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高考英语阅读理解专题训练精品题（
13
）
Passage Three (Pop Stars Earn
Much)
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
s
tandards,
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
tr
uly 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
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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
inv
olved and if he achieves them, he
has certainly earned them. That’s the
essence of private enterprise.
sentence Pop stars’ style
of living was once the prerogative only of Royalty
means
[A] their
life was as luxurious as that of royalty.
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.
is the author’s
attitude toward top stars’ high
income?
[A] Approval.
Disapproval.
[C] Ironical.
[D] Critical.
can be
inferred from the passage
[A] there exists fierce competition in
climbing to the top.
People are blind
in idolizing stars.
[C] Successful Pop
stars give great entertainment.
[D] The
tax they have paid are great.
can we
learn from the passage?
[A]
Successful man should get high-income repayment.
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.
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paragraph covers the
main idea?
[A] The first.
The second.
[C] The third.
[D] The fourth.
Vocabulary
ative
权力，
（尤指）特权
eur
受雇开车人，
（尤指富人、要人的）司机
age
随行人员，伴随者，近侍；建筑物周围
omical
庞大的，天文的
ion
奉承
hone
灌音
al
巨大的
uer
国库，财源
Exchequer Bond
国库债券
ge
感到不快
/
不满，忌妒
m
平淡的，单调的
呻吟声
moan about
发牢骚
难句译注
prerogative
of Royalty
或
the royal
prerogative
皇家的特权（再英国指国王名义上享有不经议会认可而采取
行动的权力）
。
turn out
in their thousands to greet them.
【结构简析】
turn
out
露面、集合、出席。
EX:
A
vast
crowd
turned
out
to
watch
the
match.
大批观众到场观看比赛。
【参考译文】成千上万的人们出来欢迎他们。
great days of Hollywood have become
legendry.
【参考译文】好莱坞鼎盛时期成了神话。
today’s
standards,
the
excesses
of
Hollywood
do
not
seem
quite
so
spectacular.
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【参考译文】按今天的标准来看，好莱坞的奢华（
过分的行为）似乎并不那么引人注目。
5.A single
gramophone record
nowadays may earn
much more
in
royalties than
the films
of the past ever did.
【参考译文】今天单张录音唱片挣的版税要比过去一步电影还要多得多。
写作方法与文章大意
作者以对比、因果写作手法，写出歌星享受者贵族般生活方式，出门受千万人群欢迎，出入
高级车、机，身后保镖、经纪人、新闻记者，来去都有报道，这一切是社会对高级演员的慷
慨赠予。公司的高级人员享受高薪，歌星也应享受。再则顶尖歌星冒有很大风险。
答案详解
1.
B
他们
享受一度只属于贵族享用的一切。第一段集中谈了这些：他们走到哪里，成千上万
人们出
来欢迎，却中发疯地要看一眼穿着花哨的偶像的笑容。这些歌星坐着司机开动的
Roll
s-Royces
汽车、私人直升飞机，高级长官飞机到处走，永远围着一批经纪人、报
界记者
和保镖随从人员。他们的照片定期登在报刊上，因为歌星象贵族一样是新闻人物。
A.
他们的生活和贵族一样奢侈。<
/p>
C.
他们很富。
D.
他们的生活方式和贵族生活方式一个样。
2.
A
赞成
。
在第一段最后一句：
“他们为他们的牺牲所获取的报酬难以计
算，
支付率惊人。
”
第二段一开始就点
明“为什么不惊人？社会对高级表演者总是慷慨解囊。好莱坞的鼎盛时期
名扬天下，著名
歌星先手空前绝后的名、利、奉承。”第三段更明确指出：应该这样支付星
族，这完全正
确。企业中的顶尖人物因为他们为公司和国家所作的一切不也挣得高额工资？
税务员应感
谢他们每年为国库做出了巨大的贡献。所以谁会忌妒他们的报酬呢？最后一段进
一步说明
：欲成为星族的人冒着很大的风险，谁都知道只有一小撮人能成为顶尖人物，也可
能多年
的努力以彻底失败而告终，而成功的报酬确实很高，这是对他们冒险的补偿。这些内
容都
说明作者赞成巨额报酬。
A.
不同意
。
C.
讽刺的。
D.
< br>批评的。
3.
A
在攀
登顶峰中存在着激烈的竞争。这在第三段最后一句明确指出：获取顶尖的流行歌星
的称号
竞争激烈，但其报酬确实惊人。最后一段的风险说。还有最后一段第二句：说忌妒话
的人
应记住：最有名的星族代表的只是冰山之巅――人极少。每个成名的歌星身后就有成千
上
百个其他歌者为生存而奋斗。这都说明“竞争激烈”。
B.<
/p>
人们盲目崇拜偶像歌星。
C.
成功的流行
歌星演出给人极大的享受。
D.
他们支付的税收巨大。
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