The passage is a piece of argumentation which tries to convince us that seeking fame sometimes leads to one’s own destruction. The passage can be roughly divided into six parts.

Part I (1) This part is the argument for the whole passage: Chasing fame often leads to self-destruction. The passage continues to argue for the point from four different aspects.

Part II (2~5) In this part, the writer tries to convince us that the conquest of fame is no easy job and that along with fame and fortune there comes some negative effects which could be disastrous.

Para. 2 argues that though the conquest of fame is difficult at best, the lure of fame is hard to resist.

1. “Don’t quit your day job!” is advice frequently given by understandably pessimistic family members and friends to a budding artist who is trying hard to succeed.

1) Meaning – The budding artist’s family and friends frequently advise him against giving up his day job. Their feeling that the artist might fail in his pursuit is understandable. 对于一名正努力追求成功并刚刚崭露头角的艺术家，其亲朋常常会建议“正经的饭碗不能丢！”，他们的担心不无道理。

2) A “day job” refers to normal job where one earns most of their money. 正式的工作

3) A “budding artist” is one who is beginning to develop or show signs of future success in a particular area. 崭露头角的艺术家

2. The conquest of fame is difficult at best, and many end up emotionally if not financially bankrupt.

1) Meaning – Even under the most favorable circumstances, gaining fame is difficult, and in the end many artists fail emotionally even if they do not fail financially. 

追求出人头地，最乐观地说也是困难重重，许多人到最后即使不是穷困潦倒，也是几近精神崩溃。

2) at best

The meeting was at best partially successful. 这次会议充其量只是部分成功。

The technique is at best ineffective and at worst dangerous. 这个技术说得好一点是无效的，说得坏一点是危险的。

3) end up: finally be in a particular situation or place 最后

He ended up unemployed for a long time. 结果，他失业了很长一段时间。

Instead of ending up in jail he was remarkably successful. 他最终没有坐牢，而是取得了很大的成功。

Para. 3 tells us that even if an artist succeeded by developing their own talent, it would be hart to keep the audience’s lasting enthusiasm.

3. Thos who gain fame often gain it as a result of exploiting their talent for singing, dancing, painting, or writing, etc. They develop a style that agents market aggressively to hasten popularity, and their ride on the express elevator to the top is a blur. Most would be hard-pressed to tell you how they even got there.

1) Meaning – Very often the reason why some artists become famous is that they make good use of their talent for singling, dancing, painting, or writing, etc. These artists demonstrate a style that agents promote forcefully to make them popular more quickly. Most of them would find it difficult to tell you how they become famous.

成名者之所以成名，大多是因为发挥了自己在歌唱、舞蹈、绘画或写作等方面的特长，并能形成自己的风格。为了能迅速走红，经纪人会极力吹捧他们的这种风格。他们青云直上的过程让人看不清楚。他们究竟是怎么成功的，大多数人也都说不上来。

2) exploit: vt. use something well in order to gain as much from it as possible 开发；开拓

You can exploit a talent which you already possess. 你可以利用已有的才能。

We need to make sure that we exploit our resources as fully as possible.

我们需要确保尽可能充分地利用资源。

3) ride on the express elevator to the top: a metaphor which means “becoming famous quickly”. 暗喻，意为“迅速成名”。

4) be hard-pressed to do sth.: have difficulty in doing sth.

This year the airline will be hard-pressed to make a profit. 今年这家航空公司要赢利很困难。

You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone better for the job. 你很难找到更好的人做这项工作。

5) get there:

4. Artists cannot remain idle, though.

Meaning – However, artists cannot stop in their career. 尽管如此，艺术家仍然不能闲下来。

5. When the performer, painter or writer becomes bored, their work begins to show a lack of continuity in its appeal and it becomes difficult to sustain the attention of the public.

Meaning – When the artist becomes tried and impatient, their work will lose its charm and they will find it hard to keep the public’s attention.

若表演者、画家或作家感到厌烦，他们的作品就难以继续保持以前的吸引力，也就难以保持公众的注意力。

6. flavor of the mouth: an idea, person, style, etc. that is very popular at a particular time, but only for a short while. 本月红人，指一个突然当红的影人，片约不断，但也有可能像夏天的雷雨一样突然消失，因此带有潜在的贬义；风靡一时的人或物；红极一时的宠儿。

7. Artists who do attempt to remain current by making even minute changes to their style of writing, dancing or singing, run a significant risk of losing the audience’s flavor. The public simply discounts styles other than whose for which the artist has become famous.

1) Meaning – Even if artists make very small changes to their styles of writing, dancing or singing, etc. in order to sustain their popularity, they will probably lose the support, approval, or affection of the audience. The public only accepts the styles for which the artist has become famous and they think other styles are not worth their attention. 有些艺术家为了不落伍，会对他们的写作、跳舞或者唱歌的风格稍加变动，但这将冒极大的失宠风险。公众对于他们藉以成名的艺术风格意外的任何形式都将不屑一顾。

2) other than: apart from; except 除了

He didn’t mention anyone else’s contributions other than his own.

他只提到了自己的贡献，而没有提其他任何人的。

We missed the last bus so there was no choice other than to walk home.

我们错过了最后一班车，所以除了走回家别无选择。

Para. 4 argues with some examples that successful and famous artists often have a distinctive style, but this also limits them in that they don’t have the freedom to express themselves with other styles or forms.

8. Their distinct styles marked a significant change in form from others and gained them fame and fortune. However, they paid for it by giving up the freedom to express themselves with other styles or forms.

1) Meaning – Their clearly different styles brought them fame and fortune. However, they got it at the cost of giving up their freedom to use other styles to express themselves. 

他们鲜明独特的艺术风格标志着与别人不同的艺术形式上的重大变革，这让他们名利双收。但也让他们付出了代价，那就是失去了用其他风格或形式表现自我的自由。

2) pay for: suffer as a result of doing something 为……付出代价

If you refuse to cooperate with us, you will pay for it.

如果你拒绝与我们合作，你会为此付出代价的。

We all pay for our mistakes in some way at sometime.

我们大家都会在某个时候以某种方式为我们的错误付出代价。

Para. 5 tells us that the pressure to keep public attention can be too much for some artists. They have to please the audience sometime against their own will.

9. Fame’s spotlight can be hotter than a tropic jungle – a fraud is quickly exposed, and the pressure of so much attention is too much for most to endure. It takes you out of yourself: You must be what the public thinks you are, not what you really are or could be.

Meaning – Fames leads to a lot of publicity. If a famous person commits a fraud, it will be exposed quickly. And the famous people attract so much public attention that they can hardly endure the pressure it beings. You have to forget your true self. You have no freedom to be what you really are or could be and you must act and behave in the way the public thinks you should.

名气这盏聚光灯可比热带丛林还要炙热。骗局很快会被揭穿，过多的关注带来的压力会让大多数人难以承受。它让你失去自我。你必须是公众认可的那个你，而不是真实的你或是可能的你。