Question

Rich and Famous

Twenty years ago the most common ambition of American children was to be a teacher, followed by working in banking and finance, and then medicine. But today’s situation is quite different. 1. Instead they most commonly say they want to be a sports star, a pop star, or an actor—in other words, they hope to become a celebrity .

According to experts, young people desire these jobs largely because of the wealth and the fame. 2. Let’s take athletes and singers as an example. Their careers are short-lived. Many athletes’ best time only lasts a few years and singers can have a very limited career. The field that was once the focus of their lives becomes something they have little or no involvement in. As a result, they’ll have a feeling of worthlessness and a lack of control. 3.The truth is quite simple: they have been so far removed from it for so long.

In spite of these disadvantages, there is greater ambition than ever among young people to achieve that status. They are not satisfied just making a living—they want to be rich and famous. Globally, more and more TV shows provide talent competitions where winners can achieve their goals in just a few weeks or months.4.They unrealistically believe that this lifestyle is easily obtained and leads to great satisfaction.

While many people argue that there is nothing wrong with having such ambitions, others feel that this trend will finally lead to dissatisfaction as more and more people are unable to reach their goals. 5. That means they ignore the simple fact that great effort is needed before success. As a result, many people won’t realize their childhood dreams, which could have a negative effect on their happiness.

A. In many ways this has been brought about by the celebrity culture.

B. People no longer have a sense of satisfaction once their goals have been achieved.

C. Besides, it can be difficult for them to adapt back to a normal everyday life.

. The younger generation don’t favor these professions any more.

E. Unfortunately, they do not always have a positive effect on people’s life.

F. The reason is that they don’t realize it takes talent and hard work to be rich and famous.

G. This quick way of gaining wealth and fame creates a celebrity culture among people.

Answer

1.D

2.E

3.C

4.G

5.F

【解析】

本文是一篇说明文，讲述了现在美国儿童心目中向往的职业的变化过程，变化原因和其现实性。

1.横线前一句讲述了20年前美国儿童心目中向往的职业，下句讲述他们现在的梦想。中间表示转折，D项“The younger generation don’t favor these professions any more.”意为年轻一代不再喜欢这些职业了，表达了此意，故选D项。

2.本段第一句“According to experts, young people desire these jobs largely because of the wealth and the fame.” 告诉我们根据专家的说法，年轻人渴望这些工作主要是因为财富和名望。E项：不幸的是，他们并不总是对人们的生活产生积极的影响。是对上句的进一步说明，下文是运动员和歌手的例子，故选E项。

3.本段中分析了现在年轻人向往的工作及原因，第一点原因是Their careers are short-lived. C项：此外他们很难适应正常的日常生活，是另外一种原因，与上面原因并列。故选C项。

4.本段中分析了年轻人想拥有财富和名望想法的原因及结果，G项：这种快速获取财富和名声的方式在人们中间创造了一种名人文化，符合本段内容，故选G项。

5.本段中分析了这种愿望的不现实性，及可能会对他们的幸福产生负面影响。F项：原因是他们没有意识到，要想变得富有和出名，需要天赋和勤奋，是成功的真正原因，符合本段内容，故选F项。