阅读理解
The most noticeable trend among today''s media companies is vertical integration an attempt to control severed related aspects of the media business at once, each part helping the other. Besides publishing magazines and books, Time Warner, for example, owns Home Box Office (HBO), Warner movie studios, various cable TV systems throughout the United States and CNN as well. The Japanese company Matsushita owns MCA Records and Universal Studios and manufactures broadcast production equipment.
To describe the financial status of today''s media is also to talk about acquisitions. The media are buying and selling each other in unprecedented numbers and forming media groups to position themselves in the marketplace to maintain and increase their profits. In 1986 ,the first time a broadcast network had been sold, two networks were sold that year ABC and NBC.
Media acquisitions have skyrocketed since 1980 for two reasons. The first is that most big corporations today are publicly traded companies, which means that their stock is traded on one of the nation stock exchanges. This makes acquisitions relatively easier.
A media company that wants to buy a publicly owned company can buy that company''s stock when the stock becomes available. The open availability of stock in these companies means that anybody with enough money can invest in the American media industries, which is exactly how Rupert Murdoch joined the media business.
The second reason for the increase in media alliances is that beginning in 1980,the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)gradually deregulated the broadcast media. Before 1980, for example, the FCC allowed one company to own only five TV stations, five AM radio stations, and five FM radio stations; companies also are required to hold onto a station for three years before the station could be sold. The post-1980 FCC eliminated the three-year rule and raised the number of broadcast holdings allowed for one owner. This trend of media acquisitions is continuing throughout the 1990s,as changing technology expands the market for media products.
The issue of media ownership is important. If only a few corporations direct the media industries in this country, the outlets for differing political viewpoints and innovative ideas could be limited.
单选题
What do Time Warner and Matsushita have in common?
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】事实细节题。所举事例是为了说明文章的要点，第一段中以Time Warner 和 Matsushita 为例是为了说明传媒公司向纵向联合发展，拥有相关的媒体业务，故[D]为答案。选项[A]、[B]与原文内容相悖，[C]项原文中未提及。
单选题
It is true about the media mentioned in the passage that they______.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】推理判断题。第二段第二句指出，现在的传媒公司以前所未有的数量买进卖出(The media are buying and selling each other in unprecedented numbers)，故选择[B]。大量买进卖出是现在的情形，[A]选项不符事实。[C]和[D]在原文中没有提及。
单选题
According to the passage, which of the following makes acquisitions easier?
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】事实细节题。题干出处在第三段最后一句，这使得收购更加容易(This makes acquisitions relatively easier．)，而this 代指上句提到的股票在股票交易所的交易 (their stock is traded on one of the nation stock exchanges)，故选[D]。错选其他三个选项的原因在于没有在文中找到题干的出处，否则问题会迎刃而解。
单选题
The FCC''s new policy regarding media alliances is that______.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】事实细节题。第五段提到收购增加的原因之一是联邦通讯委员会放宽管制，允许公司同时拥有更多的媒体公司(raised the number of broadcast holdings allowed for one owner)，[C]项符合题意。是否允许出售股票不是联邦通讯委员会的权力，买卖股票属于第一个原因，[A]和[B]不符事实。联邦委员会消除的是三年后才可出售的规定(eliminated the three-year rule)，而不是消除公司，[D]项属于张冠李戴。
单选题
The issue of media ownership is important because______.