One of the most fascinating things about television is the size of the audience. A novel can be on the best sellers list with a sale of fewer than 100,000 copies, but a popular TV show might have 70 million TV viewers. TV can make anything or anyone well known overnight. This is the principle behind quiz or game shows, which put ordinary people on TV to play a game for the prize and money. A quiz show can make anyone a star, and it can give away thousands of dollars just for fun. But all of this money can create problems. For instance, in the 1950s, quiz shows were very popular in the U.S. and almost everyone watched them. Charles Van Doren, an English instructor, became rich and famous after winning money on several shows. He even had a career as a television personality. But one of the losers proved that Charles Van Doren was cheating. It turned out that the show's producers, who were pulling the strings, gave the answers to the most popular contestants beforehand. Why? Because if the audience didn't like the person who won the game, they would turn the show off. Based on his story, a movie under the title Quiz Show is on 40 years later. Charles Van Doren is no longer involved with TV. But game shows are still here, though they aren't taken as seriously. In fact, some of them try to be as ridiculous as possible. There are shows that send strangers on vacation trips together, or that try to cause newly-married couples to fight on TV, or that punish losers by humiliating them. The entertainment now is to see what people will do just to be on TV. People still win money, but the real prize is to be in front of an audience of millions.
单选题
TV can make a beggar world-famous overnight. A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
单选题
The principle behind quiz or game shows is to put ordinary people on TV to play a game for prizes and money. A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 答案查找的线索词:ordinary people(普通人)。第二段的第一句中找到含有ordinary people的相关句。原句中有代词:this,说“这就是猜谜节目背后的原则”,而代词往往指代前一句的内容,可见“TV can make anything or anyone well-known overnight”才是猜谜节目背后的原则。所以该句说法错误。
单选题
Prizes and money are usually provided by TV stars and large companies for winners. A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 答案查找的线索词:provide(提供)或companies and TV stars(电视明星和大公司)。从第二段开始查找,但查找完全文也没发现这些线索词,可见该问题并没在原文中提到,所以答案为Not mentioned。
单选题
One of the TV personalities, Charles Van Doren was proved to be cheating by persuading the Show's producers to give him the answers beforehand. A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 该问题句说“Charles Van Doren被证明通过说服节目制作人事先给他答案来作弊”。第2段的第5行含有Charles Van Doren的相关句,再找另一线索词cheating,不难发现原文是说“为了吸引观众,节目制作人主动把答案事先告诉Charles Van Doren”。所以该句说法错误。
单选题
The huge scandal of cheating in TV games shows was not exposed until 40 years later in the movie Quiz Show. A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned