Unit 3
Exam practice: Reading - m ultiple-choice questions
Look at the passage below.
For question 1, choose TWO letters A-E.
For questions 2 and 3, choose ONE answer from the letters a-d.
1
What reasons do scientists give to explain why some people may w ant to be famous?
A Because they didn’t have many frie n ds when they were children.
B They w ant to copy celebrities they see in the media.
C They did not receive enough attention from th e ir parents in th e ir youth.
D So that they can be rich in the future.
E They had a desire to please th e ir parents.
2 What did the scientists do in order to reach th e ir conclusions?
a They analysed the increase in celebrity news in the media,
b
They surveyed c u ltu ra lly diverse sections of population.
c They investigated
different universities,
d
They interviewed psychologists.
3
In the study, how were the people who w ant to be rich d ifferent from those who w ant to be
famous?
a T heir parents helped them to be successful,
b
People close to them
had urged them to do w ell,
c They m e a sure d th e ir success by fo cu sing on th e fu tu re ,
d
Their parents taught them about business.
The Psychology of Fame
U ntil the beginning of the 1990s w estern psychologists had not system atically studied the hum an
desire to be fam ous. However, in the few years up to th is tim e the am ount of celebrity news in
the media had been increasing dram atically. Scientists at various US universities then
started to
investigate the reasons w hy some hum ans seem to be driven to become fam ous, w hile others
have no interest in attra ctin g the lim e lig h t. Extensive research with people from different cultures
led to the conclusion th a t people who desire fam e are not the sam e people w ho w an t to be rich.
The fo rm e r group may have som e desire fo r social acceptance based
on previous experiences
in th e ir lives, it seems that many of these people used to find it d iffic u lt to make frie n ds when
they w ere younger o r they didn’t use to receive praise o r recognition fro m th e ir parents. The
psychologists believe th a t it is likely th a t these people w ould often demand attention fro m others
as teenagers and th is desire has rem ained in adulthood and is now expressed
as a longing to be
fam ous. Conversely, those who w an t to be rich are m uch m ore focused on the fu tu re than the
past; in contrast to the fo rm e r group, the study found th a t many of th is
group had learned from
th e ir parents th a t success is generated by hard w o rk and th a t th e ir friends and fam ily had always
encouraged them to strive fo r the best in life. These conclusions suggest th a t there is a lin k
between o u r upbringing and how we m easure o u r success.
