单选题 The past year or two has tested the idea that all publicity is good publicity, at least when it comes to business. Undeserved bonuses, plunging share prices and government bail-outs, among other ills, have aroused the anger of the media and public-and created a windfall for public-relations firms. The recession has increased corporate demand for PR, analysts say, and enhanced the industry's status. "We used to be the tail on the dog," says Richard Edelman, the boss of Edelman. But now, he continues, PR is "the organizing principle" behind many business decisions.
PR has done well in part because it is often cheaper than mass advertising campaigns. Its impact, in the form of favorable coverage in the media or online, can also be more easily measured. Moreover, PR firms are beginning to expand into territory that used to be the domain of advertising firms, a sign of their increasing clout. They used chiefly to pitch story ideas to media outlets and try to get their clients mentioned in newspapers. Now they also dream up and organize live events, web launches and the like. "When you look at advertising versus public relations, it's not going to be those clearly different," says Christopher Graves, the boss of Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide. "It may be indistinguishable at some point where one ends and the other begins."
PR has also benefited from the changing media landscape. The withering of many traditional media outlets has left fewer journalists from fewer firms covering business. That makes PR doubly important, both for attracting journalists' attention, and for helping firms bypass old routes altogether and disseminate news by posting press releases on their websites, for example.
The rise of the internet and social media has given PR a big boost. Many big firms have a presence on social-networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, overseen by PR staff. PR firms are increasingly called on to track what consumers are saying about their clients online and to respond directly to any negative commentary.
Perhaps the best indication of PR's growing importance is the attention it is attracting from regulators. They are worried that PR firms do not make it clear enough that they are behind much seemingly independent commentary on blogs and social networks. In October America's Federal Trade Commission published new guidelines for bloggers, requiring them to disclose whether they had been paid by companies or received free merchandise. Further regulation is likely. But that will not hamper PR's growth. After all, companies that fall foul of the rules will need the help of a PR firm.

单选题 Richard Edelman's statements indicate that ______.

A. his company is developing at a fast speed.
B. PR industry is facing a favorable opportunity.
C. all publicity is good publicity.
D. PR policy will overcome business difficulties.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[解析] 根据Richard Edelman定位到第一段。Richard Edelman谈到公关行业以前是the tail on the dog(“狗尾”，意为“不重要、是摆设”)，现在则是the organizing principle(组织原则)，可以推知公关行业现在发展机遇良好，所以B项正确。这段评论是针对公关行业而非Richard Edelman自己的公司，所以A项可以直接排除。C项是一个大众观点，和Richard Edelman的评论无关，故不选。这段评论只提到公关现在对企业非常重要，这不代表其策略能够解决企业困境，D项过度推断。

单选题 It can be inferred from paragraph 2 that ______.

A. companies spend less money in PR than in advertisements.
B. advertising campaigns are independent from PR.
C. PR firms are planning to enlarge their business scopes.
D. advertising companies are lacking in core competitiveness.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析] 第二段第3句Moreover之后的内容表明，公关行业开始进军以前隶属广告业的领域。由此可以判断选项C是正确答案。虽然第二段第1句说公关比大型广告便宜，但不能推断企业花在公关上的钱更少，A项错误。第2句讲到公关开始向以前隶属广告业的领域进军，并开展现场活动策划与安排、网络发布以及类似业务，可见公关与广告活动之间是有联系的，排除B项。公关行业影响力上升，不能就此推断广告公司核心竞争力不够，所以D项错误。

单选题 The changing media landscape leads to ______.

A. the advancement of PR industry.
B. the depression of traditional media industry.
C. the reduction of journalists.
D. the diversity of information publicity.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 根据changing media landscape定位到第三段第1句，该句讲到公关行业受益于不断变化的媒体格局，所以A项正确。传统媒体行业衰落是媒体格局变化的表现而非结果，所以B项错误。媒体格局变化使传统媒体中从事商业报道的媒体行业的人更少，但并不是说所有记者数量的减少，C项过于绝对。D项在文中没有提及。

单选题 The rise of social media has greatly promoted PR in that ______.

A. people can get more information from on-line communication.
B. companies need to get firsthand feedback from the consumers.
C. PR staff are the best to track and tackle network criticisms.
D. businesses need someone to take care of public opinions.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[解析] 第四段谈到社交网络对公关的发展影响极大。该段最后一句PR firms are called on to...是被动语态，结合上一句可知公关公司是受big firms的要求，跟踪(track)和回应(respond)消费者的网上回馈。可见D项的表述正确。 A项表明的是一种普遍现象，即社交媒体给人们带来方便，不是促进公关发展的原因。B项是企业需求方面的推动力，而非社交媒体给公关的推动力。C项的说法过于绝对，且没有体现社交媒体兴起和公关行业发展的因果关系，因此排除。

单选题 The new guidelines for bloggers by America's Federal Trade Commission are to ______.

A. test whether commentaries on blogs are affected by other factors.
B. indicate that PR's growing importance has attracted regulators.
C. show that PR firms have to be honest with their customers.
D. restrict PR's growth on social networks to some extent.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 根据America's Federal Trade Commission定位到最后一段第3句。该段首句表明公关受到监管当局关注，第2句表明监管当局的担忧，接着谈到美国联邦贸易委员会制定新准则要求博客作者公开自己是否从企业获取报酬或免费商品。A项是对该段第3句的概括，是正确答案。