现代大学英语听力 4 原文及题目答案 unit 12 Media
2012-06-25 12:29阅读：2,982
Unit 12
Task 1:
【答案】
I.
A. 1960s，a vast wasteland
B. sound，pictures，use our imaginations，the essence of
creativity
C. violent behavior，acceptable within society
D. desire，need，afford
E. folk and ethnic cultures
II.
A. expands the world
B. entertainer，informer
C. homes，common experiences
III.
Individual development，social change，political life，the evolution
of a democratic society
【原文】
Television has always been a controversial factor in US life.
Newton Minow, chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
in the early 1960s, called television % vast wasteland'. Critics
have argued that television provides not only sound, but also
pictures in our heads and that those images destroy our ability to
use our imaginations, which is the essence of creativity. Others
have long worded that television presents violent behavior as
acceptable within society. Some believe that television advertising
cr
加载中...
内容加载失败，点击此处重试
eates a desire for products and services that people may not need
and cannot afford. Some believe that television is replacing the
vitality and diversity of folk and ethnic cultures with a bland,
homogeneous, consumer culture.
Television has a positive side as well. It expands the world of
people who have limited opportunities to experience faraway places
and events. For many, television is the great entertainer and
informer. Television also brings the world to our homes and can
create common experiences among Americans. These range from
entertaining spectacles such as the Super Bowl to tragedies such as
the shooting at Columbine High School.
Changing technologies affect how people watch television as well as
what they watch. At times, programming pushes cultural boundaries;
at other times, it reinforces the status quo. But television
content and the amount of television being watched remain concerns
for people who are interested in individual development, social
change, political life, and the evolution of a democratic
society.
Task 2:
【答案】
A.
3500BC，2500BC，western Asia，Egyptians，1800BC，the firs century BC，the
sixth century AD China，600 AD，Korea，1234，Germany，1455
B.
1) The portability of books and their wider distribution after the
development of printing gave rise to the earliest form of mass
media.
2) Copying and illustrating books by hand was extremely time
consuming, and creating parchment was expensive, so books were
generally not widespread up to and throughout the Middle
Ages.
3) The publication of the Gutenberg Bible in 1455 is considered the
beginning of mechanical printing.
4) The combination of a printing press and existing technology such
as book binding made it possible to begin the mass production of
books at a fraction of the time and cost it took to produce an
equal number of hand-copied books.
C．
1) T
2) F
【原文】
Since the Sumerians of 3500 BC pressed marks into wet clay tablets
to create what some scholars consider the first form of books,
authors have been writing long-form text narratives to record and
convey their ideas in packages more portable than clay tablets. By
2500 BC writers in western Asia were using animal skins to publish
books in scroll form. The ancient Egyptians wrote the Book of
the Dead in 1800 BC on papyrus. Between the first century BC
and the 6th century AD the codex, or manuscript made of bound
individual pages, began replacing the scroll-form book and
established the modern book form. Book publishing continued to
evolve, with paper and block printing being invented in China by
600 AD; movable type, a copper-alloy type, invented in Korea in
1234; and the Western world's first mechanical printing press in
Germany in 1455. The portability of books and their wider
distribution after the development of printing gave rise to the
earliest form of mass media. They have had profound effects on
culture and society in disseminating new ideas and building a
common body of knowledge that can be shared across
generations.
Until the invention of printing, books had to be laboriously
hand-copied In thc Middle Ages, this work was done by specially
trained monks called scribes, who copied religious and classical
works. Many of the books published in the Middle Ages were written
in bcautiful calligraphy and are richly illustrated.
Early books were published in scroll format, but eventually the
codex, or bound manuscript, replaced scrolls. Until paper arrived
from China via the Middle East in the later Middle Ages, scribes
wrote on parchment or specially treated hides of either goats,
sheep, or calves. Copying and illustrating books by hand was
extremely time consuming, and creating parchment was expensive, so
books were generally not widespread up to and throughout the Middle
Ages.
