Section ⅡReading Comprehension
Part A
Directions:
Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A，B，C or D. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1. (40 points)
Text1
Recently, the right of public personalities to direct and profit from all commercial exploitations of their fame has gained widespread acceptance. Recognition of this “right of publicity,” however, has raised difficult questions concerning the proper scope and duration of the right as well as its relationship to free speech and free trade interests. Often, the “type” of personality, be it an entertainer, politician, or athlete, also weighs on this decision-making process.
The right of publicity protects economic interests of celebrities in their own fame by allowing them to control and profit from the publicity values which they have created. Before courts recognized this right, celebrities’ primary protection against the unauthorized commercial appropriation of their names or likenesses was a suit for invasion of privacy. Privacy law, however, proved to be an inadequate response to the legal questions presented by celebrities seeking to protect their economic interest in fame. Whereas privacy law protects a person’s right to be left alone, publicity law proceeds from adverse assumptions. Celebrities do not object to public attention—they thrive on it. However, they seek to benefit from any commercial use of their popularity.
A celebrity’s public image has many aspects, each of which may be appropriated for a variety of purposes. Plaintiffs(persons bringing a suit) have sought to protect various attributes including: name, likeness, a particular routine or act, characters made famous by their celebrity, unique style, and biographical information. In deciding whether the right of publicity applies to particular attribute, courts consider underlying legal and policy goals.
Two goals support recognition of the right of publicity: the promotion of creative endeavor and prevention of unjust enrichment through the theft of goodwill. Courts determine the scope of publicity rights by balancing these policies against offsetting First Amendment and free trade interests. Recognizing the celebrity’s ability to control the exercise of some personal attribute may limit the “speech” of would-be appropriators and give the celebrity a commercial monopoly. Thus, the value of promoting creativity and preventing unjust enrichment must outweigh negative constitutional and commercial repercussions(effects) before courts extend the right of publicity to any particular attribute.
The value of a publicity right in a particular attribute depends largely on the length of time such a right is recognized and protected by the law. Courts disagree on whether publicity rights survive the death of their creators. Some courts advocate unconditional devisability. They emphasize that the ability to control exploitation of fame is a property right, carrying all the characteristics of the title. Other courts conclude that the right of publicity terminates at the celebritys death. These courts fear that recognizing postmortem(after-death) publicity rights would negatively affect free speech and free trade.
The right of publicity, especially in the cases of well-known politicians and statesmen, often conflicts with First Amendment interests and thus should be defined with care and precision.
21. According to the author, privacy laws are inadequate for celebrities because
�。跘］ individuals lose privacy rights by becoming public figures.
�。跙］ stars wish to create higher value by keeping from the public.
�。跜］ the unauthorized use of celebrities’images is beyond remedy.
［D］ economic issues inherent in their fame are ignored by the laws.
22. The text implies that the judicial response to “right of publicity” issues has been
�。跘］ inconclusive. ［B］ impractical.
�。跜］ justifiable. ［D］ significant.
23. We learn that a feature of “devisability”(Par.5) is the ability to be
�。跘］ split into diverse legal entities.
�。跙］ assigned by the celebrity’s will.
�。跜］ structured in several equal shares.
�。跠］ traded with the owner’s permission.
24. Which of the following would most reasonably call upon the “right of publicity”?
�。跘］ A famous athlete plans to design and market a line of sportswear.
［B］ The work of a celebrated screen actor is re-edited after his death.
�。跜］ A portion of a professor’s book is cited in a student’s paper.
�。跠］ The image of a TV host is used in an ad campaign for a drug.
25. Which of the following statements best summarizes the chief ideas of the text?
�。跘］ Publicity law is an appropriate legal remedy for public figures.
�。跙］ Approaches to publicity law cases contradict free trade interests.
［C］ The legal issues about the right of publicity are unresolved fully.
�。跠］ The promotion of creative endeavor justifies the right of publicity.
Text2
Science-fiction movies can serve as myths about the future and thus give some assurance about it. Whether the film is 2001 or Star Wars，such movies tell about progress that will expand man’s powers and his experiences beyond anything now believed possible，while they assure us that all these advances will not wipe out man or life as we now know it. Thus one great anxiety about the future—that it will have no place for us as we now are—is alleviated by such myths. They also promise that even in the most distant future，and despite the progress that will have occurred in the material world，man’s basic concerns will be the same，and the struggle of good against evil—the central moral problem of our time—will not have lost its importance..
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