考研英語真題閱讀理解試題及名師解析(八)

Why do so many Americans distrust what they read in their newspapers? The American Society of Newspaper Editors is trying to answer this painful question. The organization is deep into a long self-analysis known as the journalism credibility project。

Sad to say, this project has turned out to be mostly low-level findings about factual errors and spelling and grammar mistakes, combined with lots of head-scratching puzzlement about what in the world those readers really want。

But the sources of distrust go way deeper. Most journalists learn to see the world through a set of standard templates (patterns) into which they plug each day's events. In other words, there is a conventional story line in the newsroom culture that provides a backbone and a ready-made narrative structure for otherwise confusing news。

There exists a social and cultural disconnect between journalists and their readers, which helps explain why the "standard templates" of the newsroom seem alien to many readers. In a recent survey, questionnaires were sent to reporters in five middle-size cities around the country, plus one large metropolitan area. Then residents in these communities were phoned at random and asked the same questions。

Replies show that compared with other Americans, journalists are more likely to live in upscale neighborhoods, have maids, own Mercedeses, and trade stocks, and they're less likely to go to church, do volunteer work, or put down roots in a community。

Reporters tend to be part of a broadly defined social and cultural elite, so their work tends to reflect the conventional values of this elite. The astonishing distrust of the news media isn't rooted in inaccuracy or poor reportorial skills but in the daily clash of world views between reporters and their readers。

This is an explosive situation for any industry, particularly a declining one. Here is a troubled business that keeps hiring employees whose attitudes vastly annoy the customers. Then it sponsors lots of symposiums and a credibility project dedicated to wondering why customers are annoyed and fleeing in large numbers. But it never seems to get around to noticing the cultural and class biases that so many former buyers are complaining about. If it did, it would open up its diversity program, now focused narrowly on race and gender, and look for reporters who differ broadly by outlook, values, education, and class。

29. What is the passage mainly about?

[A]Needs of the readers all over the world

[B]Causes of the public disappointment about newspapers

[C]Origins of the declining newspaper industry

[D]Aims of a journalism credibility project

30. The results of the journalism credibility project turned out to be      。

[A]quite trustworthy

[B]somewhat contradictory

[C]very illuminating

[D]rather superficial

31. The basic problem of journalists as pointed out by the writer lies in their _________。

[A]working attitude

[B]conventional lifestyle

[C]world outlook

[D]educational background

32. Despite its efforts, the newspaper industry still cannot satisfy the readers owing to its_________。

[A]failure to realize its real problem

[B]tendency to hire annoying reporters

[C]likeliness to do inaccurate reporting

[D]prejudice in matters of race and gender

名師解析

29. What is the passage mainly about?  本文主要講的是什么？

[A]Needs of the readers all over the world.  全世界讀者的需要。

[B]Causes of the public disappointment about newspapers.  造成公眾對報紙失望的原因。

[C]Origins of the declining newspaper industry.  新聞業(yè)衰敗的根源。

[D]Aims of a journalism credibility project.  新聞可信度項目的目標。

【答案】 B

【考點】 文章主旨題。

【分析】 文章的第一句就提出了本文旨在說明的問題“為什么那么多的美國人不相信自己在報紙上讀到的內容呢？”從第二段、第三段的內容來看，作者都在試圖尋找造成公眾對報紙失望的一個真正的根本性的原因。因此可以判斷[B]為正確答案。[A]不正確，是因為它僅僅是新聞界的調查項目得到的一個結果而已。[C]和[A]相比較，還是[A]來得比較確切。[C]已經(jīng)從文章主旨引申到別的項目上去了。[D]僅僅是為了查明原因而進行的一個調查項目而已。

30. The results of the journalism credibility project turned out to be       。

新聞可信度項目的結果是       。

[A]quite trustworthy   相當可信

[B]somewhat contradictory   有點矛盾

[C]very illuminating   非常有啟發(fā)性

[D]rather superficial   相當膚淺

【答案】 D

【考點】 事實細節(jié)題。

【分析】 根據(jù)本題題干可以定位到第二段，文中指出“該項目最終所發(fā)現(xiàn)的原因大都是新聞報道中的事實錯誤，拼寫或語法錯誤，以及許多關于讀者到底想讀些什么令人撓頭的困惑”，在作者看來，這些發(fā)現(xiàn)大都是“低級的”(low-level)，而真正的原因沒有這么表面“go way deeper”(第三段首句中)。因此可以判定是答案是[D]選項。

31. The basic problem of journalists as pointed out by the writer lies in their _____。

作者描述的新聞記者的基本問題存在于他們的_____。

[A]working attitude  工作態(tài)度

[B]conventional lifestyle  傳統(tǒng)的生活方式

[C]world outlook  世界觀

[D]educational background  教育背景

【答案】 C

【考點】 事實細節(jié)題。

【分析】 文章的解題點在文章的倒數(shù)第二段中“對新聞媒體的這種令人震驚的不信任的根源不在于報道失實或低下的報道技巧，而在于記者與讀者的世界觀每天都發(fā)生著碰撞”這句話。也就是說，作者的基本問題是“世界觀”的問題。另外三個選項都不是最基本的問題。

32. Despite its efforts, the newspaper industry still cannot satisfy the readers owing to its _________。

盡管很努力，新聞行業(yè)仍然不能滿足讀者的需要是因為其_______。

[A]failure to realize its real problem  不能夠認識到真正的問題

[B]tendency to hire annoying reporters  傾向于雇傭那些惱人的記者

[C]likeliness to do inaccurate reporting  可能作出不準確的報道

[D]prejudice in matters of race and gender  在種族和性別方面的歧視

【答案】 A

【考點】 事實細節(jié)題。

【分析】 本題的解題點可以確定到最后一段。文中說他們“又舉辦許多研討會，搞什么可信度項目，試圖了解讀者為什么對他們不滿意，為什么大量流失。但是，對于那么多原來的顧客所不滿的文化和階級偏見，他們似乎就是沒有看見”。由此我們可以看出，真正的原因是他們不能夠意識到真正的問題所在，因此正確答案是[A]。

難句解析：

1. Sad to say, this project has turned out to be mostly low-level findings about factual errors and spelling and grammar mistakes, combined with lots of head-scratching puzzlement about what in the world those readers really want。

【結構分析】 本句主干是“this project has turned out to be…findings”，“mostly low-level”是“findings”的定語�！癮bout factual errors and spelling and grammar mistakes”是介賓短語做定語�！癱ombined with lots of head-scratching puzzlement about what in the world those readers really want”是一個過去分詞引導的伴隨狀語，其中“about what in the world those readers really want”是“puzzlement”的定語。

2. There exists a social and cultural disconnect between journalists and their readers, which helps explain why the“standard templates”of the newsroom seem alien to many readers。

【結構分析】 主句是“there+系表結構”。“which”引導一個非限定性定語從句，該詞指代前面一句話。而在這個定語從句“which helps explain why the ‘standard templates’of the newsroom seem alien to many readers”中，又出現(xiàn)一個“why”引導的賓語從句。

3. If it did, it would open up its diversity program, now focused narrowly on race and gender, and look for reporters who differ broadly by outlook, values, education, and class。

【結構分析】 本句的主句中，“it”代表上文提到的“a troubled