The Tail of Fame

1.   Anartist who seeks fame is like a dog chasing his own tail who, when he capturesit, dose not know what else to do but to continue chasing it. The cruelty ofsuccess is that it often leads those who seek such success toparticipate in their own destruction.

2.   "Don't quit your day job!" is advice frequently given by understandablypessimistic family members and friends to a budding artist who is trying hardto succeed. The conquest of fame is difficult at best，and many end up emotionally if not financially bankrupt.Still, impure motives such as the desire for worshiping fans and praise from peersmay spur the artist on. The lure of drowning in fame's imperial glory is noteasily resisted.

3.   Thosewho gain fame most often gain it as a result of exploiting their talent for singing,dancing, painting, or writing, etc. They develop a style that agents marketaggressively to hasten popularity, and their ride on the express elevator tothe top is a blur. Most would be hard-pressed to tell you how they even gotthere. Artists cannot remain idle, though. When the performer, painter, orwriter becomes bored, their work begins to show a lack of continuity in itsappeal and it becomes difficult to sustain the attention of the public. Aftertheir enthusiasm has dissolved, the public simply moves no to the next flavorof the month. Artists who do attempt to remain current by making even minutechanges to their styles of writing, dancing or singing, run a significant riskof losing audience's favor. The public simply discounts styles other than forwhich the artist has become famous.

4.   Famousauthors' styles—a Tennessee Williams play or a plot by Ernest Hemingway or a poemby Robert Frost or T. S. Eliot——are easily recognizable. The same is true ofpainters like Monet, Renoir, or Dali and moviemakers like Hitchcock, Fellini, Spielberg,Chen Kaige or Zhang Yimou. Their distinct styles marked a significant change inform from others and gained them fame and fortune. However, they paid for itby giving up the freedom to express themselves with other stylesor forms.

5.   Fame'sspotlight can be hotter than a tropical jungle——a fraud is quickly exposed, andthe pressure of so much attention is too much for most to endure. It takes youout of yourself: You must be what the public thinks you are, not what youreally are or could be. The performer, like the politician, must often pleasehis or her audiences by saying things he or she dose not mean or fully believe.

6.   Onedrop of fame will likely contaminate the entire well of a man's soul, and so anartist who remains true to himself or herself is particularly amazing. Youwould be hard-pressed to underline many names of those who have not compromisedand still succeeded in the fame game. An example, the famous Irish writerOscar Wilde, known for his uncompromising behavior, both social and sexual, towhich the public objected, paid heavily for remaining true to himself. Themother of a young man Oscar was intimate with accused him at a banquet in frontof his friends and fans of sexually influencing her son. Extremely angeredby her remarks, he sued the young man' mother, asserting that she haddamaged his "good" fame. He should have hired a better attorney, though.The judge did not second Wilde's call to have the woman pay fordamaging his name, and instead fined Wilde. He end up in jail afterrefusing to pay, and even worse, was permanently expelled from the wider circleof public favor. When things were at their worst, he found that no onewas willing to risk his or her name in his defense. His price forremaining true to himself was to be left alone when he needed his fans themost.

7.   Curiouslyenough, it is those who fail that reap the greatest reward: freedom! They enjoyedthe freedom to express themselves in unique and original ways without fear oflosing the support of fans. Failed artists may find comfort in knowing thatmany great artists never found fame until well after they had passed away or inknowing that they did not sell out. They may justify their failure byconvincing themselves their genius is too sophisticated for contemporaryaudiences.

8.   Single-mindedartists who continue their quest for fame even after failure might also like toknow that failure has motivated some famous people to work even harder to succeed.Thomas Wolfe, the American novelist, had his first novel Look Homeward, Angel rejected 39 times before it was published. Beethoven overcamehis father, who did not believe that he had any potential as a musician, tobecome the greatest musician in the world. And Pestalozzi, the famous Swisseducator in the 19th century, failed at every job he ever had until hecame upon the idea of teaching children and developingthe fundamental theories to produce a new form of education. ThomasEdison was thrown out of school in the forth grade, because he seemed to histeacher to be quite dull. Unfortunately for most people, however, thefailure is the end of their struggle, not the beginning.

9.   I sayto those who desperately seek fame and fortune: good luck. But alas, you mayfind that it was not what you wanted. The dog who chase his tail discoversthat it is only a tail. The person who achieves success often discoversthat it does more harm than good. So instead of trying so hard toachieve success, try to be happy with who you are and what you do. Try to dowork that you can be proud of. Maybe you won't be famous in your ownlifetime, but you may create better art.

@  chase vt.   run after sb. or sth. in order to catch them 追逐；追赶

@  cruelty n.   [C, U] behavior that makes people or animals suffer 残酷；残忍

@  pessimistic a.   expecting that bad things will happen in the future or that sth. will have a bad result 悲观的

@  conquest n.   1. [U] the process of gaining control over sth. through great effort 征服；控制 2. [sing., U] the act of taking control of a country, city, etc. by force 征服；攻占

@  bankrupt a.   without enough money to pay what one owes 破产的

@  motive n.   [C] a reason for doing sth. 动机

@  worship vt.   admire and love sb. very much 崇拜；敬重；仰慕

@  spur vt.   encourage sb. or make them want to do sth. 鼓励；刺激

★  lure n.   [C] sth. that attracts people, or the quality of being able to do this 诱惑