As the Christian church grew in Europe, the need for religious
texts grew as well. It was out of this need that Johannes Gutenberg
found his inspiration for the invention of printing with lead,
using movable type in 1455 AD in Mainz, Germany. Gutenberg's
invention employed oil-based ink on paper using a converted wine
press. The publication of the Gutenberg Bible in i455 is considered
the beginning of mechanical printing.
In the early years of printing, illustrators would embellish
printed pages with drawings and artistic flourishes in order to
more accurately represent handwritten manuscripts. By combining
printing press with existing technology such as book binding, it
was possible to begin the mass production of books at a fraction of
the time and cost it took to produce an equal number of hand-copied
books. The printing press spread rapidly after the conquest of the
city of Maine by Adolf of Nassau in 1462 and was initially met with
enthusiastic reception by the Church and in the culture throughout
Europe.
Task 3:
【答案】
A.
Column 1
Column 2
Column 3
New England Primer
1836
A reaction to the textbooks
imported
from England
A Grammatical Institute
of the English Language
1783
Standard reading books for schoolchildren throughout the 19th
century
McGuffey Readers
1690
One of the first
textbooks published in America
B.
1) c
2) b
3) c
4) c
C.
One way is to publish a book that many people want to buy and read,
which usually means publishing books that entertain people.
Another way is to make the book affordable enough for many people
to buy. The invention of the dime novel and later the creation of
mass-market paperbacks satisfied both these criteria.
【原文】
The printing press had an important role in the growth of
Renaissance culture, the sharing of scientific discoveries, and the
spread of religious beliefs--some of which challenged the authority
the Catholic Church. Greater numbers of books and other printed
materials helped increase literacy among the populace and laid the
foundation for the rise of mass communication in the Western world.
Many books, especially scientific works, were printed in Latin,
which effectively reduced readership to elites educated in the
classics. Books and other material such as broadsheets printed in
the local vernacular usually found a much wider audience. They had
entered the bustling commercial world of: printmakers and the
average person.
Despite a greater number of books and printed materials from the
Renaissance onward, large numbers of Europeans and Americans
remained illiterate until the 19th century. In the American
colonies and early years of the United States, education was
largely available only to the wealthy, who could afford to hire and
house private tutors for their children. Increased public education
in the early 1800s helped reduce illiteracy among the general
populace, and textbooks played a crucial ro1e in the public
education system.
One of the first textbooks published in America was the New
England Primer, published initially in about 1690 by Benjamin
Harris. The textbook introduced children to the English alphabet,
the rudiments of reading, and basic Christian religious
values.
Noah Webster, known today for his Webster’s Dictionary,
wrote his 1783 textbook, A Grammatical Institute of the English
Language, as a reaction to the textbooks imported from England
that were commonly used and that taught English cultural values.
Known popularly as the 'Blueback Speller', Webster's textbook
provided tutorials on language, religion, morals, and domestic
economy. McGuffey Readers, first published in 1836, became
standard reading books for schoolchildren throughout the 19th
century.
Textbooks of the 1800s often reflected the power structure of
contemporary society, just as modem textbooks do. In order to
appeal to the widest cross-section of society, textbooks generally
avoid controversial subjects and embrace perspectives and bodies of
knowledge in which there is general agreement among members of the
dominant group.
Changes in technology since Gutenberg's time have radically altered
the production and printing of books. However, the very same forces
that helped drive the invention of the printing press—wider
distribution of printed materials and lower cost to produce books
have confinucd to play, major roles in successful
publishing ever since 1455. To some extent, books entering the
digital realm can be seen as a continuation of the same historical
forces on publishing.
One way to make money from publishing is to publish a book that
many people want to buy and read, which usually means publishing
books that entertain people. Another way is to make the book
affordable enough for many people to buy. The invention of the dime
novel and later the creation of mass-market paperbacks satisfied
both these criteria.
