单选题
What kind of people were early colonial newspapers designed for?
a. Business people.
b. Elite.
c. Immigrants.
d. People in the cities.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[听力原文]26-30
The history of American newspapers has paralleled the history of our culture. As our society has changed, so have its newspapers.
Early colonial newspapers were designed for the elite—those who were interested in political and business information. With the advent of new technology, compulsory education and the major cultural changes brought on by industrialization and urbanization, newspapers moved into the popular culture with the advent of the penny press.
The significant changes in our society as the United States was transformed into a truly industrial nation between the end of the Civil War and the turn of the 20th century brought about many changes in American journalism, including the era of sensationalism, or yellow journalism.
Twentieth-century newspapers, for the most part, have attempted to blend objectivity and social responsibility. This era also has seen the development of electronic news media, interpretative reporting, investigative reporting, advocacy journalism, "new journalism" and specialized newspapers.
Wire services play an important role in gathering news and information for the mass media. The two largest American wire services are the Associated Press and United Press International. The other dominant worldwide news sources are AFP, Reuters and Tass, headquartered in Paris, London and Moscow, respectively.
Individual biases and other problems play a role in making mass communication a complex activity. Although the various functions of the media—to inform, entertain, influence, advertise and transmit culture—are criticized, the most severely criticized is the function to inform. Reasons for this are that people (1) tend to blame the messenger for unpleasant information, (2) fail to understand the watchdog function of the media, (3) believe the myth that the mass media dwell only on bad news and (4) bring their own biases into the information-sharing process.
26. What kind of people were early colonial newspapers designed for?
[分析] 细节信息。
题干：最初殖民时期的报纸是为谁设计的?根据原文“Early colonial newspapers were designed for the elite…”，所以选b项elite。C选项是“移民”。
单选题
Which of the following did not contribute to the popularization of newspapers?
a. New technology and compulsory education.
b. Industrialization.
c. Population growth.
d. Urbanization.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[听力原文]
Which of the following did not contribute to the popularization of newspapers?
[分析] 是非判断。
题干：下列哪一项没有促进报纸的大众化?根据原文“With the advent of new technology，compulsory education and the major cultural changes brought on by industrialization and urbanization，newspapers moved into the popular culture with the advent of the penny press．”，译文为：伴随工业化和城市化而来的新技术、义务教育和主要文化变革，还有廉价的印刷费使得报纸成了大众的文化。所以应当排除c选项“人口增长。”
单选题
When was the United States transformed into a truly industrial country?
a. In the twentieth century.
b. At the turn of the last century.
c. During the Civil War.
d. Between the end of the Civil War and the mm of the 20th century.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[听力原文]
When was the United States transformed into a truly industrial country?
[分析] 细节信息。
题干：美国什么时候转变为一个真正的工业国家?根据原文“…as the United States was transformed into a truly industrial nation between the end of the Civil War and the turn of the 20th century”，所以选d。
单选题
Which of the following are the two largest American wire services?
a. Associated Press and United Press International.
b. AFP and United Press International.
c. Associated Press and Reuters.
d. AFP and Associated Press.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[听力原文]
Which of the following are the two largest American wire services?
[分析] 细节信息。
题干：下列哪两个是美国最大的新闻机构?根据原文“The two largest American wire services are the Associated Press and United Press International．”，所以选a。
单选题
According to the passage, which of the following is the most severely criticized function of the mass media?
a. The function to influence.
b. The watchdog function.
c. The function to advertise.
d. The function to inform.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[听力原文]
According to the passage, which of the following is the most severely criticized function of the mass media?
[分析] 细节信息。
题干：根据文章，大众传媒的哪项功能最受抨击?根据原文“…the most severely criticized is the function to inform"，所以选d。