Passage 3
In Hollywood, everybody wants to be rich, famous and beautiful. Nobody wants to be old, unknown and poor. For Hollywood kids, life can be difficult, because they grow up in such an unreal atmosphere. Their parents are ambitious and the children are part of the parents’ ambitions.
Parents pay for wasteful grand parties, expensive cars and designer clothes. When every dream can come true, kids don’t learn the value of anything because they have everything. A 13-year-old boy, Trent Maguire, has a driver, credit cards and unlimited cash to do what he wants when he wants to. “One day, I’ll earn more than my dad.” He boasts.
Parents buy care and attention for the children because they have no time to give it themselves. Amanda’s mother employs a personal trainer, a body guard, a singing coach and a counselor to look after all her 15-year-old daughter’s needs.
Often there is no parent at home most days, so children decide whether to make their own meals or go out to restaurants, when to watch television or do homework. They organize their own social lives. They play no childhood games. They become adults before they’re ready.
Hollywood has always been the city of dreams. The kids there live unreal lives where money, beauty and pleasure are the only gods. Will children around the world soon start to think the same? Or do they already?
Q32-35 are based on the passage you have just heard.
Q32: Why is life said to be difficult for Hollywood kids?
Q33: What does the speaker say about Trent Maguire, a thirteen-year-old boy?
Q34: Why does Amanda’s mother employ other people to look after her needs?
Q35: What will probably have negative effects on the lives of Hollywood kids?