阅读理解

PART II READING COMPREHENSION （TEXT A）
Three hundred years ago news travelled by word of mouth or 1etter, and circulated in taverns and coffee houses in the form of pamphlets and newsletters．“The coffee houses particularly are very roomy for a free conversation，and for reading at an easier rate all manner of printed news，”noted one observer．Everything changed in 1833 when the first mass-audience newspaper, The New York Sun，pioneered the use of advertising to reduce the cost of news，thus giving advertisers access to a wider audience．The penny press，followed by radio and television，turned news from a two-way conversation into a one—way broadcast，with a relatively small number of firms controlling the media．
Now, the news industry is returning to something closer to the coffee house．The internet is making news more participatory，social and diverse，reviving the discursive characteristics of the era before the mass media．That will have profound effects on society and politics．In much of the world, the mass media are flourishing．Newspaper circulation rose globally by 6% between 2005 and 2009．But those global figures mask a sharp decline in readership in rich countries．
Over the past decade，throughout the western world，people have been giving up newspapers and TV news and keeping up with events in profoundly different ways．Most strikingly, ordinary people are increasingly involved in compiling，sharing，filtering，discussing and distributing news．Twitter lets people anywhere report what they are seeing．Classified documents are published in their thousands online．Mobile phone footage of Arab uprisings and American tornadoes is posted on social-networking sites and shown on television newscasts．Social-networking sites help people find，discuss and share news with their friends．
And it is not just readers who are challenging the media elite．Technology firms including Google，Facebook and Twitter have become important conduits of news．Celebrities and world leaders publish updates directly via social networks；many countries now make raw data available through“open government”initiatives．The internet lets people read newspapers or watch television channels from around the world．The web has allowed new providers of news，from individual bloggers to sites，to rise to prominence in a very short space of time．And it has made possible entirely new approaches to journalism，such as that practiced by WikiLeaks，which provides an anonymous way for whistleblowers to publish documents．The news agenda is no longer controlled by a few press barons and state outlets．
In principle，every liberal should celebrate this．A more participatory and social news environment，with a remarkable diversity and range of news sources，is a good thing．The transformation of the news business is unstoppable，and attempts to reverse it are doomed to failure．As producers of new journalism，individuals can be scrupulous with facts and transparent with their sources．As consumers，they can be general in their tastes and demanding in their standards．And although this transformation does raise concerns，there is much to celebrate in the noisy, diverse，vociferous，argumentative and stridently alive environment of the news business in the ages of the internet．The coffee house is back．Enjoy it．

11．According to the passage，what initiated the transformation of coffee-house news to mass-media news?

A．The emergence of big mass media firms．
B．The popularity of radio and television．
C．The appearance of advertising in newspapers．
D．The increasing number of newspaper readers．
12．Which of the following statements best supports“Now, the news industry is returning to something closer to the coffee house”?
A Newspaper circulation rose globally by 6％between 2005 and 2009．
B．People in the Western world are giving up newspapers and TV news．
C．Classified documents are published in their thousands online．
D．More people are involved in finding，discussing and distributing news．
13．According to the passage，which is NOT a role played by information technology?
A．Challenging the traditional media．
B．Planning the return to coffee-house news．
C．Providing people with access to classified files．
D．Giving ordinary people the chance to provide news．
14．The author’s tone in the last paragraph towards new journalism is
A．optimistic and cautious． B．supportive and skeptical．
C．doubtful and reserved． D．ambiguous and cautious．
15．In“The coffee house is back”，coffee house best symbolizes
A．the changing characteristics of news audience．
B．the more diversified means of news distribution．
C．the participatory nature of news．
D．the more varied sources of news．

