Beforethe1830s,mostnewspapersweresoldthroughannualsubs...

問題詳情：

  Before the 1830s, most newspapers were sold through annual subscriptions in America, usually $8 to $10 a year. Today $8 or $10 seems a small amount of money, But at that time these amounts were forbidding to most citizens. Accordingly, newspapers were read almost only by rich people in politics or the trades. In addition, most newspapers had little in them that would appeal to a mass audience. They were dull and visually forbidding. But the revolution that was taking place in the 1830s would change all that.

The trend, then, was toward the “penny paper”—a term referring to papers made widely available to the public. It meant any inexpensive newspaper; perhaps more importantly it meant newspapers that could be bought in single copies on the street.

This development did not take place overnight. It had been possible(but not easy) to buy single copies of newspapers before 1830, but this usually meant the reader had to go down to the printer’s office to purchase a copy. Street sales were almost unknown. However, within a few years, street sales of newspapers would be commonplace in eastern cities. At first the price of single copies was seldom a penny—usually two or three cents was charged—and some of the older well-known papers charged five or six cents. But the phrase “penny paper” caught the public’s fancy, and soon there would be papers that did indeed sell for only a penny.

This new trend of newspapers for “the man on the street” did not begin well. Some of the early ventures(企業) were immediate failures. Publishers already in business, people who were owners of successful papers, had little desire to change the tradition. It took a few youthful and daring businessmen to get the ball rolling.

113．Which of the following best describes newspapers in America before the 1830s?

A．Academic.              B．Unattractive.           C．Inexpensive.           D．Confidential.

114．What did street sales mean to newspapers?

A．They would be priced higher.                      B．They would disappear from cities.

C．They could have more readers.                    D．They could regain public trust.

115．Who were the newspapers of the new trend targeted at?

A．Local politicians.                                       B．Common people.

C．Young publishers.                                      D．Rich businessmen.

116．What can we say about the birth of the penny paper?

A．It was a difficult process.                            B．It was a temporary success.

C．It was a robbery of the poor.                        D．It was a disaster for printers.

【回答】

113．B

114．C

115．B

116．A

【分析】

本文是一篇説明文。文章主要講述了面向大眾的“便士報紙”的誕生歷史。

113．細節理解題。根據第一段中的In addition, most newspapers had little in them that would appeal to a mass audience. They were dull and visually forbidding.可知，在19世紀30年代之前，只有大多數報紙中幾乎沒有能吸引大眾的內容，讓人感覺無聊，視覺上令人望而卻步。故那時的報紙沒有什麼吸引力。分析選項，A. Academic學術的；B. Unattractive沒有吸引力，無魅力的；C. Inexpensive廉價的，不貴的；D. Confidential機密的，保密的。故A、C和D是錯誤的，只有B符合對19世紀30年代之前的報紙的描述，故選B。

114．推理判斷題。根據第二段提到“便士報紙”針對大眾，很便宜，更重要的是，在街上可以買的到報紙；再結合第三段中間的within a few years, street sales of newspapers would be commonplace in eastern cities.可知，報紙的街頭銷售隨處可見，而且很便宜，大家都負擔得起，所以街頭銷售意味着讀報紙的人多了。故選C。

115．細節理解題。根據第二段中的The trend, then, was toward the “penny paper”—a term referring to papers made widely available to the public.可知，這種“便士報紙”針對大眾，在街上就可以買得到。故選B。

116．推理判斷題。根據最後一段中The new trend of newspapers for ‘the man on the street’ did not begin well. Some of the early ventures were immediately failures. Publishers already in business, people who owners of successful papers, had little desires to change the tradition. It took a few youthful and daring businessmen to get the ball rolling.可知，“便士報紙”一開始並不好，一些早期的嘗試立即失敗了。已經進入商業領域的成功的出版商，並不想改變這一傳統。後來一些年輕而大膽的商人才推動了這件事。由此可推斷出“便士報紙”的誕生是一個困難而曲折的過程。故選A。

知識點：歷史和地理

題型：閲讀理解