mysterious now that I actually have to talk to them to find out their favorite books or hobbies orneurosis(神经症). I don’t know when my college roommate goes to the supermarket, and I think I’m a better person for not knowing. In fact, you could say getting off a social network was the best thing I’ve done thisweek.

1.Melody Cramer decided to quit Facebook mainly because ______.

A. she thought it wasted too much time

B. she was afraid of the strangers on her account

C. she was tired of exposing her life to co?workers

D. she thought it made real?world life less interesting

2.We can learn from the passage that Melody Cramer ______.

A. had a 10?year membership of Facebook

B. used to be very objected to Facebook

C. was unpleasant to attend high school reunion

D. was one of the co-founders of Facebook

3.Which of the following about Melody Cramer is TRUE?

A. She owes her communication skills to Facebook.

B. She wishes she could be several years younger.

C. She prefers to face her friends and co-worders in reality.

D. She is no longer curious about anything around her.

4.The best title for this passage can be _____.

A. Addiction to Facebook

B. Farewell to Facebook

C. Friends Online

D. A Simpler Life

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