山东泰安第一中学 张烈强

Karen Carpenter，a singer who long suffered under the burden of the expectations that came with pop star，died on February 4，1983，due to heart failure brought on by her long struggle with anorexia．

Karen had a fixation with her weight from her earliest days performing with her brother，Richard，in and around their hometown of Downey，California．As a teenager，she dropped at least 25 pounds on a popular and severe weight-loss program known as “the Water Diet”，so that by the time she and Richard burst on the pop scene with their hit Close To You in the summer of 1970，she was a thin but healthy 20-year-old carrying 120 lbs．She maintained that weight through the early years of the Carpenters'success，yet it appears that Karen's insecurities about her appearance only grew，even as she was becoming one of the biggest pop stars of her era．

In pictures printed in Rolling Stone magazine in late 1974，when the Carpenters were one of the most successful acts in all of pop music，Karen looks fit and healthy．Yet by mid-1975，the Carpenters were forced to cancel tours of Japan and Europe after Karen collapsed on stage in Las Vegas．Her weight had fallen sharply to only 90 lbs，and though it would rebound somewhat after a brief hospitalization，the next seven years were a repeating cycle of dramatic weight loss，collapse and then hospitalization．The name of Karen's condition was virtually unknown to the public at this time，but all that was about to change．Early on the morning of February 4，1983，while staying in her parents'home in Downey，Karen suffered a deadly heart attack，brought on by the physiological stresses placed on her system by the disease whose name soon entered the public consciousness:anorexia nervosa.She was only 32 years old．

Reading Check

1．What do we know about the program “the Water Diet”?

A．It leads to heart failure．

B．It helps lose weight．

C．It contributes to being famous．

D．It causes the burden of expectations．

2．What's Karen's attitude to her looks after being one of the biggest pop stars?

A．Satisfied． B．Cautious． C．Unconfident． D．Proud．

3．Why did the Carpenters cancel tours of Japan and Europe?

A．They didn't want to be focused．

B．They were involved in cultural shocks．

C．Karen wished to stay in Las Vegas．

D．Karen was in poor physical condition．

4．What lesson can we learn from the story?

A．Health comes first．

B．Stay foolish，stay hungry．

C．No one can call back yesterday．

D．Experience is the mother of wisdom．

Language Study

Difficult sentence

Early on the morning of February 4，1983，while staying in her parents'home in Downey，Karen suffered a deadly heart attack，brought on by the physiological stresses placed on her system by the disease whose name soon entered the public consciousness：anorexia nervosa．

【翻译】_____________________________________________________________________________

【点石成金】本句为主从复合句，while引导时间状语从句；brought on．．．为过去分词短语作后置定语。

Cultural Background

厌食症(anorexia nervosa)

厌食症在医学上被称为神经性厌食障碍，是一种精神领域与心理作用共同导致的生理功能性障碍疾病，是人们通过有意识的行为如节食以追求体重减轻，造成体重明显低于正常标准的一种进食障碍。13～20岁的年轻女性易患厌食症，厌食症患者会长期处于饥饿状态。营养摄入不够会导致营养不良，容易引起各种疾病。