单选题 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 station. They are brought sport, comedy, drama, music, news and current affairs, education, religion, parliamentary coverage, children"s pragrammes 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 programmes 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.
单选题 The world famous BBC now faces ______.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 从文章第1段的内容可知，随着BBC(英国广播公司)国际电视服务节目的开播，亚洲和美洲数以百万计的人不仅可以收听还可以收看到该公司新闻报道，据此可知A项的“新闻报道范围的问题”和D项“观众人数的减少”不是BBC现在面临的问题。C项不正确，文中第4段提到了“调查、质询”，但那是政府为了解普通大众的意见所采取的行动，并不是BBC现在面临的问题。从文章第3段的内容可知，不过，如今的BBC前途悬而未决。据此可知，现在的BBC：前途不确定。B项的“不确定的前途”与文中的“the BBC"s future is now in doubt (如今，BBC的前途悬而未决)”的意思相符，因此B项为正确答案。
单选题 In the passage, which of the following about the BBC is not mentioned as the key issue?
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 本题中，C项的“进一步加强国际合作的潜力”有文中没有提到。从文章第3段的第2句话可知，该公司将作为政府基金资助的广播机构而幸存，至少目前是这样，但是它的作用、规模以及它的节目成为现阶段整个英国争论的话题。据此可知，BBC的生存方式、作用、规模以及它的节目都是目前的关键问题。这说明A项“把其电视覆盖范围拓展到远东”、B项“节目成为全国争论的话题”和D项“作为广播机构的存在”三项之意都是文中所说的关键问题。因此正确答案为C。
单选题 The BBC"s "royal charter" (Line 4, Para. 4) stands for ______.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 本题中，A、B、D三项都与文意不符。从文章第4段的最后一句话可知，政府做这样的调查的原因是——BBC持有的皇家契约将于1996年到期，政府必须决定是维持该公司的原状还是实行改革。据此可知，“royal charter”应该是指“BBC与皇家签订的合约”。C项的“指的是与女王签订的合约”与文中“the BBC"s royal charter runs out(BBC持有的皇家契约将到期)”的意思相符，因此C项为正确答案。
单选题 The foremost reason why the BBC has to readjust itself is no other than ______.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] 本题中，A、B、C三项都不是主要原因。从文章最后一段的内容可知，然而BBC将不得不实行改革，因为其周边的广播业正在发生变革；撒切尔政府的《广播法案》要求商业电视频道更加商业化，要它们互相竞争广告商，要它们降低成本，裁减员工；但是，从长远来看，正是新卫星频道的出现——部分资金来自于广告收入，部分来自于用户的收视费，才会带来最大的变革。据此可知，BBC不得不重新自我调整的主要原因是新卫星频道的出现。D项的“新卫星频道的挑战”与文中的“the arrival of new satellite channels will bring about the biggest changes in the long term(从长远来看，新卫星频道的出现才会带来最大的变革)”的意思相符，因此D项为正确答案。