单选题 A middle-aged couple sits in front of a TV set. He flicks idly through a magazine, she holds a drink. An advertisement for Marks & Spencer, a British retailer, comes on. It is a humdrum domestic scene, one that could have been captured at any point in the past 50 years.
The husband and wife are playing back a programme that they have captured on a digital video recorder—something they do often. They do not need to watch advertisements. Indeed, they claim never to do so. Whenever an ad comes on during a recorded programme, the husband says in an interview, he zips through it at 30 times the normal speed.
Just outside Brighton, on England's south coast, Sarah Pearson watches people watch television. She has almost 100,000 hours of video showing utterly banal scenes—people channel-surfing, fighting over the remote control and napping. Her findings are astonishing. There turns out to be an enormous gap between how people say they watch television and how they actually do. This gap contains clues to why television is so successful, and why so many attempts to transform it through technology have failed.
In the past few years viewers have gained much more control over television. Video-cassette recorders have been replaced by DVD players and digital video recorders (DVRs) , both of which are easier to use. Cable and satellite firms offer a growing number of videos on demand. TV has gone online and become mobile. As a result, viewers' expectations have (hanged dramatically. Katsuaki Suzuki of Fuji Television, Japan's biggest broadcaster, says nobody feels they need to be at home to catch the 9 p.m. drama any more.^①
But a change in expectations is not quite the same as a change in behaviour. Although it is easier than ever to watch programmes at a time and on a device of one's choosing, and people expect to be able to do so, nearly all TV is nonetheless watched live on a television set. ^② Even in British homes with a Sky + box, which allows for easy recording of programmes, almost 85% of television straws are viewed at the time the broadcasters see fit to air them. ^③
" People want to watch ' Pop Idol' when everyone else is watching it," says Mike Darcey of BSkyB. If that is not possible, they watch it as soon as they eats afterwards. Some 60% of all shows recorded on Sky + boxes are viewed within a day.

单选题 According to the passage, the husband is______.

单选题 When watching TV, people do all the followings EXCEPT______.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】细节题。第三段第二句指出“She has almost 100,000 hours of video showing utterly banal scenes—people channel—surfing, fighting over the remote control and napping”，这里没有提及就琐事争吵，[B]不符合文意，故为答案。[A]是对channel—surfing“换频道”的解释；[C]与napping“小睡”同义，意为“打瞌睡”；[D]是对fighting over the remote control“抢夺遥控器”的同义转述。

单选题 We can infer that what the husband and wife claim is NOT______.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】推断题。第三段第三句和第四句指出“Her findings are astonishing．There turns out to be an enormous gap between how people say they watch television and how they actually do．”，有关于how people say they watch television的内容只在第二段有所提及，即“They do not need to watch advertisements. Indeed, they claim never to do so.”，由此可以推断，那两个人在采访中所说的并非实情，故[A]为答案。well—grounded意为“理由充分的”，reasonable意为“合情合理的”，feasible意为“可行的”，这几项在文中均未涉及，排除。

单选题 Viewer's expectations of TV programs have changed due to______.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】推断题。由题干中的viewer's expectations定位至第四段。倒数第二句指出“As a result, viewers' expectations have changed dramatically．”，之前提到的原因是“Video—cassette recorders have been replaced by DVD players and digital video recorders(DVRs)，both of which are easier to use. Cable and satellite firms offer a growing number of videos on demand. TV has gone online and become mobile.”，这些都属于技术进步范畴，故[A]为答案。文中没有提到娱乐活动的丰富性，互联网的传播和节目数量问题，排除其余三项。

单选题 The passage aims to show us______.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】主旨题。文章开篇描述了一个场景，指出一对夫妇在采访时表达的观点：这对夫妇也拍着胸脯保证绝对不会看。丈夫在接受采访中表示，他一看见广告就以30倍的速度快进。第三段中用astonishing一词表达了人们对研究结果的震惊：在看电视这件事情上，人们说的和做的完全是两回事。第四段解释了电视技术的节目，但第五段话锋一转“But a change in expectations is not quite the same as a change in behaviour．”，接着对其进行具体阐释：可几乎对于所有的电视节目，人们都是通过电视机看直播的。这是对人们看电视方式的说明，故[B]为答案。第三段提及“people channel-surfing”，这是人们看电视时经常出现的一个场景，文章并未就其进行说明，排除[A]；文章没有对人们喜欢观看的电视节目进行说明，[C]非主旨；最后两段提到人们喜欢看直播，或者“they watch it as soon as they can afterwards．”，但这是对方式的说明，而非具体看节目时间的说明，排除[D]。