15．One of the most fascinating things about television is the size of the audience．A novel can be on the"best seller"lists with a sale of up to 100，000copies，but a popular TV show might have 70
million TV viewers．TV can make anything or anyone well-known overnight．
This is the principle behind"quiz"or"game"shows，which put ordinary people on TV to play a game for prizes and money．A quiz show can make anyone a star，and it can give away thousands of dollars．Charles Van Doren，an English instructor，became rich and famous after winning money on several shows．He even had a career as a television personality．But one of the losers proved that Charles Van Doren was cheating．It turned out that the show's producers，who were pulling the strings，gave the answers to the most popular contestants beforehand．Why？Because if the audience didn't like the person who won the game，they turned the show off．The result of this cheating was a huge scandal（丑闻）．Based on the show off，a movie titled"Quiz Show"is on 40years later．
Charles Van Doren is no longer involved with TV．But game shows are still here，though they aren't taken seriously．In fact，some of them try to be as ridiculous as possible．There are shows that send strangers on vacation trips together，or that try to cause newly-married couples to fight on TV，or that punish losers by humiliating（羞辱） them．The entertainment now is to see what people will do just to be on TV．People still win money，but the real prize is to be in front of an audience of millions．
45．What is the most important thing as to television？A
A．How many viewers they can attract B．Becoming the best seller on the list
C．How much money can be given away D．The number of people attending shows
46．What does the underlined part"pulling the strings"probably mean？C
A．Planning the shows with effort B．Drawing the curtain on the stage
C．Controlling the result secretly D．Playing"quiz"or"game"openly
47．Charles Van Doren stopped his career as a television personality becauseB．
A．he had earned enough wealth and fame．
B．one of the participants had told the truth
C．the film"Quiz Show"was being shown
D．his frequent appearance had bored the audience
48．It can be inferred from the passage thatD．
A．TV Game Shows are more popular than before．
B．the scandal was not made known until 40years later
C．getting money is the only purpose of people taking part in shows
D．people can make themselves famous by taking part in shows．
分析 文章介绍了电视节目秀背后的真相．很多电视节目可以让人一夜成名，一个名叫Charles Van Doren就是通过参加电视秀而出名了．然而，这一切都是幕后操控的结果，为了吸引观众，赢得利益，制片人通常会控制节目的结果．
解答 答案：
45．A 细节理解题．完整第一段说One of the most fascinating things about television is the size of the audience电视最引人注意的地方是观众的规模，即电视能吸引多少人收看．故选A．
46．C 猜测词意题．文章第二段说It turned out that the show's producers，who were pulling the strings，gave the answers to the most popular contestants beforehand事实证明制片人提前把答案告诉了最受欢迎的参赛者，说明是幕后控制比赛结果的人．故选C．
47．B 细节推断题．文章第二段说But one of the losers proved that Charles Van Doren was cheating有人证明了他作弊，第三段说Charles Van Doren is no longer involved with TV他再也没有参加电视节目，说明是有人揭露了事实的真相让他结束了电视事业的生涯．故选B．
48．D 推理判断题．文章第一段说TV can make anything or anyone well-known overnight电视可以让任何人或任何事一夜成名；后面举例说明了这一点，可以推断出参加电视秀可以让人出名．故选D．
点评 阅读理解是考查语篇理解能力．常考的题型有：推理判断题；主旨大意题；细节理解题；猜测词意题．近几年又出现了两种新的考查方式：写作态度判断题和文章结构题．解题时，在读懂文章的基础上，还有特别注意掌握题型的特征，尤其是细节题和推断题不可混淆：细节题是文章信息的再现；推断题是文章信息的提取．本题是广告类文章，考查主要是以细节题为主，细节题要注意常用的出题陷阱有：夸大，缩小，张冠李戴，偷梁换柱，无中生有等，做题时要看清看准．
