阅读理解
Directions: Read the following passages and answer the questions. Choose the most appropriate answer for each question and circle the letter on the answer sheet. Remember to write the letter corresponding to the question number. 


In the world of entertainment, TV talk shows have undoubtedly flooded every inch of space on daytime television. And anyone who watches them regularly knows that each one varies in style and format. But no two shows are more profoundly opposite in content, while at the same time standing out above the rest, than the Jerry Springer and the Oprah Winfrey shows. 

Jerry Springer could easily be considered the king of “trash talk (废话)”. The topics on his show are as shocking as shocking can be. For example, the show takes the ever-common talk show themes of love, sex, cheating, guilt, hate, conflict and morality to a different level. Clearly, the Jerry Springer show is a display and exploitation of society’s moral catastrophes (灾难), yet people are willing to eat up the intriguing predicaments (困境) of other people’s lives. 

Like Jerry Springer, Oprah Winfrey takes TV talk show to its extreme, but Oprah goes in the opposite direction. The show focuses on the improvement of society and an individual’s quality of life. Topics range from teaching your children responsibility, managing your work week, to getting to know your neighbors. 

Compared to Oprah, the Jerry Springer show looks like poisonous waste being dumped on society. Jerry ends every show with a “final word”. He makes a small speech that sums up the entire moral of the show. Hopefully, this is the part where most people will learn something very valuable. 

Clean as it is, the Oprah show is not for everyone. The show’s main target audiences are middle-class Americans. Most of these people have the time, money, and stability to deal with life’s tougher problems. Jerry Springer, on the other hand, has more of an association with the young adults of society. These are 18 to 21-year-olds whose main troubles in life involve love, relationship, sex, money and peers. They are the ones who see some value and lessons to be learned underneath the show’s exploitation. 

While the two shows are as different as night and day, both have ruled the talk show circuit for many years now. Each one caters to a different audience while both have a strong following from large groups of fans. Ironically, both could also be considered pioneers in the talk show world. 

单选题 Compared with other TV talk shows, both the Jerry Springer and theOprah Winfrey are ______.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】第一段最后一句“But no two shows are more profoundly opposite in content, while at the same time standing out above the rest, than the Jerry Springer and the Oprah Winfrey shows.”可知， 这两个脱口秀节目比其他任何节目都出色。 故B项“非常受欢迎”最符合题意。
单选题 Though the social problems Jerry Springer talks about appear distasteful,the audience ______.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】第二段最后一句“yet people are willing to eat up the intriguing predicaments (困境) of other people’s lives.”可 知， 尽管Jerry Springer这一脱口秀被认为是以消遣社会道德灾难为主题， 观众却愿意了解他们的困境。 D项过度解读， 并未指出观众愿意参与这些困境， 而是指出他们仍然被这个节目吸引。 故选A。
单选题 Which of the following is likely to be a topic of the Oprah Winfrey show?
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】第三段第二句“The show focuses on the improvement of society and an individual’s quality of life.”可知， the Oprah Winfrey show主要围绕社会进步方面以及个人生活质量提高方面。 故只有C项“家庭预算规划”最有可能。
单选题 Despite their different approaches, the two talk shows are both ______.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】从第四段最后一句“Hopefully, this is the part where most people will learn something very valuable.”以及第五 段最后一句“They are the ones who see some value and lessons to be learned underneath the show’s exploitation.”可知， 两个节目都有其珍贵的教育意义。 故C项最符合题意。
单选题 We can learn from the passage that the two talk shows ______.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】由最后一段第二句“Each one caters to a different audience while both have a strong following from large groups of fans.”可知， D选项正确。 A选项中用“monopolized”指出这两大节目垄断了脱口秀市场， 含贬义， 而事实是它们受众最广， 是时代的先驱， 故含义错误。 B项含贬义， 不符合整体语境。 C项未提及。