The dime novel was the first paperback book form and, as its name
suggests, sold for ten cents. This made it accessible even to tile
poor. Introduced in 1860 by Irwin P. Beadle & Company, the dime
novel initially featured stories of Indians and pioneer tales that
were often nationalistic in tone. The 1870s saw an expansion of
dime novels to include melodramatic fiction, adventures, detective
stories, romances, and rags-to-riches tales.
Mass-market paperbacks were introduced in the United States in 1939
by Robert de Graft's company, Pocket Books. Pocket Books published
a line of books priced at 25 cents each that were mall enough to be
carried in a back pocket. It ushered in the paperback revolution by
offering the public an alternative mass distribution network, as
the books were sold in places like drugstores and supermarkets.
Among Pocket Books' early successes were paperback editions of
The Good Earth and Emily Bronte's classic, Wuthering
Heights.
Task 4:
【答案】
A.
Technology，the last half of the 20th century
I.
A. a change to a largely suburban society，increased use of
automobiles
B. radio，television，ease of use，entertainment value，afternoon
papers，the second half of the 20th century
II.
news，advertising
A. selecting newsworthy topics marketing polls focus groups content
tone
C. online news
operations，geographical，political，cultural，linguistic，October 24,
2001，The New York Times
B.
1) Brightly colored photos and graphics can help readers digest the
news more easily when they are done properly. However, when done
poorly they can trivialize the news and at worst be confusing or
misleading.
2) In the late 1970s, the Toronto Globe and Mail allowed
public access to their news database. Most of these early efforts
were not very successful, however, as many people at the time did
not have computers or Internet access and the state of technology
with screens made reading text on the computer tiring.
【原文】
Just as improvements in technology helped in driving the rise of
newspapers as a mass medium technology has also played a role in
the decline and transformation of newspapers m the last half of the
20th century. A combination of sociological forces in post-World
War I I America, including a change to a largely suburban society
and increased use of automobiles, along with electronic media such
as radio and later television, helped draw audiences away from
newspapers as their primary sources of news.
Television's ease of use and entertainment value contributed to the
continuing decrease of American newspapers, especially afternoon
papers, in the second half of the 20th century. Where previously
cities usually had two or more competing daily newspapers, now many
cities have only one newspaper or a morning and evening paper,
which are ostensibly competitors operating under a joint operating
arrangement that leaves virtually monopolistic control over the
circulation area.
Modem newspapers are still undergoing significant changes,
including marked change in their news and advertising content. As
newspaper circulation numbers become more important in an
increasingly competitive market, even leading newspapers are more
likely to pander to popular taste. Departing from the established
editorial tradition of selecting newsworthy topics regardless of
general appeal, many newspapers are deferring to marketing polls
and focus groups when setting standards for content, tone, and
layout.
Brightly colored photos and graphics like those pioneered in USA
Today, created to emulate TV viewing, can actually help readers
digest the news more easily when they are done properly. However,
when done poorly they can trivialize the news and at worst be
confusing or misleading.
How newspapers reach the reader is changing dramatically,
especially with the rise of the Internet. Newspapers have been in
the forefront of experimenting with the electronic delivery of news
to news consumers since the late 1970s, when newspapers like the
Toronto Globe and Mail allowed public access to their news
database. Most of these early efforts were not very successful,
however, as many people at the time did not have computers or
Internet access and the state of technology with screens made
reading text on the computer tiring,
As. the Internet has grown as a medium of public communication,
most daily newspapers have launched online news operations and have
increasingly used this new medium as a vehicle for serving an
audience no longer limited to or defined by geographical,
political, or even cultural or linguistic boundaries.
