With the start of BBC World Service Television, millions of viewers in Asia and America can now watch the Corporation's news coverage, as well as listen to it.
And of course in Britain listeners and viewers can tune in to two BBC television channels, five BBC national radio services and dozens of local radio stations. They are brought sport, comedy, drama, music, news and current affairs, education, religion, parliamentary coverage, children's programs and films for an annual licence fee of 83 pounds per household.
It is a remarkable record, stretching back over 70 years — yet the BBC's future is now in doubt. The Corporation will survive as a publicly-funded broadcasting organization, at least for the time being, but its role, its size and its programs are now the subject of a nation-wide debate in Britain.
The debate was launched by the Government, which invited anyone with an opinion of the BBC — including ordinary listeners and viewers — to say what was good or bad about the Corporation, and even whether they thought it was worth keeping. The reason for its inquiry is that the BBC's royal charter runs out in 1996 and it must decide whether to keep the organization as it is, or to make changes.
Defenders of the Corporation — of whom there are many — are fond of quoting the American slogan"If it ain't broke, don't fix it." The BBC "ain't broke", they say, by which they mean it is not broken (as distinct from the word 'broke', meaning having no money), so why bother to change it?
Yet the BBC will have to change, because the broadcasting world around it is changing. The commercial TV channels — TV and Channel 4 — were required by the Thatcher Government's Broadcasting Act to become more commercial, competing with each other for advertisers, and cutting costs and jobs. But it is the arrival of new satellite channels — funded partly by advertising and partly by viewers' subscriptions — which will bring about the biggest changes in the long term.
1.The world famous BBC now faces_______.
A.the problem of new coverage B.an uncertain prospect
C.inquiries by the general public D.shrinkage of audience
2.In the passage, which of the following about the BBC is NOT mentioned as the key issue?
A.Extension of its TV service to Far East.
B.Programmes as the subject of a nation-wide debate.
C.Potentials for further international co-operations.
D.Its existence as a broadcasting organization.
3.The BBC's "royal charter" (Line 4, Para. 3) stands for_______.
A.the financial support from the royal family B.the privileges granted by the Queen
C.a contract with the Queen D.a unique relationship with the royal family
4.The foremost reason why the BBC has to readjust itself is no other than_______.
A.the emergence of commercial TV channels
B.the enforcement of Broadcasting Act by the government
C.the urgent necessity to reduce costs and jobs
D.the challenge of new satellite channels
5.The best title for this article is "________".
