Celebrity Obsession: A Fascination with Modern Gods

1. Section II Store Your Bricks The pedestal on which we have put movie stars, sports figures, and famous people could give some people neck strain. We idolize them, follow their every move, and treat them as modern gods. There is a giant media subculture around the cult of personality. Gossip and news about the rich and famous is big business. Magazines like People and U.S. Weekly, TV shows like Access Hollywood and Entertainment Tonight, and a long list of blogs such as gossip girl, TMZ.com, and Perez Hilton have captured our imagination. These days, there are more celebrity magazines than real news magazines in the United States. You simply go to a grocery store to see how obsessed America is with our neo-royalty.

2. Section II Store Your Bricks In our culture, celebrity news often takes the headlines above world events. We build them up as modern gods, and tear them down when they show us they are all too human. They make an easy object of obsession, as celebrities are here and there. And the paparazzi have helped this craze by blurring the line between private citizens and public figures.

3. Section II Store Your Bricks Consumption of media is no small activity in the U.S., and TV, movies, and the Internet are dominant fixtures in our life. Celebrities come into our homes regularly, and share parts of our life with us. They are often with us at dinner, talking to us in the background of our home life, and sometimes they tuck us in as we fall asleep. When they take on such a powerful role in the daily life, we feel connected to them, and thus we want to know about their life in the same way we know about a close friend. We begin to relate to them as friends, even though we have never met them. On the other hand, we are clearly obsessed with famous people for there’s a real escapism to it. Instead of the world of inflation, job losses and rising debt, we can turn our attention to someone else, often to feel better about ourselves in the process.

4. Section II Store Your Bricks Many studies have been done on the obsession people have with celebrities, and some interesting conclusions are reached. There is even a name for it, “Celebrity Worship Syndrome”. In our modern culture, celebrities are like gods, and the issue of fame hero worship, and tendencies to watch their life is an attractive, if still lightly explored, subject. It is perfectly human to compare ourselves to others, and modern celebrity worship is the perfect forum for this behavior.

5. Section II Store Your Bricks Beyond our motives or opinions, some people follow the life of their imaginary friends closer than the ones in their real life, sometimes to the point of obsession. We track their social circles, and their personal victories and failures become a central topic of conversation. Of the social element, Dr. Charlotte De Backer of the University of Leicester, Department of Media and Communication, concluded in a study, “Living in scattered societies, we often don’t know who to talk about with the many people we know, and celebrities can act as our mutual friends and acquaintances.” Celebrities are a common link between us. Like sports and world news, they are a social reference point we can use to relate to others, giving us a sense that we are all living in the same world.

6. Section II Store Your Bricks 痴迷名人文化 我们把电影明星、体育明星以及名人放在“雕像座”上（仰视他们），这会使一些人颈部疲劳。我们崇拜他们，跟随他们的一举一动，把他们看作现代的神。现在形成了一个巨大的围绕着个人崇拜的媒体亚文化圈。有关富人和名人的八卦和新闻是大生意。例如，《人物》《美国周刊》等杂志，《访问好莱坞》《今晚娱乐》等电视节目，以及众多的博客，如“绯闻女孩”“ＴＭＺ新闻网站”“佩雷斯•希尔顿”等已经吸引着我们的注意力。近来名人杂志的品种比真正的新闻杂志的品种还要多。你只要去杂货店看看，就能知道美国是如何痴迷我们的新贵族的。

7. Section II Store Your Bricks 在我们的文化中，名人新闻往往超过世界大事成为头条。我们吹捧他们，把他们奉为现代的神，但当他们向我们展示他们也是人的时候，我们把他们从神殿上拉下来。因为名人无处不在，因此他们容易成为人们的痴迷对象。狗仔队把私人公民和公众人物之间的界限变得模糊，助长了这种狂热。

8. Section II Store Your Bricks 在美国，媒体消费不是一件小事。电视、电影和互联网在我们的生活中占统治地位。名人经常走进我们的家庭，并与我们共享生活。他们与我们一起吃晚餐，与我们一起谈论家庭生活，有时当我们入睡时他们还帮我们盖好被子。当他们在日常生活中扮演这样一个强大的角色时，我们感觉与他们相连，因此我们想了解他们的生活就如同我们想了解亲密朋友的生活一样。我们开始把他们当作朋友，虽然我们从未见过他们。另一方面，我们显然是痴迷于名人的，因为我们可以逃避现实。我们不关注世界的通货膨胀、失业和不断上升的债务，而是将注意力转向其他人，在这个过程中我们往往自我感觉更加良好。