One of the most interesting developments occurred on October 24,
2001, when The New York Times began delivering its
electronic edition. The New York Times electronic edition is
an exact digital replica of the printed paper, but it is delivered
to readers via the Internet and downloaded onto their computers. It
uses what is called the NewsStand Reader, which includes keyword
searching of the full text, zooming in for closer views of photos,
one-click jumping on article continuations, and saving of past
issues for easy reference. Importantly for the business of The
New York Times, the electronic edition costs 65 cents a copy,
raising revenue to support the enterprise.
Task 5:
【答案】
A.
1) c
2) b
B.
1) NPR debuted on April 19, 1971, with live coverage of the Senate
Vietnam hearings.
2) NPR first broadcast 'All Things Considered' on May, 1971. This
established NPR as an important provider of news and information
programming.
【原文】
National Public Radio (NPR) was incorporated in 1970 and is a
not-for-profit membership organization with 490 member public radio
stations nationwide and a weekly audience of 17 million. It
produces and distributes news, cultural, and informational programs
for public radio in the United States, linking the nation's
noncommercial radio stations into a national network. Public Radio
Inter-national (PRI) produces and distributes additional public
radio programming, such as 'Marketplace' and Garrison Keillor's 'A
Prairie Home Companion' to nearly 600 affiliate stations in the
United States, Puerto Rico, and Guam, as well as international
programs including the BBC World Service.
NPR debuted on April 19, 1971, with live coverage of the Senate
Vietnam hearings and a month later first broadcast 'All Things
Considered', establishing NPR as an important provider of news and
information programming. Today, NPR broadcasts 100 hours of
original programming each week.
Public radio distinguishes itself from commercial radio in a number
of ways, including more extensive, impartial, and original audio
news, especially long-form audio reporting, as is featured on
'Morning Edition' and 'All Things Considered'. Also defining NPR's
coverage is its in-depth cover-age of the arts and commercial-free
programming. NPR also offers extensive music programming in
classical and folk music, jazz, and opera, featuring a variety of
live transmissions of the performing arts in theaters and concert
halls, as well as radio dramas.
Task 6:
【答案】
A.
1) a
2) c
3) b
4) c
5) b
B.
Some people believe that splashy, high-tech videos emphasize style
over substance and that videos have increased the special effects
on concert tours. And this downplays the music in favor of
visuals.
【原文】
Music Television (MTV) changed television in 1981 when it initiated
the first 24-hour music channel. The mission was simple: to capture
cable viewers between the ages of 12 and 135 by adding video to
music. The result was a form of television that spread throughout
the world and continues to make money and to influence world
culture.
The idea of combining video and music existed long before MTV. Rock
'n' roll .joined television early with dance programs such as Dick
Clark's 'American Bandstand'. Later, documentaries about musicians
combined video and music. Frank Zappa's 1971 movie 200
Motels visually represented his surreal music, and other short
videos were used to promote music. However, MTV changed the music
industry by widely distributing promotional videos through
satellite and cable transmission.
Within six years, MTV was creating channels to provide music to the
world outside the United States. MTV, now owned by Viacom, provides
music television to Australia, Europe, Asia, and Latin America.
Dozens of competing music satellite networks are available around
the world.
Initially, MTV's ratings rose quickly. In 1986, however, they
started to fall, and the network added nonmusic programming. The
strategy worked. Even though MTV only averages about a million
households at any given time, some programs, such as 'Real World
VIII', regularly drew more than 4 million households in 1999. As a
result, MTV became the most profitable cable network, and its
ratings are growing. The greatest growth in profits was a result of
its international business.
The movement toward more nonmusic programming did not reduce MTV's
influence on recording sales. 'Total Request Live' has become the
equivalent to the 1960s 'American Bandstand' in its
influence.
MTV exerts this type of power around the world. MTV Latin America
increased its emphasis on local programming during 1999 by creating
production units in Argentina and Mexico. This allows MTV to take
advantage of music trends in both the United States and Latin
America
Some music observers criticize the impact of video promotion. They
argue that splashy, high-tech videos emphasize style over substance
and that videos have increased the special effects on concert
tours. This, they contend, downplays the music in favor of
visuals.