A.End of Royal Privilege of BBC B.BBC Having to Change
C.Dispute about Future of BBC D.Prospect of BBC
長難例句分析
［長難例句］The debate was launched by the Government, which invited anyone with an opinion of the BBC — including ordinary listeners and viewers — to say what was good or bad about the Corporation, and even whether they thought it was worth keeping.
［結(jié)構(gòu)分析］本句中，主干是the debate was launched by the Government。which引導(dǎo)的是一個非限定性定語從句，定語從句中including ordinary listeners and viewers起到補充解釋作用。what was good or bad about the Corporation, and even whether they thought it was worth keeping是動詞say的兩個并列的賓語從句。
［參考譯文］爭論是由政府發(fā)起的，它邀請了每一位對BBC有看法的人——包括普通聽眾和觀眾——討論公司好壞所在，甚至說出他們認為該公司是否值得繼續(xù)存在下去。
全文參考譯文
伴隨著BBC英國廣播公司全球電視節(jié)目的開播，亞洲和美洲數(shù)以百萬觀眾現(xiàn)在不僅可以收聽廣播，而且還可以觀看它的電視新聞報道。
當然，英國聽眾和觀眾能收到兩個BBC電視頻道、五個BBC全國廣播服務(wù)和幾十個地方無線電臺。每戶每年交83英鎊即可看到體育、喜劇、戲劇、音樂、新聞和時事、教育、宗教、議會報道、兒童頻道和電影節(jié)目。
過去的70年間，BBC成績輝煌，但它的未來現(xiàn)在還是個未知數(shù)。公司將作為公眾資助的廣播機構(gòu)而存在，至少目前如此，但它所扮演的角色、它的規(guī)模和它的節(jié)目如今在英國成了廣泛爭論的話題。
爭論是由政府發(fā)起的，它邀請了每一位對BBC有看法的人——包括普通聽眾和觀眾——討論公司好壞所在，甚至說出他們認為該公司是否值得繼續(xù)存在下去。這樣做的原因是BBC持有的皇家特許證到1996年終止。政府必須決定，對該公司維持原狀還是進行改革。
他們中很多的公司辯護人喜歡引用美國的一個廣告口號：“如果還沒壞，就不要修理它。”他們這樣說意思是BBC公司還沒有broken（垮掉）（與表示“破產(chǎn)”的broke含義不同），所以為什么要自找麻煩去改變它呢？
但BBC將不得不改革，因為它周圍的廣播界正在發(fā)生變化。商業(yè)電視頻道——獨立電視公司和第四頻道——按撒切爾政府的廣播法案要求更加商業(yè)化，互相競爭廣告業(yè)務(wù)，削減成本并裁員。但是，新增加的衛(wèi)星頻道，其資金部分來自廣告收入，部分來自用戶收視費，它們的到來從長遠看將會帶來最大的變化。
題目答案與解析
1.世界著名的BBC如今面臨著________。
A.新聞報道范圍的問題 B.不確定的前途
C.普通大眾的質(zhì)詢 D.觀眾人數(shù)的減少
【答案】B
【解析】從文章第一段的內(nèi)容可知，隨著BBC（英國廣播公司）國際電視服務(wù)節(jié)目的開播，亞洲和美洲數(shù)以百萬計的人不僅可以收聽，還可以收看到該公司新聞報道，據(jù)此可知A項和D項不是BBC現(xiàn)在面臨的問題。C項不正確，文中第四段提到了“調(diào)查、質(zhì)詢”，但那是政府為了解普通大眾的意見所采取的行動，并不是BBC現(xiàn)在面臨的問題。從文章第三段的內(nèi)容可知，如今的BBC前途懸而未決。B項與文中的意思相符，因此為正確答案。
2.本篇文章中，下面有關(guān)BBC的說明中，哪項沒有被作為關(guān)鍵問題提到？
A.把其電視覆蓋范圍拓展到遠東?！.節(jié)目成為全國爭論的話題。
C.進一步加強國際合作的潛力?！ .作為廣播機構(gòu)的存在。
【答案】C
【解析】本題中，C項在文中沒有提到。從文章第三段的第二句話可知，該公司將作為政府基金資助的廣播機構(gòu)而幸存，至少目前是這樣，但是它的作用、規(guī)模以及它的節(jié)目成為現(xiàn)階段整個英國爭論的話題。據(jù)此可知，BBC的生存方式、作用、規(guī)模以及它的節(jié)目都是目前的關(guān)鍵問題。這說明A、B和D三項之意都是文中所說的關(guān)鍵問題。因此正確答案為C。
3.BBC的“royal charter”（第四段第四行）意指________。
A.來自皇室的財政資助 B.女王授予的特權(quán)
C.與女王簽訂的合約 D.與皇室的獨特關(guān)系
【答案】C
【解析】本題中，A、B、D三項都與文意不符。從文章第四段的最后一句話可知，政府做這樣的調(diào)查的原因是——BBC持有的皇家契約將于1996年到期，政府必須決定是維持該公司的原狀呢，還是實行改革。據(jù)此可知，“royal charter”應(yīng)該是指“BBC與皇家簽訂的合約”。C項與文中的意思相符，因此為正確答案。
4._______正是BBC不得不重新自我調(diào)整的主要原因。
A.商業(yè)電視頻道的出現(xiàn) B.政府加大《廣播法》的執(zhí)法力度
C.降低成本、裁減員工的迫切需要 D.新衛(wèi)星頻道的挑戰(zhàn)
【答案】D
【解析】本題中，A、B、C三項都不是主要原因。從文章最后一段的內(nèi)容可知，然而BBC將不得不實行改革，因為其周邊的廣播業(yè)正在發(fā)生變革；撒切爾政府的廣播法要求商業(yè)電視頻道更加商業(yè)化，要它們互相競爭廣告商，要它們降低成本，裁減員工；但是，從長遠來看，正是新衛(wèi)星頻道的出現(xiàn)——部分資金來自于廣告收入，部分來自于用戶的收視費，才會帶來最大的變革。據(jù)此可知，BBC不得不重新自我調(diào)整的主要原因是新衛(wèi)星頻道的出現(xiàn)。D項與文中的意思相符，因此為正確答案。
5.本文最合適的標題是________。
A.英國廣播公司皇家特權(quán)的終結(jié) B.英國廣播公司不得不改變
C.對英國廣播公司未來的爭論 D.英國廣播公司的前景
【答案】B
【解析】本文論述了一個大公司，英國廣播公司在新時代面臨的各種挑戰(zhàn)。英國公眾對其角色、規(guī)模和頻道都開始質(zhì)疑并討論，政府也對之頗有微詞。因此，這個大公司需要進行調(diào)整以應(yīng)對新環(huán)境的變化。
