考研二真题2011Text 2
考研二真题2011Text 2
①　Whatever happened to the death of newspapers? A year ago the end seemed near. The recession threatened to remove the advertising and readers that had not already fled to the internet. Newspapers like the San Francisco Chronicle were chronicling their own doom. America’s Federal Trade Commission launched a round of talks about how to save newspapers. Should they become charitable corporations? Should the state subsidize them? It will hold another meeting soon. But the discussions now seem out of date.
②　In much of the world there is little sign of crisis. German and Brazilian papers have shrugged off the recession. Even American newspapers, which inhabit the most troubled corner of the global industry, have not only survived but often returned to profit. Not the 20% profit margins that were routine a few years ago, but profit all the same.
③　It has not been much fun. Many papers stayed afloat by pushing journalists overboard. The American Society of News Editors reckons that 13,500 newsroom jobs have gone since 2007. Readers are paying more for slimmer products. Some papers even had the nerve to refuse delivery to distant suburbs. Yet these desperate measures have proved the right ones and, sadly for many journalists, they can be pushed further.
④　Newspapers are becoming more balanced businesses, with a healthier mix of revenues from readers and advertisers. American papers have long been highly unusual in their reliance on ads. Fully 87% of their revenues came from advertising in 2008, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD). In Japan the proportion is 35%. Not surprisingly, Japanese newspapers are much more stable.
⑤　The whirlwind that swept through newsrooms harmed everybody, but much of the damage has been concentrated in areas where newspapers are least distinctive. Car and film reviewers have gone. So have science  and general business reporters. Foreign bureaus have been savagely cut off. Newspapers are less complete as a result. But completeness is no longer a virtue in the newspaper business.

1.1.By saying “Newspapers like ... their own doom” (Para.1), the author indicates that newspapers ________.

A neglected the sign of crisis

B failed to get state subsidies

C were not charitable corporations

D were in a desperate situation

解析：选D。D推理判断题。根据题干信息定位至第一段④句。该句为例证句（like），因此需要根据上下文推出该例子所要说明的主旨。上文②③句重点描述一年前危机来临时报纸濒临灭亡的情景，首句the death、②句the end以及③句 threatened to以及⑤句的save均表明报纸一年前命悬一线的情况。划线句意为“某报正在记录自己的末日”，重在例证说明前文，即“报纸危在旦夕，处于绝望境地”。故选D。

2.2.Some newspapers refused delivery to distant suburbs probably because ________.

A readers threatened to pay less

B newspapers wanted to reduce costs

C journalists reported little about these areas

D subscribers complained about slimmer products

解析：选B。B推理判断题。根据题干信息定位至第三段⑤句。题干问及“可能的（probably）”原因，暗示原文没有明确说明，因此需要联系上下文做出合理推测。本段②句指出“报社为了渡过难关而裁员”，随后④句指出“读者付费更多，得到的产品却更少”，⑤句指出“一些报纸取消了向偏远郊区配送的业务”，这些都是报社为了渡过危机而采取的措施，因此本题的题干可以理解为“报社采取这些措施的原因是什么”，答案应该从“报社自保”的角度出发，选项中只有站在报社的角度，且“报社想要减少成本”与“报社自保”相关，是采取上述措施的合理解释。 故选B。

3.3.Compared with their American counterparts, Japanese newspapers are much more stable because they ________.

A have more sources of revenue

B have more balanced newsrooms

C are less dependent on advertising

D are less affected by readership

解析：选C。C细节理解题。根据题干中Japanese newspapers定位第四段⑤句。②③句指出“美国报纸业过度依赖广告收益，广告收益的比例高达87%”，而④句指出“日本报纸业的广告收益占比为35%”，⑤句总结指出“日本报纸比美国报纸更稳定”，由此可推知“不依赖广告收入”是日本报纸业比美国报纸业稳定的原因。故选C。

4.4.What can be inferred from the last paragraph about the current newspaper business?

A Distinctiveness is an essential feature of newspapers.

B Completeness is to blame for the failure of newspaper.

C Foreign bureaus play a crucial role in the newspaper business.

D Readers have lost their interest in car and film reviews.

解析：选A。A推理判断题。文章末段①句指出报纸虽遭重创，但损失最大者为最无特色的部门（least distinctive）。随后②至④句例证介绍报纸在危机中淘汰无特色部门的情况。⑤句总结说报纸完整性由此遭到破坏，⑥句转而指出完整性已不是报纸行业的优点(no longer a virtue)。可见作者对报纸业撤销无特色部门的举动是赞赏的，即：如今的报纸业想要生存，完整性已不再重要，应具有与众不同的特色。故选A。

5.5.The most appropriate title for this text would be ________.

A American Newspapers: Struggling for Survival

B American Newspapers: Gone with the Wind

C American Newspapers: A Thriving Business

D American Newspapers: A Hopeless Story

解析：选A。A主旨大意题。本文第一段描述一年前报纸业濒临灭亡的情况，末句笔锋一转奠定全文基调：报纸业正在起死回生。第二段随即描述报纸业复原的情况，第三段着重说明美国报纸业为了渡过危机而采取的措施：大幅度裁减新闻记者、减少读者服务，第四段指出危机后美国报纸业的积极变化：因收益比例日趋合.理而变得更加稳定，第五段分析报纸的发展方向：内容不再求全而是突出特色。由此可知本文主要介绍了“美国报纸业在危机中挣扎着采取措施以求生存和发展”的情况。故选A。