四级模拟练习(九)

Part 1 Skimming and Scanning (Multiple Choice + Blank Filling) Directions:Read the following passage and then answer the questions. For questions 1-7, choose the best answer from the four choices marked A, B, C and D. For questions 8-10, complete the sentences with the information given in the passage.

Questions 1 to 10 are based on the same passage or dialog.

News and Entertainment Media

Americans spend about five hours each day on leisure activities. Those who live in or near large cities spend some of this time at theaters, opera houses, night clubs, zoos, and museums.

Americans who live in rural areas do not usually have such places to visit, but like city residents, they can enjoy the most popular sources of information and entertainment as well: radio, television, movies, books, magazines, and newspapers.

Radio

Almost every American family owns at least one radio, and many have three or four. Years ago, families gathered around one big living room radio. Today, people take small, lightweight radios with them into the bedroom (clock radios), on the street (transistor radios [半导体收音机], on the road (car radios), and into the fields (radios built into tractors). Radios have even been built into hair dryers and sunglasses.

With the development of television, radio is no longer the major source of home entertainment; but Americans still turn to radio when they want the latest news quickly. Many stations broadcast up-to-the-minute news every half hour. Americans tend to listen to radios for short periods. In an effort to hold audiences, many radio stations appeal to special interests. Some offer only music or only news; others broadcast professional sports events. In large cities, some stations attract immigrants by presenting foreign-language programs. One New York City station broadcasts in thirteen languages!

There are two types of radio broadcasting-AM and FM. FM can produce a wider range of sounds and can also broadcast in stereophonic (立体声的) sound. In recent years, FM has become increasingly popular. Many radios are equipped to receive both AM and FM.

Television

Television was new in 1946, but by the 1950s it was a firmly established industry. Today, there are about 99 million TV sets in the United States; 99 percent of American households have at least one set, and 54 percent have two or more. Color TV is in 60 percent of American homes. The average American between his second and sixty-fifth birthday spends 3,000 entire days (almost nine years of his entire life) watching TV!

In the United States, there is no government-owned television network. Commercial television attempts to please a vast audience of all age groups and educational levels by presenting entertainment that can be understood by all. Many adults are annoyed by the simplicity and dullness of most TV shows; they call the TV set the "idiot (傻瓜) box". A typical day's TV listing includes cartoons and other children's shows, family situation comedies, news and weather, mysteries, interview shows, sports, movies, and musical reviews.

Public" television stations offer a wide variety of high-quality entertainment and information without the annoying commercials. Funds to operate public TV come from money given by individuals and industries and, to a small degree, from the government. Public television has been highly praised for imaginative, appealing shows which help children learn basic reading concepts, valuable psychological insights, and languages like English and Spanish. Fine dramatic and musical