Task 7:
【答案】
1) The World Wide Web allows the convergence of text, visual, and
audio content on demand within the home, instead of just the
combination of visual and audio content.
2) A central issue shaping the future of digital information is how
active the consumer will be in using technology.
3) Participation and interactivity.
【原文】
Four decades ago, families gathered around radios to listen, over
the snap, crackle, and pop of f static, to Comedians such as Jack
Benny, George Bums, and Gracie Allan. That audio center for family
entertainment eventually faded as television allowed the
convergence of visuals and audio within the home. Now, television
faces just as radical a change. The World Wide Web allows the
convergence of text, visual, and audio content on demand within the
home. A person can go to any one of more than 200 web sites devoted
to the Canadian rock group Bare Naked Ladies to download music, see
videos, read about the group's music, and look at
photographs.
A central issue shaping the future of digital information is how
active the consumer will be in using technology. Will people
delight in simply watching movies if they have greater choice of
con-tent and viewing times? Will they use digital technology to
access video games or communicate with others?
Media involvement requires varying levels of activity. If you are
seeing, touching, feeling, smelling, thinking, or listening, you
are participating in an activity. Watching Adam Sandier may not
require as much thought as watching Kenneth Branagh perform
Shakespeare on screen, but all media use requires some mental
processing,
A second level of activity--interactivity--represents two-way
communication. A computer game is interactive because you must
continually manipulate computer games. You must respond in order
for the game to continue.
In the future, people will be able to make choices about the levels
of media involvement the want. The evolution of technology,
therefore, has not only to do with invention but also with how
people express what they want and need. Technology may continue
along anticipated lines, or different forms may arise somewhat
spontaneously.
Task 8:
【答案】
A.
1) d
2) a
3) b
4) b
B.
1) T
2) F
【原文】
Americans get some of their news and entertainment from public
television and radio. These public media receive money to operate
from private citizens, organizations and government. Many of their
programs are educational.
But most of the American media are run by
businesses for profit. These privately owned media have changed
greatly in recent years. Newspapers, magazines and traditional
broadcast television organizations have lost some of their
popularity. At the same time, online, cable and satellite media
have increased in numbers and strength. So have media that serve
ethnic groups and those communicating in foreign languages.
In general, more media than ever now provide Americans with news
and entertainment. At the same time, fewer owners control them.
Huge companies have many holdings. In some areas, one company
controls much of the media.
One dramatic change in American media is the increased success of
cable television. It comes into most homes over wires. It does not
use the public airwaves, as broadcast television does. Like
broadcast television, most cable television programs include sales
messages. This is true although people must pay to see cable
television in their homes.
Thirty years ago, few people had cable. Today, about sixty-eight
percent of American homes have cable television. Television by
satellite also is gaining popularity.
Over the years, traditional broadcast organizations have tried to
appeal to as many watchers as possible. Many cable companies,
however, present programs for one special group of viewers. For
example, there are stations for people who like books, cooking,
travel, golf or comedy.
Some cable channels also launched programs with sexual material or
language that could not be used on broadcast television. American
law considers that the broadcast airwaves belong to the public. So
broadcast networks traditionally guarded against offensive content.
But the networks have reacted to the popularity of cable by also
showing more suggestive material.
In the past few years, 'reality' television programs have become
extremely popular. They show situations as they happen, without a
written story. They cost less to produce than other kinds of
programs.
In the United States, CBS Television started reality programs in
two-thousand with 'Survivor.' Sixteen people who did not know each
other lived together on an unpopulated island for thirty-nine days.
They had few supplies. They formed alliances. They also plotted
against one another.
The cameras recorded the action as they competed to stay on the
island. Each week the group voted one of the people off the island.
The last one to remain took home one million dollars.
Task 9:
【答案】
A.
