听力原文

They decide what 40 to 50 million Americans will learn of the day's events in the nation and in the world. We cannot measure this power and influence by the traditional democratic standards, for these men can create national issues overnight. They can make or break by their coverage and commentary a moratorium on the war. They can elevate men from obscurity to national prominence within a week. They can reward some politicians with national exposure and ignore others.For millions of Americans the network reporter who covers a continuing issue -- like the ABM or civil rights -- becomes, in effect, the presiding judge in a national trial by jury.It must be recognized that the networks have made important contributions to the national knowledge -- through news, documentaries, and specials. They have often used their power constructively and creatively to awaken the public conscience to critical problems.The networks made hunger and black lung disease national issues overnight. The TV networks have done what no other medium could have done in terms of dramatizing the horrors of war. The networks have tackled our most difficult social problems with a directness and an immediacythat's the gift of their medium. They focus the nation's attention on its environmental abuses -- on pollution in the Great Lakes and the threatened ecology of the Everglades. But it was also the networks that elevated Stokely Carmichael and George Lincoln Rockwell from obscurity to national prominence.
参考译文

他们决定着美国4000-5000万人每天所知道的国内外大事fS_^#nvSYg1。我们不能用传统民主的标准来衡量他们的影响力，因为这些人一夜之间就能制造出全国性的新闻4SX+5eNy^i8=Y!u5g[。他们可以通过新闻报道或评论制造一次停战或破坏停战；他们可以在一个星期内就把一个地位低微的人吹捧成全国明星；他们能够对一些政治人物在全国范围内曝光，而对另一些政治人物则睁一只眼闭一只眼LG#~@HNUIj|7o32.5!。对美国数百万人来说，连续报道一个持续话题——如反弹道导弹或民权——的新闻播音员实际上就成了国家审判中的首席法官Prl~*amI5(+lAFtQXVO。不可否认，新闻广播网对国民的知情权具有巨大的贡献QbKmo=(7Gy^yy。各新闻广播网通过新闻，纪录片和专辑，创造性地唤醒公众对异性大是大非问题的良知96d_a3DS2pD!oTMx~Ag。新闻广播网让饥饿和尘肺病一夜之间就成了全国性的问题]_NeAr20fdluYr@sst。电视新闻报道在渲染战争的恐怖时是其他媒体所不及的，它能直率，直接地抓住我们最严峻的社会问题，这就是电视媒体的优势(Kb-UW5gS;r[qdo=。电视对破坏环境，对五大湖的污染，对弗罗里达大沼泽地生态环境的威胁的报道引起了全国人民的关注;CYPP5I.!);+!。但是，同样是这些新闻广播网让斯托克利•卡迈克尔和乔治•罗克韦尔从无名小卒成了全国名人t~],o|~Jy0Gs。
词语解释
1. democratic a. 民主的，民主党的

It's a democratic government.
它是个民主的政府)7HrW-oB(UXN(dfDG。

2. moratorium n. 暂停，延期偿付

Already we have imposed an moratorium on nuclear testing.
我们已经停止了核试验f^KOiPTsQa。
3. elevate v. 举起，提拔

Reading good books elevates your mind.
阅读好书使人思想高尚;5f2er%A7%EaU。

4. contribution n. 贡献，捐款

Don't undervalue Jim's contribution to the research.
不要低估了吉姆在研究工作中的贡献[,7_TxBd.yPBGu。

5. obscurity n. 昏暗，晦涩

His poems are full of obscurities.
他的诗作有很多晦涩难解的地方xm@deBZV9xNz。