9. Section II Store Your Bricks 关于人们痴迷名人有许多研究，这些研究得出了一些有趣的结论，甚至还有一个名词叫“名人崇拜综合征”。在我们的现代文化中，名人就像神一样，名声问题、英雄崇拜和观察他们生活的倾向是一个有吸引力的话题，还没被深度挖掘。把自己和别人相比完全是人的天性，现代的名人崇拜给这种行为提供了绝好的机会。

10. Section II Store Your Bricks 有些人密切跟随着他们所假想朋友的生活，跟他们现实生活中的朋友的生活比起来更加密切，有时到了痴迷的地步，这不是我们的目的和本意。我们跟随他们的社交圈子，他们的个人成败成了我们聊天的中心话题。就社会因素而言，莱斯特大学媒体和通信系的夏洛特•德•贝克博士在一项研究中总结道：“生活在分散的社会中，我们经常不知道在我们认识的人中，我们可以和谁聊天，名人可以作为我们共同的朋友和熟人。”名人是我们之间共同的联系。就如运动和世界新一样，他们是我们可以用来与他人聊天的基准点，给了我们一种大家都生活在同一个世界的感觉。

11. Section II Store Your Bricks Practice What You Learnt Task 1 Comprehension Check Choose the best answer according to the text.

12. Section II Store Your Bricks 1. Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE? Today in America people read more real news magazines than celebrity magazines. In our culture, people idolize celebrities and treat them as modern gods. Media help people be obsessed with famous people. Paying attention to celebrities may help people to escape from the harsh reality temporarily. Answer A

13. Section II Store Your Bricks 2. What does the underlined phrase “build up” in Paragraph 2 mean? A.建立 B. 使振作 C. 吹捧 D. 增进 Answer C

14. Section II Store Your Bricks 3. How do celebrities play a powerful role in our daily life? Celebrities come into our homes regularly, and share parts of our lives with us. Celebrities are often with us at dinner, talking to us in the background of our home life. Celebrities sometimes tuck us in as we fall asleep. All of the above. Answer D

15. Section II Store Your Bricks 4. Which of the following statements is NOT “Celebrity Worship Syndrome” ? Following every move of the celebrities. Following the life of celebrities closer than friends in their real life. Being easily obsessed with the rich and famous. Not following the celebrities blindly. Answer D

16. Section II Store Your Bricks 5. What is NOT the cause of celebrity obsession? Celebrities are present nearly everywhere in our life. People want to be celebrities themselves. People want to escape from the world of inflation, job losses, rising debt and so on. It is perfectly human to compare ourselves to others. Answer B

17. Section II Store Your Bricks Task 2 Vocabulary and Sentences （1）Match the words on the left with their meanings on the right.

18. Section II Store Your Bricks A. damage to a part of the body caused by too great effort or frequent stretching of muscles ① acquaintance B. fall into small parts; widely and irregularly separated ② blur C. to treat as a idol ③ strain D. most noticeable or important ④ idolize E. to make something difficult to see or see through clearly ⑤dominant F. a set of medical symptoms which present a physical or mental disorder ⑥ track G. to follow someone or something to make sure that you have the newest and most accurate information about someone or something all the time ⑦scattered ⑧syndrome H. a person whom one knows, esp. through work or business, but who is not a close friend ⑨subculture ⑩gossip I. a conversation or report about the details of other people’s behavior and private lives, often including information that is not actually true J. a group of people within a culture that differs itself from the larger culture to which it belongs

19. Section II Store Your Bricks （2）Complete the sentences with the words from above . Change the form if necessary. 1. By defining homosexuality as a sexual __________, the book challenged traditional ethics and morality in China. 2. He has a wide circle of _____________ for he has been living here for ten years. 3. Jumping into an aerobic workout without preparing your body could lead to such problems as muscle ______ or injury. 4. We’re going to talk about the best modern theories as to why these __________ occur. click subculture acquaintances click click strain click syndromes

20. Section II Store Your Bricks 5. She spent the first hour talking _______. 6. Angela _______ her father as she was growing up. 7. Some people are crazy about ________ the lives of their idols. 8. Constant connection to smart phone and computer ______the boundaries between your work life and your personal life. 9. The latest fighting appears to be an attempt by each group to establish ___________ over the other. 10. They’ve been __________ toys everywhere. gossip click click idolized click tracking blurs click click dominance click scattering

21. Section II Store Your Bricks （3）Complete the following sentences by translating Chinese into English, using the word in bold. Change the form if necessary. 1. move e.g. We idolize them, follow their every move, and treat them as modern gods. moven. an action to achieve something 行动 _________________________________ （为平息罢工而采取的新行动）have ended in failure. click New moves to settled down the strike

