英语每日一练
There are few sadder sights than a pile of fan letters, lovingly decorated with hand drawing, suffering in a bin. The sparkly envelopes were addressed to Taylor Swift, a pop star much beloved by teenage and pre-teen girls.
“Dear Taylor,” read one discarded message, “I love you so much! You’re the best! And you’re really beautiful and cute! I’m really enjoying your songs.”
This, along with hundreds of other similar letters sent from around the world, was discovered in a Nashville recycling disposal unit by a local woman. Swift’s manager was quick to reassure her admirers that they had been thrown out accidentally. The response may come as a disappointment to any devotee who imagines, as they compose their letters, that Swift makes time to view each one personally.
Dealing with piles of fans mail is, however, an administrative burden for most celebrities. While some celebrities do like to go through their mail personally, the majority simply do not have time. But the fate of their correspondence is something most committed fans will not wish and dwell on, says Lynn Zubernis, an expert in the psychology of fandom at West Chester University.
“There’s this little bit of every fan that thinks theirs will be the one that stands out—it’s not an expectation, but a hope that theirs will be seen by the celebrity.”
While the relationship between the fan and the celebrity may exist only in the mind of the former, it stems from a deeply-rooted human need for community and belonging, Zubernis believes. As a result, even receiving a mass-produced letter of acknowledgement and a photo stamped with a reproduced signature can be a powerful experience.
“People have a tremendous need to connect with the person they are idolising (偶像化), ” she says. “They can’t ring them up and say, ‘Can we have coffee? ’ It’s not about the autograph (签名) , It’s about the moment of connection. ”
1. Which of the following statements is true？
A. The letters in the bin were exaggerating.
B. Some letters to Swift were thrown away unread.
C. A woman discovered the letters and discarded them.
D. Poorly decorated letters were left unread.
2. Swift’s manager claimed that_______.
A. Swift had read each one of the letters
B. fans could trust them with their letters
C. they were quick in response to the incident
D. they didn’t intend to throw away the letters
3. Most celebrities_______.
A. are too busy to read fan mail
B. are afraid of receiving fan mail
C. try their best to read fan mail themselves
D. care about the fate of fan mail
4. According to Zubernis, fans want their letters to be read because they _______.
A. hope to show their hand drawings
B. want the celebrities to see their talent
C. desire to get connected with the stars
D. dream of getting a photo of the stars
5. Which of the following will fans cherish the most？
A. The feeling of being related to their stars.
B. The sense of being similar to their stars.
C. The time spent with their stars.
D. The autograph of their stars.
________________________________________________
参考答案
1. 【答案】B
【考点】细节判断
【解析】 下面哪种说法是正确的？
文章第三、四段指出：斯威夫特的经理人立即向这些崇拜者们做出了回应，并保证这些信件是被意外丢失的，接着说尽管一些明星确实喜欢自己阅读自己的邮件，但大部分的明星没有时间。可以推断选B项 “写给斯威夫特的一些信件没有被被就扔掉了”
【误项排除】A项“垃圾箱里的信件太夸张”、C项“一个女人在发现这些信件后并丢弃了他们”、D项“装饰不好地信件都未被读”，这三项不符合原文。
2. 【答案】D
【考点】细节考查
【解析】 斯威夫特的经理人声明了什么？
文章第三段第二句提到：斯威夫特的经理人向崇拜者们保证这些信件是被意外丢失的，因此选D项“他们并不是有意要扔掉这些信件的”。
【误项排除】A项“斯威夫特阅读了每一封信”和B项“粉丝把自己的信件托付给他们”文章没有提及;C项“针对这件事，他们快速地做出了回应”，这不是其声明的内容。
3. 【答案】A
【考点】细节推断
【解析】 大多数名人是怎么样的。
文章第四段第二句提到：尽管一些明星确实喜欢自己阅读自己的邮件，但大部分的明星没有时间。因此选A项“因太忙没有时间阅读粉丝的邮件”。
【误项排除】B项“害怕收到粉丝的邮件”、C项“尽最大努力亲自阅读粉丝们的邮件”、D项“关心粉丝来信的命运”，这三项原文都没有提及。
4. 【答案】C
【考点】引申推断
【解析】 泽布尼斯认为粉丝们期待自己的信件能被名人读到的原因是什么?文章的最后一段提到：泽布尼斯说人们极其渴望与他们的偶像联系在一起，因此选C项“渴望和明星取得联系”。
【误项排除】A项“希望展示他们的手绘图画”、B项“想让名人看到他们的才能”、D项“梦想能获行明星的照片”，这三项原文都没有提及。
5. 【答案】A
【考点】引申推断
【解析】 什么是粉丝们最珍惜的？
文章的最后两段提到：粉丝和名人的关系存在于粉丝们的心中，他们极其渴望与他们的偶像联系，因此选A项“感受到与自己崇拜的明星有关系”。
【误项排除】B项“和崇拜的明星有着类似的感受”C项“和崇拜的明星一起度过的时光”、D项“所崇拜的明星的签名”，这三项均与原文不符合。
