歌手卡倫·卡朋特死于厭食癥

山東泰安第一中學 張烈強

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．

【翻譯】_____________________________________________________________________________

【點石成金】本句為主從復合句，while引導時間狀語從句；brought on．．．為過去分詞短語作后置定語。

Cultural Background

厭食癥(anorexia nervosa)

厭食癥在醫學上被稱為神經性厭食障礙，是一種精神領域與心理作用共同導致的生理功能性障礙疾病，是人們通過有意識的行為如節食以追求體重減輕，造成體重明顯低于正常標準的一種進食障礙。13～20歲的年輕女性易患厭食癥，厭食癥患者會長期處于饑餓狀態。營養攝入不夠會導致營養不良，容易引起各種疾病。