@  drown v.   1. have a very strong feeling or a serious problem that is dificult to deal with 沉浸于  2. die from being under water for too long, or to kill sb. in this way （使）淹死

@  imperial a.   1. great and magnificent 壮丽的；宏大的  2. relating to an empire or to the person who rules it 帝国的；皇帝的

@  agent n.   1. [C] sb. whose job is to help an actor, artist, etc. find work 经纪人    2. [C] a person or company that represents another person or company, esp. in business 代理人；代理商

@  hasten vt.   make sth. happen sooner or more quickly 加快；加速

@  elevator n.   [C] a machine that carries people or goods up and down in a building 电梯

@  blur n.   [C] sth. that one cannot remember or see clearly 模糊的记忆；模糊不清的事物

@  idle a.   not working or producing anything 不工作的；闲着的

@  bore vt.   make sb. lose interest and become tired and impatient 使厌烦

@★  bored a.   tired and impatient 厌烦的

@  continuity n.   [U] the state of continuing for a period of time 连贯（性）；连续（性）

@  sustain  vt.   make sth. continue to exist for a period of time 维持；使...持续

@  minute  a.   very small 极小的

@  discount  vt.   1. regard sth. as unlikely to be true or important 忽视；低估  2. reduce the price of sth. 降低价格；打折  n.   [C] a reduction in the usual price of sth. 折扣

@  plot n.   1. [C] the story of a book, film, play, etc. （小说、电影、戏剧等的）情节  2. [C] a secret plan 阴谋；密谋

@  moviemaker n.   [C] sb. who makes films, esp. a director or producer 电影制作人

@  distinct a.   1. clearly different or belonging to a different type 明显不同的；独特的  2. able to be clearly seen, heard, smelled, etc. 清晰的；清楚的；明显的

▲  spotlight n.   [C] 聚光灯

@  jungle n.   [C, U] a thick tropical forest with many large plants growing very close together （热带）丛林

@  fraud n.   [C, U] the crime of deceiving sb. in order to get money or sth. illegally 欺诈；诈骗

@  contaminate vt.   make sth. dirty or poisonous 污染；弄脏

@  underline vt.   1. draw a line under a word to show that it is important 在...下划线    2. emphasize; show that sth. is important 强调，使突出

@  uncompromising  a.   unwilling to change one's opinions or behavior 不妥协的；不让步的

@  object vi.   oppose or disapprove of sth. 反对；不赞成

@  accuse vt.   say that sb. is guilty of a crime or of doing sth. bad 指控；控告

@  banquet n.   [C] a formal dinner for many people on an important occasion 宴会

★  sue vt.   make a legal claim against sb., esp. for money 起诉；控告

@  attorney n.   [C] a lawyer 律师

@  second vt.   support a suggestion made by another person in a meeting 支持；附议

@  fine vt.   make sb. pay money as a punishment 罚...的款

@  expel vt.   force sb. to leave a school or organization 开除；驱逐

@  justify vt.   show that there is a good reason for sth. that other people think is unreasonable 证明...有道理；为...辩护

@  single-minded a.   having one clear aim and working very hard to achieve it 一心一意的；专一的

@  novelist n.   [C] sb. who writes novels 小说家

@  musician n.   [C] sb. who performs or writes music, esp. as a job 音乐家；乐手

@  desperate a.   1. needing or wanting sth. very much 极需要的；极向往的  2. very worried and willing to do anything to change a bad situation 绝望的；拼命的

@  desperately ad.   1. very much 非常     2. in a worried or angry way 绝望地；拼命地

■  alas    ad.   unfortunately 不幸的是；遗憾的是

Phrases and Expressions  

@  at best   even when considered in the most positive way  充其量；至多

@  run a/the risk   be in a situation in which sth. bad could happen  冒险；有...风险

@  remain/be true to   continue to be loyal to sb. or sth.  忠于

@  object to   oppose or disapprove of sth.  反对；不赞成

@  accuse sb. of sth.   say that sb. has done sth. wrong or is guilty of sth.  指控；控告

@  throw out   make sb. leave a place, school, organization, etc. because they have done sth. against the rules  开除；解雇

Proper Names  

@  Tennessee Williams   田纳西·威廉斯（1911-1983，美国剧作家）

@  Ernest Hemingway   欧内斯特·海明威（1899-1961，美国作家，获1954年诺贝尔文学奖）

@  Robert Frost   罗伯特·弗罗斯特（1874-1963，美国诗人）

@  T.S. Eliot   T.S.艾略特（1888-1965，美国诗人、剧作家，获1948年诺贝尔文学奖）

@  Monet   莫奈（1840-1926，法国画家，印象派创始人和主要代表人物）

@  Renoir   雷诺阿（1841-1919，法国印象派画家）

@  Dali   达利（1904-1989，西班牙超现实主义画家）

@  Hitchcock   希区柯克（1899-1980，英国电影导演，以悬念电影著称）

@  Fellini   费里尼（1920-1993，意大利电影导演）

@  Spielberg   斯皮尔伯格（1946-，美国电影导演）

@  Oscar Wilde   奥斯卡·王尔德（1854-1900，爱尔兰作家，19世纪末英国唯美主义的主要代表）

@  Thomas Wolfe   托马斯·乌尔夫（1900-1938，美国小说家）

@  Beethoven   贝多芬（1770-1827，德国作曲家）

@  Pestalozzi   裴斯泰洛齐（1746-1827，瑞士教育改革家）