A
In today's short attention span informationoverloaded age，there are new challenges for creative workers.
For creators，the news and information cycle is so fast that to earn attention for your work suggests you have to keep up with it all.But the other side of that technological coin is that it's easier than ever to make things and distribute them online.
Of course the entire planet does not care when yet more media is added to the world.But even 50 years ago，before the Internet，there were more films made each year than anyone could possibly see and more books published annually than anyone could read.
Before the web there was often no way to get your work distributed unless you had permission.Given the choice of a)depending on the approval of others to finish projects and share them with the world，but having fewer competitors vs.b)being able to put anything into the world，but I have to compete with everyone else for attention，I definitely choose B．At least I have a chance.At least I can compete，and use my skills at creation as an advantage.
Attention from fans matters more than the rest of the world.The most famous people in any media get most of the attention.But the fallacy is that you need to be in that top 1% or 5% to make a living.As a matter of fact，you simply need enough fans and attention to earn you enough money to make a living.
A creative life is not the safe and secure path.The more creative the life you choose，the more risk that will come with it.It can be wonderfully rewarding，but you are choosing to compete to earn a living，and even if you do everything right，the chances are that you can still fail.I recommend doing it anyway，since you will learn more about life and yourself by taking the challenging path，but you should do it with your eyes open.
[语篇解读] 本文是一篇议论文。如今是注意力经济时代，那些从事创造性工作的自由职业者面临着更加激烈的竞争和挑战。
1．In what way was the situation 50 years ago similar to the mentioned one?
A．People needed to compete for attention.
B．Few people cared about creative works.
C．Many people engaged in creative work.
D．People had difficulty in spreading their works.
解析：推理判断题。第二段指出，当今时代从事创造性工作者必须努力去争取人们的注意；第三段接着指出，其实50年前也是这样：作品数量总是超过人们的需要。也就是说，它们需要争夺人们的注意力。
答案：A
2．Why does the author choose b instead of a?
A．He is afraid of fierce competition.
B．He wants to have more competitors.
C．He is badly in need of more attention.
D．He values the opportunity to compete.
解析：细节理解题。根据第四段可知，作者之所以选择b是因为他更珍惜当今时代网络所提供的自由竞争的机会。
答案：D
3．What does the underlined word “fallacy” in Paragraph 5 mean?
A．A new opinion.
B．A wrong belief.
C．A valuable idea.
D．A strange concept.
解析：词义猜测题。下句指出：你只需要有足够的粉丝和注意力就可以维持生活。也就是说，你不需要成为那顶尖的1%或5%。由此可知，作者认为前面的说法是错误的。
答案：B
4．What's the author's attitude to a creative life?
A．Critical. B．Doubtful.
C．Supportive. D．Ambiguous.
解析：观点态度题。根据最后一段可知，作者认为，虽然从事创造性工作有很大的风险，但是他还是建议人们去从事这一行业。
答案：C
