英语标准美文100篇 036（在线收听）

The life of a pop singer

The entertainment profession, or show business, attracts many young people. Unfortunately, only very few can hope to become famous and prosperous. Talent is not enough, because show business is as competitive as any other business. Without a good manager, a performer can never hope to succeed. Fashion is important in this business, too. The best tailor in the world will never be a success if he makes old-fashioned clothes.

In exactly the same way, a performer must change his act in order to follow the taste of the moment. This is true for actors, dancers and comedians, but perhaps most of all for singers.

Pop stands for popular, and a pop singer had to work very hard to become popular. He must either give the public what they already want, or he must find a new way of singing that will attract their attention. Even when he has succeeded, and his records are sold everywhere, he cannot relax. Then he must work harder than ever to stay popular, because there are always younger singers trying to become famous and to steal some of the popularity.

The life of a successful pop singer is not at all easy. He can only relax when he is alone, because everything he does is watched and reported in the special newspaper written for the fans. The fans are the most important people in the world for the singer. They buy his records, they go to his concerts, and they make him rich and famous. But they can be very annoying, too. Sometimes their enthusiasm gets so hysterical that they do anything to get a souvenir. They steal handkerchiefs, they tear off buttons, and they even cut off pieces of the unfortunate singers' hair. Many singers have been forced to hide, and some who have not been so lucky as to escape have been stripped practically naked by their fans. A pop singer has to spend a lot of money on clothes, because he must always look smart, or, at any rate, different, he must have a luxurious car. And most important, he always keeps smiling for the benefit of his public.
流行歌手的生活

娱乐业或演艺界吸引着许多的年轻人。不幸的是，只有极少数的人有望出名或成功。在演艺界里光有天赋是不够的，因为这一行业和其他任何行业一样竞争激烈。没有好的经纪人，演员永远别指望成功。时尚在这个行业里也很重要。即使是世上最好的裁缝，如果他做的是过时的服装，他也不会成功。

同样地，一个演员也要随着时代品味的变化而改变自己的表演风格。这个道理适用于演员、舞者和喜剧家们，但更适用于绝大多数的歌手。

Pop代表流行，而一个流行歌手必须努力地工作才能受大众欢迎。要么他必须给予公众他们想要的，要么他必须发现一种能吸引公众注意力的新唱法。即使他已经出名了，他的唱片在各个地方出售，他也不能掉以轻心。①为了继续受到歌迷的爱戴，歌手必须比以往更加努力工作，因为总会有更年轻的歌手要成名，而且要取得他曾经所拥有的名气。

　　成功的流行歌手的生活一点儿都不容易。只有独处时他才能够放松，因为他做的每一件事都会被娱乐报纸关注或报导给歌迷。对于歌手来说，歌迷是世界上最重要的人。他们买他的唱片，听他的音乐会，他们使他变得有钱而且有名气，但是他们也很让歌手苦恼。有时他们的热情变得有些歇斯底里，为了得到一个纪念品可能做任何事情。他们偷歌手的手帕，撕扯纽扣，甚至会剪下歌手的头发。许多歌手已经被迫东躲西藏，有些歌手不幸被抓而被他们的歌迷脱去衣服乃至赤身裸体。流行歌手不得不在衣服上花大笔钱，因为他必须时时刻刻都看起来漂亮而又与众不同，他必须拥有奢华的轿车。最重要的是，他必须时刻在公众面前保持一张笑脸。