1) c
2) c
3) a
4) c
B.
1) F
2) T
3) F
4) F
5) F
【原文】
The computer has also changed American media. By 2000, the
government said more than half of American homes had computers. At
least one person used the Internet in more than eighty percent of
these homes. Other people use the Internet in schools, at work and
at libraries.
The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press released a
study of Internet use. The center's Internet and American Life
Project found that forty-four percent of Internet users share their
thoughts on the Internet. Some write commentaries about politics
and other issues on Web logs, or blogs.
The Pew Center says some young people today learn about politics in
another non-traditional way. Earlier this year, the center
questioned more than one thousand five hundred people. One in five
who were younger than thirty said they usually get political
information from television comedy programs. That is two times as
many as four years ago. They watch programs like 'The Daily Show'
with Jon Stewart and 'The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.'
The studies also show that thirty-three percent of both young and
older people said they sometimes learn about politics on the
Internet. Their answers showed a nine percent increase in Internet
use for this purpose since the last presidential election.
The Internet is also playing a financial part in political
campaigns. For example, the candidates for president have received
millions of dollars in gifts over the Internet. The Project for
Excellence in Journalism says almost forty-one million Americans
watched nightly network news in 1994. By last November, that had
dropped below thirty million. Tom Brokaw of NBC, Peter Jennings of
ABC and Dan Rather of CBS are the main reporters, or anchors, on
these shows. Mister Brokaw, however, plans to leave the position
after the presidential election.
And just last week, CBS launched an independent investigation into
a report on another news program on which Dan Rather appears. The
recent report added to questions about President Bush's military
service during the time of the Vietnam War.
Dan Rather presented some documents given to CBS News. Last week,
however, he apologized. He said he could no longer trust that the
documents were real.
The Project for Excellence in Journalism reports that eleven
percent fewer people buy daily newspapers than in 1999. It also
says many people no longer believe what they read in the
newspapers. The project says that in 1985, eighty percent of
readers trusted newspapers. In 2002, only fifty-nine percent said
they believed what they read.
In May of last year, a reporter was forced to leave The New
YorkTimes. Jayson Blair invented facts in some stories or
copied from other newspapers. And in January of this year, a top
reporter at USA Today, Jack Kelly, resigned for similar
reasons.
More recently The New York Times apologized for some of its
reporting before the Iraqi war. It said it depended too much on
information from unidentified officials and Iraqi exiles. Also, the
Washington Post found weaknesses in its own reporting.
Another media story recently has involved some newspapers that lied
about their circulation. The Chicago Sun-Times admitted
misrepresenting its number of readers during the past two years.
Inaddition, The Tribune Company reported that two of its
publications had overstated the number of copies they sell.
It is natural for owners and investors to expect to make a profit,
though some media owners say they would be happy just not to lose
money. They say they are operating a newspaper or radio station
mainly as a public service. But media organizations usually depend
on money from businesses that advertise their products and
services.
Reporters often express concern about pressure from media owners.
Reporters sometimes say they cannot write some stories for fear of
loss of advertising. But there are also many examples of aggressive
reporting that serves the public interest.
Many people, though, say they do not believe they are always
getting fair reporting. They often accuse journalists of supporting
only one set of political beliefs.
The Pew Center reports that about twelve percent of local
reporters, editors and media officials questioned say they are
conservatives. This compares with thirty-four percent who identify
themselves as liberals. The difference found between conservatives
and liberals is even wider on the national level. But most
journalists say they do not let personal opinion interfere with
their reporting.
In the United States, newspapers serving ethnic groups and speakers
of foreign languages are doing better than many others. Their
popularity demonstrates America's big gains of people of foreign
ancestry, especially Hispanics and Asians. These groups are also
watching and listening to an increasing number of television and
radio stations in their own languages.
给此博文留言吧！
有机会上热评榜！
攒金币兑换礼品！
好的评论会让人崇拜发布评论
