英语听力精选进阶版 6421（在线收听）

How would you feel if the letter you penned carefully and posted to your favourite star ended up in the recycling bin? That's where unopened fan mail sent to singer Taylor Swift was found in Nashville.

Swift's management said it was an accident, but dealing with piles of letters is a burden for most public figures. According to the BBC reporter Jon Kelly, at the height of his fame, Johnny Depp was said to receive up to 10,000 letters a week.

The dawn of the digital age - in which public figures with a Twitter account can be messaged directly - has made the process easier. The White House says it deals with 20,000 messages addressed to President Barack Obama each day.

Some celebrities don't want letters. In 2008, Beatles drummer Ringo Starr didn't mince his words when he announced he would throw them out because he was too busy.

Others do attempt to get through it themselves. Robert Pattinson, star of the Twilight films, claims that he reads "tonnes and tonnes" of letters from fans.

Many artists, however, outsource the task of opening, reading and replying. Sylvia "Spanky" Taylor, 58, has run a service in California that does just that since 1987. She and her staff deal with up to 20,000 items of mail a month on behalf of 26 celebrities.

Most letters are simply declarations of affection and admiration, she says. A few ask for money. A small number contain threats which require her to contact the celebrity's security team and law enforcement.

The biggest problem for Taylor is working out how to dispose of the correspondence. Presents such as soft toys are sent to local hospitals, and the letters: most of them "just get shredded and recycled".

Typically, correspondence is acknowledged by a photo with a printed "autograph". For some, this is enough, according to Lynn Zubernis, an expert at West Chester University. She says that the relationship between fan and celebrity may exist only in the mind of the former but it comes from a deeply-rooted human need for community.

Quiz 测验

1. Who read the letters to singer Taylor Swift that were found in a bin?

Nobody. The letters were unopened.

2. Who told fans not to send any letters?

The Beatles' drummer Ringo Starr.

3. Is this statement true or false? Sylvia 'Spanky' Taylor tells the police if fans are threatening her celebrity clients.

True.

4. Which expression means a person who is well-known by his/her own choice?

Public figure.

5. Which word is used to refer to a lot of letters, placed one on top of the other?

Pile.

Glossary 词汇表

to pen 书写

a recycling bin 一个回收垃圾箱

fan mail 歌迷、影迷来信

a pile 一堆

a burden 负担

a public figure 公众人物

the digital age 数字时代

to message 给（某人）发消息

to address to 写信给（某人）

not to mince words 直截了当地说，坦率地说

to get through 做完，完成

to outsource 外包

a declaration of affection 爱的宣言

to dispose of 将（某物）处理掉

correspondence 信件

a soft toy 绒毛玩具

to shred 用碎纸机切成碎片

to recycle 回收

an autograph 亲笔签名

deeply-rooted 根深蒂固的