22. Section II Store Your Bricks e.g. The doctor made a move toward the door. moven. an act of moving 移动 __________________（你要是动一下）, I’ll shoot. click If you make a move

23. Section II Store Your Bricks 2. role e.g. When they take on such a powerful role in daily life, we feel connected to them. rolen. a particular position and function in a situation or in society 功能；作用 The success of her business made it difficult for her ________________________________（尽到当妻子和母亲的职责）. click to fulfill her role as wife and mother

24. Section II Store Your Bricks e.g. She prefers to play comic roles. rolen. one of the characters that an actor or singer can play in a movie, play, or opera 角色 click played /took the role of Helmet Olivier once _________________________ （扮演哈姆雷特的角色）.

25. Section II Store Your Bricks 3. turn e.g. Instead of the world of inflation, job losses and rising debt, we can turn our attention to someone else, often to feel better about ourselves in the process. turnv. move attention or thoughts away to start thinking about or discussing a particular subject （注意力）转向 ____________________________________（我们把注意力转向了实际问题）relating to forming a company. click We turned our attention to the practical

26. Section II Store Your Bricks e.g. He turned into the narrow street where he lived. turn v. change the direction in which you are moving or travelling 转向；拐弯 turn right to drive on Nanjing road Now _____________________________（向右转沿着南京路走）. click

27. Section II Store Your Bricks Task 3 Translation (1)Translate the following English into Chinese. 1. Fascination（着迷）with the famous seems to be a human phenomenon that goes as far back as recorded history. 对名人着迷似乎是一种人类现象，早在历史有记载以来就存在。 ________________________________________________________________

28. Section II Store Your Bricks 2. When Madame Tussaud（杜莎夫人）opened her wax museum（蜡像馆）in 1835, it was a huge hit, with people lining up simply to look at the visages（面貌，外表）of famous people. 杜莎夫人在1835年开放她的蜡像馆，获得了巨大成功，人们排队仅仅是为了一睹名人风貌。 ____________________________________________________________________

29. Section II Store Your Bricks 3. Consumers can learn—and sometimes see—intimate（详尽的） details of celebrity private lives by turning on the TV or going online. 消费者通过电视或者互联网可以了解，甚至有时候可以看到名人私生活的详尽细节。 ____________________________________________________________________

30. Section II Store Your Bricks 4. Teens with emotional（情感的）and social problems might think that a celebrity would understand their problems. 有情感和社会问题的青少年可能会认为名人能理解他们的问题。 ____________________________________________________________________

31. Section II Store Your Bricks 5. In the twenty-first century, the rise of the Internet has continued to nurture（培养）a culture obsessed with celebrity. 在21世纪，互联网的兴起继续培养着痴迷名人的文化。 _________________________________________________________________

32. Section II Store Your Bricks (2)Translate the following Chinese into English. 1.整个城镇似乎都对阅读着迷。（be obsessed with） The entire town see med to be obsessed with reading. Click ____________________________________________________________________ 2. 拆毁旧建筑物往往比改建它们更便宜。（tear down, modify） It is often cheaper to tear down old buildings than to modify them. Click ____________________________________________________________________

33. Section II Store Your Bricks 3.我们正与上涨的失业率和高通货膨胀作斗争。（fight against, unemployment） We are fighting against rising unemployment and high inflation. click __________________________________________________________________ 4.时装设计师们正在想方设法地俘获忠实的消费者。（find ways to, capture） Fashion designers are finding ways to capture loyal consumers. Click ____________________________________________________________________ 5.经过训练的狗能当盲人的向导。（trained, act as） A trained dog can act as a guide to a blind person. Click ____________________________________________________________________

34. Section II Store Your Bricks Task 4 Reading Aloud Read Paragraph 6 aloud until you have learned it by heart. Then try to complete the passage from memory. • In our culture, we _______ celebrities and follow their every move. We _____________ as modern gods, and _______________ when they show us they are all too human. There is a giant media subculture around the cult of personality. Gossip and news about the rich and famous is big business. ____________ of media is no small activity in the U.S.. TV, movies, and the Internet are __________ fixtures in our life. click idolize click build them up click tear them down click Consumption click dominant

35. Section II Store Your Bricks The paparazzi have helped this craze by _________ the line between private citizens and public figures. Celebrities come into our homes ________, and share parts of our life with us. When they take on such a powerful role in daily life, we feel __________ to them, and thus we want to know about their _______________ we know about a close friend. It is perfectly human to _________ ourselves to others, and modern celebrity worship is the perfect forum for this behavior. click blurring regularly click click connected click in the same way compare click