1 . Do you find yourself waiting for the next MrBeast video to drop so you can see his latest challenge? Or perhaps the newest experiment from Mark Rober? Maybe you’re wild about Harry Styles or Timothee Chalamet. You follow them on social media, connect with other fans online and maybe even message them now and again. Even though these people are celebrities, you feel like you know them.
Most of us form relationships of some sort with celebrities and fictional characters. We imagine having a conversation with that person or asking for advice. Sometimes we develop a more romantic crush. Embarrassing as it may sometimes feel, this is perfectly normal. Scientists call these faux friendships “parasocial relationships”. Social relationships involve two or more people. Parasocial ones, on the other hand, are completely one-sided.
Decades ago, parasocial relationships happened between TV viewers and the people on screen. This was especially true for talk-show hosts and newscasters who spoke directly to the camera. People watching felt as though these TV personalities were talking directly to them. Over time, they felt a close connection with them. It wasn’t just people on TV. Beatles fans went wild for the band, just as Harry Styles fans do today.
More recently, parasocial relationships have shifted to other types of screens. Many people, from children to adults, have some form of screen that they use for entertainment. Even young children form parasocial relationships with on-screen personalities. Big Bird and Elmo from Sesame Street can seem like friends. So can animated characters or superheroes.
“We root for them,” says Kristin Drogos. “We want them to do well.” Drogos is a communication researcher at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. It’s that positive feelings toward these on-screen personalities that cause us to form a parasocial bond with them. And that connection can be powerful.
1. What does the author intend to do in Paragraph 1?| A．To suggest several ways to kill time. |
| B．To reflect the diversity of people’s interests. |
| C．To show people’s attachment to famous people. |
| D．To confirm the benefits of watching celebrities. |
| A．Innocent. | B．Imaginary. | C．Fashionable. | D．Abnormal. |
| A．They can exist between human beings and non-humans. |
| B．People are more willing to become friends with talk-show hosts. |
| C．Superheroes are more popular among adults as on-screen friends. |
| D．Celebrities make the best of parasocial relationships to attract more fans. |
| A．How parasocial relationships benefit people. |
| B．What can influence a parasocial relationship. |
| C．How to communicate with on-screen friends. |
| D．What people share in parasocial relationships. |
2 . Magazine sales have generally been falling since the day the inventor of the Internet said, “Hey, why don’t I invent the Internet?”
But the latest ABC figures, released this week, show that sales of certain titles are actually going up. News and current affairs magazines are becoming more popular—but celebrity (名人), gossip and fashion publications are still struggling．
“Gossip and celebrity news is rarely something that requires detailed analysis—so it’s best suited to bite-sized content on social media,” says Ian Burrell, media columnist for The Drum. “Once it’s out there, it’s quickly shared and readers move on to the next star. No one wants to wait a week to read about it in a print magazine.”
Fraser Nelson, editor of The Spectator, wrote this week: “There’s now too much writing online, and in an era of fake news, where you get your analysis from has never been more important. As newspapers and magazines are finding out, if you can publish writing that is consistently better than what can be found online, people will pay.”
But many editors are struggling to strike the right balance between physical and digital content. They are faced with the choice of either posting all their articles online for free so the magazine stays relevant, or charging readers money to protect the financial future of the brand.
As Burrell points out, most readers are hungry for a deeper understanding of the fast-moving changes in global news and politics rather than seeking to escape from it by burying their heads in celebrity gossip and entertainment stories．
Serious times call for serious journalism. While general-interest daily news has been turned into an almost universally available commodity (商品) by the Internet, specialist journalism is still a service people value and think they can’t get elsewhere．
1. What does Ian Burrell think of celebrity news?| A．It should be read carefully. | B．It should appear on magazines. |
| C．It isn’t worth reading. | D．It isn’t worth analyzing． |
| A．The value of newspapers and magazines. |
| B．The significance of current affairs． |
| C．The importance of news sources. |
| D．The balance between physical and digital content. |
| A．Most readers are fond of rapid changes． |
| B．Most readers tend to escape from reality． |
| C．Most readers like entertainment news best． |
| D．Most readers show great interest in global news and politics． |
| A．What Makes Some Magazines Disappear |
| B．Where Magazines Will Go in the Future |
| C．How Magazines Are Surviving the Digital Age |
| D．Why People Are Still Reading Fashion Publications |
