单选题 When TV news programs report wars or disasters, the editors rarely use the most horrifying pictures of dead or wounded victims because they don"t want to upset their viewers. Even so, viewers are usually warned in advance that they "may find some of these scenes disturbing", so they can look away if they choose. But the men and women whose job is to record those scenes—the TV cameramen—have no such choice. It is their duty to witness the horrors of the world and record them no matter how gruesome and unpleasant they may be. Consequently, it is one of the most dangerous, exposed and emotionally taxing jobs the world has to offer.
Today, the demand for their work is rising, the explosion of satellite broadcasting and 24-hour news in recent years has created an almost insatiable demand for TV information. But major broadcasters and TV news agencies—such as Reuters and WTN—have never had enough staff to meet the worldwide demand for up-to-date pictures, so increasingly they turn to "freelance" TV cameramen.
These freelance cameramen are independent operators tied to no particular organization. They will work for any company which hires them, be it for just a few hours or for several weeks in a war zone. But if the freelance cameraman is injured, in the course of the job, the TV company is not responsible for him. The freelancer must survive on his own.
"TV will always need hard, vivid moving pictures which are fresh, but these companies feel uncomfortable with large numbers of employees on their books," explains Nick Gowing, once foreign editor for Britain"s Channel 4 news and now a BBC presenter.
"By hiring free lancers, they can buy in the skills they need only when they need them. It also enables them to contract out the risk," he says.
单选题 The main idea of the first paragraph is that ______.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 推理题。文中第一段先说电视节目编辑一般不采用最令人毛骨悚然的画面报道新闻。并且还常警告观众,他们可能看到一些令人不愉快的画面。然后提出电视台的摄像师们则没有选择。无论场景有多么可怕和吓人,他们都必须面对。这是他们的职责,这说明电视台摄像师的工作非常危险,工作对他们的情绪也有很大的打击。四个选项中能正确概括本段段意的为B选项。
单选题 In the last sentence of the first paragraph, "taxing" most probably means ______.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 词汇题。从文中第一段的内容可以看出,电视台摄像师经常要面对一些可怕和不愉快的场景并把它们拍摄下来,因此他们的工作很危险。这些场景对他们的情绪上的调节能力也有很高的要求。根据分析taxing是一个贬义词。所以C选项是正确答案。
单选题 TV news agencies turn to freelance cameramen in order to ______.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。文中第四段第一句引用一位业内人士的话说电视台需要生动的、新鲜的移动画面,但却不愿意雇用太多的员工。因此他们需要自由摄像师。A选项不是最直接的目的。
单选题 According to the passage, the freelance cameramen ______.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 推理题。文中第三段最后说,如果自由摄像师在工作中受伤了,电视公司不会为他负责。他必须靠自己活着。因此自由摄像师在工作中承担着很大的风险。故选C。
单选题 It is implied in the passage that ______.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。文中第二段说,近年来卫星广播和24小时新闻的爆炸使得人们对电视信息有一种贪得无厌的需求,从而使得对电视摄像师的工作需求也多了。D选项是对原文的同义转述,是正确答案。