阅读理解
It seems the art of survival—or continual positive projection—in the world of pop music these days, depends very much on change. If artists fail to recreate their image—chameleon(变色龙)-like, over and over again—they risk facing accusations of dullness; that they are not fashionable.
This phenomenon is especially prevalent(普遍的) in the female ranks. It is not sufficient for an artist to be beautiful and sexy. These characteristics too must be changed often, and remodelled to avoid being bogged down(陷入困境) by a stereotype(老一套).
Two examples of the rock "n" roll art of move and change are Cher and Madonna, the latter a brilliant illustration of the trend. Her latest disc, "Something to Remember", displays how she has so effectively been able to stay at the top without diminishing credibility in her particular field. (For these purposes, we will forget her unworthy flirtation with sex, that horrible book and her swear-word-ridden, cigar-chewing appearance on the David Letterman Show. )
This collection demonstrates how she has moderate her image at relevant times to give contrast and definition to her career. But it offers more than simply a study in rock fashion history. There is also a solid collection of quality music.
It opens with the newish "I Want You with Massive Attack", a faintly morose and teary plea and quickly moves back in time to her earlier moments: "Crazy for You", "This Used To Be My Playground" and "You''ll See". There is also a nice version of "Love Don''t Live Here Anymore". So this is more than an exploitative offering.
However, Cher''s latest package, ''It''s a Man''s World'', cannot be reviewed proudly. In her past — the most memorable moment for this reviewer being her visit to a US warship amid cheering sailors for "If I Could Turn Back Time" — she has competed admirably. And she has demonstrated the classic features of the change syndrome(综合症). But this is a tired and dull Cher, Perhaps attempting to moderate her sexy and boy-crazy image in this session but failing.
单选题
It can be inferred from paragraph 1 that in order to survive in the world of pop music, artists need to___________.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】第一段第二句话指出“If artists fail to recreate their image ― chameleon(变色龙)-like， over and over again ― they risk facing accusations of dullness；that they are not fashionable”：“如果艺术家们不能像变色龙那样不停地变换形象，他们就很有可能被指责毫无生趣，并因此遭淘汰”。也就是说艺术家们必须不断地重塑新形象才能保持不被淘汰的命运，故选B)。
单选题
In her latest disc "Something to Remember"___________.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】第三段中提及的“unworthy flirtation with sex”并未出现在Madonna的新唱片“Something to Remember”中，故选项A不符合题意。第三段指出：Madonna的新碟证明了她如何在相应的时候改变的形象以产生强烈对比，并赋予她的职业新的定义。新碟不仅只是摇滚乐时装史的演绎，也是高质量音乐的荟萃。因此选项B Madonna在她的新碟中展示了一部摇滚乐时装史的说法并不确切。而选项D是符合题意的，quality music意为music of excellence，music of high quality。文中并未提到Madonna在新唱片中完全摒弃了她原来的音乐风格，相反在第五段中“quickly moves back in time to her earlier moments”提示这张唱片中Madonna展示了她的各种不同形象和风格，故选项D亦不符合文章意思。
单选题
The writer''s attitude towards Madonna is___________.
【答案解析】最后一段指出：“Cher的最新专辑‘It’s a Man’s World’却无法恭维，她过去最值得回忆的是为宣传‘If I Could Turn Back Time’在美国战舰欢呼的水兵中的时刻。她展示了我们的变化综合征的最经典的特征。但此处的Cher却是一个疲乏和呆板的Cher，也许在这张专辑中她试图改变她的性感和少男杀手形象，但却没有成功”。可见this是指Cher在新唱片中的形象。故选A)。