Newspapers in Great Britain vary greatly in their ways of carrying the news. There are serious （严肃的）papers for those who want to know about important happenings everywhere, both at home and abroad．There are popular newspapers for those who prefer entertainment(娱乐) to information．

    The London newspaper that is best known outside Great Britain is probably the Times．It began in 1785, and has a high reputation (名声) for believable news and serious opinions on the news． It calls itself an independent （独立的）paper, which means that it does not give its support to a particular political party. Its leading articles give the opinions of the editors, not those of the owners of the paper．

    Letters to the editor are printed in the newspaper．These parts of the Times are always interesting．Most of the letters are serious subjects．But from time to time there will be long letters on the subject which is not at all serious, perhaps on a new fashion (时装) of dress, or the bad manners of the young people, compared with the manners of thirty years ago．

If you want to get pleasure, please buy yourself ＿＿＿＿．

  A. a serious newspaper            B．a foreign newspaper

  C. any independent paper          D．a popular newspaper

The Times is an independent paper because ＿＿＿＿＿．

  A．it gives special support to all the political parties

  B．it supports no political parties

  C．the editors' opinions are not examined by the owners of the paper

  D．it is not controlled by the British Government

The underlined word “vary” in the passage probably means “＿＿＿＿＿”．

  A．improve            B．compete with each other

  C．are different         D．keep in touch with each other

Which of the following is NOT true?

  A．The subjects of the letters to the editors are serious at all times．

  B．The amusing parts of the paper are letters to the editors．

  C．The manners of the young people thirty years ago were often polite．

  D．Sometimes pieces of writing on the latest fashion in clothes can satisfy your interest.

No country in the world has more daily newspapers than the USA. There are almost 2,000 of them, as compared with 180 in Japan, 164 in Argentina and 111 in Britain. The quality of some American papers is extremely high and their views are quoted all over the world. Famous dailies like the Washington Post or the New York Times have a powerful influence all over the country. However, they are not national newspapers in the sense that The Times is in Britain or Le Monde is in France, since each American city has its own daily newspaper. The best of these present detailed description of national and international news, but many tend to limit themselves to state or city news.

　Like the press in most other countries, American newspapers range from the “sensational” which feature crime and gossip(闲谈), to the “serious”, which focus on factual news and the analysis of world events. But with few exceptions, American newspapers try to entertain as well as give information, for they have to compete with the attraction of television.

 Just as American newspapers satisfy all tastes, so do they also try to attract readers of all political parties. A few newspapers support extremist(极端主义的) groups on the far right and on the far left, but most daily newspapers try to attract middle-of-the-road Americans who are moderate(中立的). Many of these papers print columns by well-known journalists of different political and social views, in order to present a balanced picture.

As in other countries, American newspapers can be either responsible or irresponsible, but it is generally accepted that the American press serves its country well and that it has more than once courageously exposed political scandals(丑闻) or crimes, for instance, the Watergate Affair(水门事件). The Newspapers drew the attention of the public to the horrors of the Vietnam War.

There are fewer national newspapers in          .

　　A. Britain than in the USA.    B. France than in Britain

　　C. the USA than in Britain or France

　　D. France than in the USA or Britain

Most American newspapers try hard to entertain their readers because

                   .　　

       A. they have to keep up a good relation with them

　　B. they have to compete with television

　　C. they have to write about crime and gossip

　　D. they have to give factual news in an interesting way

Many American newspapers attract readers of different political preference by          .

　　A. supporting extremist groups from time to time

　　B. inviting middle-of-the-road Americans to write articles for them

　　C. avoiding carrying articles about extremists

　　D. printing articles representing different political viewpoints

The passage is mainly about             .

　　A. the characteristics of American newspapers

　　B. the development of American newspapers

　　C. the functions of American newspapers

　　D. the advantages and disadvantages of American newspapers

These articles are written in simple language, _____ makes it easy to read.

A．that              B．this              C．which            D．it

 

The writer was always looking for suitable _____ to use in his next story.

　　A. contents    B. articles    C. notions    D. ideas