专八阅读训练：Pop Stars Earn Much

Pop Stars Earn Much

Pop stars today enjoy a style of living which was once theprerogative only of Royalty. Wherever they go, people turn outin their thousands to greet them. The crowds go wild trying tocatch a brief glimpse of their smiling, colorfully dressed idols. Thestars are transported in their chauffeur driven Rolls-Royces,private helicopters or executive aeroplanes. They aresurrounded by a permanent entourage of managers, pressagents and bodyguards. Photographs of them appear regularly in the press and all their comingsand goings are reported, for, like Royalty, pop stars are news. If they enjoy many of the privilegesof Royalty, they certainly share many of the inconveniences as well. It is dangerous for them tomake unscheduled appearances in public. They must be constantly shielded from the adoringcrowds which idolize them. They are no longer private individuals, but public property. The financialrewards 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 ofHollywood have become legendary: famous stars enjoyed fame, wealth and adulation on anuNPRecedented scale. By today’s standards, the excesses of Hollywood do not seem quite sospectacular. A single gramophone record nowadays may earn much more in royalties than thefilms of the past ever did. The competition for the title ‘Top of the Pops’ is fierce, but the rewardsare truly colossal.

It is only right that the stars should be paid in this way. Don’t the top men in industry earnenormous salaries for the services they perform to their companies and their countries? Pop starsearn vast sums in foreign currency – often more than large industrial concerns – and the taxmancan only be grateful fro their massive annual contributions to the exchequer. So who wouldbegrudge 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 onlythe tip of the iceberg. For every famous star, there are hundreds of others struggling to earn aliving. A man working in a steady job and looking forward to a pension at the end of it has no rightto expect very high rewards. He has chosen security and peace of mind, so there will always be alimit to what he can earn. But a man who attempts to become a star is taking enormous risks. Heknows at the outset that only a handful of competitors ever get to the very top. He knows thatyears of concentrated effort may be rewarded with complete failure. But he knows, too, that therewards for success are very high indeed: they are the recompense for the huge risks involvedand 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.