答案解析

11．According to the passage，what initiated the transformation of coffee-house news to mass-media news?
A．The emergence of big mass media firms．
B．The popularity of radio and television．
C．The appearance of advertising in newspapers．
D．The increasing number of newspaper readers．
参考答案：C
解析：题目问的是新闻传播从咖啡馆式的口口相传转变成大众报纸的单向传输原因何在。而结合文中第一段中的相关句：“Everything changed in 1833 when the first mass-audience newspaper, The New York Sun，pioneered the use of advertising to reduce the cost of news，thus giving advertisers access to a wider audience．”就不难发现，确实报纸广告的出现是其原因所在。但由于这句句子较长，很可能有些考生会在时间仓促中来不及看完整，想清楚，先看到the first mass-audience newspaper就以为找到了正确答案，所以会误选A，但只要接着把句子读完就会发现该句强调的还是这家报纸率先使用了在报纸上登广告的形式才造成了这样的转变，最终原因归结还应该是报纸广告的出现。所以，解题时一定要把句子理解完整，千万不要因为赶时间而以偏概全。
12．Which of the following statements best supports“Now, the news industry is returning to something closer to the coffee house”?
A Newspaper circulation rose globally by 6％between 2005 and 2009．
B．People in the Western world are giving up newspapers and TV news．
C．Classified documents are published in their thousands online．
D．More people are involved in finding，discussing and distributing news．
参考答案：D
解析：题目问的是四个选项中哪个能最好的支持文中这句“Now, the news industry is returning to something closer to the coffee house.(如今，新闻行业正回归到一种更接近原来咖啡馆式讨论传播的状态。)”选项A是在文章第二段最后部分出现的，紧跟前面一句来证明在全球大部分地区，大众传媒仍然在蓬勃发展的，因此与题干句无关，甚至可以说是相悖的。而选项B和C都只是在陈述某些具体现象，并未能直接来支持题干句。只有选项D总结了人们正在亲身参与到新闻的发现、讨论和传播中去，这也正是咖啡馆式新闻传播的最显著的一个特点——参与性，因此这句话能最好的表明如今的新闻行业正以这样的方式回归。
13．According to the passage，which is NOT a role played by information technology?
A．Challenging the traditional media．
B．Planning the return to coffee-house news．
C．Providing people with access to classified files．
D．Giving ordinary people the chance to provide news．
参考答案：B
解析：题目问的是哪个选项不属于信息科技所担任的角色。该题可以采用排他法：选项A可由文章第三段中“The internet is making news more participatory，social and diverse，reviving the discursive characteristics of the era before the mass media．”一句得出，正是信息科技的重要产物——互联网在不断挑战着传统的大众传媒；选项C在第三段中“Classified documents are published in their thousands online．”一句明确提及；选项D的线索在很多地方都可找到，比如第三段中“Twitter lets people anywhere report what they are seeing．”一句。所以唯独选项B “Planning the return to coffee-house news．”不属于信息科技担任的角色。因为咖啡馆式新闻的回归只是在信息科技发展过程中额外产生的现象，并不是是它在发展中就计划好的。
14．The author’s tone in the last paragraph towards new journalism is
A．optimistic and cautious． B．supportive and skeptical．
C．doubtful and reserved． D．ambiguous and cautious．
参考答案：A
解析：题目问的是作者在最后一段中描述新式新闻的口吻如何。通读最后一段不难发现，作者多数阐述都是非常正面如：“In principle，every liberal should celebrate this.”等。所以可排除选项C（怀疑和保守的）和D（含糊和谨慎的），因为两者都偏负面。而在剩下的两项中，选项B中的skeptical（怀疑的）并没有在文中显示，因此不合适。选项B中的cautious（严谨的）可由“although this transformation does raise concerns（尽管这种转变确实引起了一些担忧）”看出，作者也并未否认这种新式新闻的负面影响，因此可以说是比较严谨的。
15．In“The coffee house is back”，coffee house best symbolizes
A．the changing characteristics of news audience．
B．the more diversified means of news distribution．
C．the participatory nature of news．
D．the more varied sources of news．
参考答案：C
解析：题目问的是在“The coffee house is back.”一句中“coffee house :咖啡馆”一词最好地象征了哪个选项所提及的意义。结合第一段前一部分“Three hundred years ago news travelled by word of mouth or 1etter, and circulated in taverns and coffee houses in the form of pamphlets and newsletters．”和第二段“Now, the news industry is returning to something closer to the coffee house．The internet is making news more participatory，social and diverse，reviving the discursive characteristics of the era before the mass media．”就能得出答案：前者概述了最开始时咖啡馆式新闻的各种传播方式，而所有的方式共同具有的特点就是通过人们的参与进行相互传播和扩散；后者则直接点明了互联网正让新闻回归到以前的咖啡馆式的发展状态，使其变得更加具有参与性。所以不难看出“咖啡馆”象征的正是新闻从产生之初就具有的特性——参与性。