158. Should we pay attention to the opinions of famous people?
It is only in the last hundred years that the"star" phenomenon was born. Prior to 1900, there were no famous entertainers in today's sense. Fame was held for political officers. However, today, the people who appear before us either on a court, a stage, a field or a screen, are in fact more famous than many political officers. Many people listen to these famous people and act as if their word was gospel. However, I do not think this is correct behavior.
Stars should be treated with respect, but their opinions should not count for any more than a regular person's opinion. Becoming a star does not automatically endow a person with limitless knowledge. Stars must do research to form their opinions, just like the rest of us. It is no more or less likely that a star will have a valid opinion on a subject than a friend from school.
In many cases, when stars state their opinions, they are not telling the world how they truly feel. Many famous people will only make announcements that their publicists have approved. Therefore, in many cases, it is not the stars' opinions that we are hearing at all, but in fact, that of the corporations that they work for.
I believe that the only time that we should really value the opinion of what a star has to say more than we value others' opinions is when the star is talking about a subject that he/she specializes in. For example, if a basketball player is giving his/her opinion on how his/her team will do in the play-offs, then one should probably take the opinion to heart. Everyone has his/her own field of expertise. If stars, or regular persons for that matter, are talking about their professions, they are bound to have extensive knowledge on the subject.
In conclusion, I do not think that we should listen to the opinions of stars unless they are speaking on a matter that they specialize in."Regular people" have just as well thought out knowledgeable opinions as the stars, sometimes even more so. Unfortunately, many young adults idolize these stars and believe everything they say. Because of this, it is important for stars to be careful about passing on inaccurate information.
译文
158. 我们应该在意名人的观点吗？
“明星”现象仅仅是在过去一百年中产生的。在1900年之前，并没有今天意义上的著名演艺人员，只有政治官员才有名望。然而今天，那些无论是出现在球场、舞台、运动场还是银幕上的人们，实际上比很多政治家都更为有名。很多人都会听取这些著名人士的观点，就好像他们的话是真理一样。然而，我并不认为这样的行为是正确的。
明星们应该得到尊重，但是不能认为他们的观点比普通人的意见更有价值。成为明星并不会自动赋予一个人无穷无尽的知识。明星们就像我们一样，也要为他们的观点进行调查研究。对于一个问题，明星的观点并不一定比学校里的朋友提出的更好或更坏。
在很多情况下，当明星陈述他们的观点时，并不会向世界宣布他们真实的感受。很多著名人士只会做出经过他们的公共关系顾问同意的声明。因此在很多情况下，我们听到的根本不是明星的观点，而实际上是他们所服务的公司的观点。
我认为我们惟一应该重视明星观点的时刻，就是他们在谈论自己所专门从事的职业时。例如，当一个篮球运动员就他或她的球队在加时赛中将会如何表现发表意见的时候，我们可能应该把它记在心里。每个人都有专长的领域，当明星或者普通人谈论他们的专业时，他们肯定会拥有关于那个专业广泛的知识。
Word List
- phenomenon ［fiˈna:məˌnən］ n. 现象
- publicist ［ˈpʌblisist］ n. 公共关系顾问
- prior to 在…之前
- expertise ［ˌekspə:ˈti:z］ n. 专门技能；专门知识
- entertainer ［entəˈteinə］ n. 演艺人员
- fame ［feim］ n. 名声；名望
- knowledgeable ［ˈna:lidʒəbəl］ adj. 知识渊博的
- gospel ［ˈga:spəl］ n. 真理
- endow ［enˈdau］ v. 赋予
- idolize ［ˈaidlˌaiz］ v. 极度崇拜
- valid ［ˈvælid］ adj. 正确的