阅读理解
On 10 September 2001, Charles Ingram, an officer in the British army, became a millionaire — but only for a few hours. That night, he appeared on the UK''s "Who wants to be a Millionaire" quiz show. Contestants on this show must answer 15 questions correctly, getting larger sums of money each time. If they answer all the questions, they walk away with 1 million.
Charles Ingram won his million. But then the program makers decided he had cheated. Contestants have to choose one correct answer from four given to every question. Playing back the tape of the show, they heard loud coughs coming from the audience whenever the correct answer was mentioned. Charles Ingram would then choose that answer.
The coughs came from another contestant, Tecwen Whittock, who was a friend of Charles Ingram''s wife, Diana. The three were soon arrested and on April 7 this year, they were all found guilty in court by trying to cheat the programme makers of their money. However, Charles Ingram still protests that he is innocent.
To the public in the UK, "The millionaire trial", as it was called, was a major source of public entertainment It was more than just a trial. It was a modern morality tale, a story of media, money and greed.
TV quiz shows have always been accused of causing corruption. In the early days, producers would give the right answers to contestants who seemed to be popular with the audience to increase viewing figures. For many years, prizes on game shows were limited to discouraging cheating. Viewers are supposed to watch just for the pleasure of seeing people get questions right. But program makers eventually argued successfully that competing for large amounts of money made the shows more exciting. From then on, it was only a matter of time before someone came up with an idea like "who wants to be a millionaire?" It proved a success. Though only three people have won the top prize, many more have walked away with smaller but still large amounts money.
Despite this, the show makes a big profit. It is supported by advertisers and sponsors. The format has been sold on to 106 countries. Also, people who want to go on the show—just to test their knowledge of course — have to apply using a special premium rate telephone line. Each phone call costs them more man one pound — and many make over 1000 calls before getting the chance to go on the show.
It seems that many contestants treat the show as a serious business. Read a few encyclopedias, invest some money in phone calls and the returns could be great. Diana Ingram, Charles'' wife, had already appeared on the show a few months before her husband. So had her two brothers.
Critics of the show argue that it undermines moral values. Charles Ingram may have tried to cheat, but the show and its makers have a wider responsibility for greed by promoting a "something for nothing culture," they say.
Perhaps because of this argument, Charles Ingram, his wife, and Tecwen Whittock were not sent to prison, despite the seriousness of their crime.
单选题
Charles Ingram''s experience of being a millionaire lasts only for a few hours because________.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】细节题。相关内容在第二段。答案是C。
单选题
Charles Ingram was accused of cheating by________.
【答案解析】综合题。必须通读全文，逐一判断每个选项是否符合原文的意思：B违背文意，因为第三段指出they were all found guilty in court，军官的Charles Ingram不可能不因此事受影响；C在文中未提及，也不是正确答案。A与D是矛盾的，其中必有一对一错。文章的第三段提供了这样的信息：Charles Ingram still protests that he is innocent(他提出抗议，声明自己是清白的)，可见A是错的，正确答案是D。
单选题
The Ingram''s and their friend were not sent to prison partly because________.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】推理题。文章的第八段提到人们对于“百万富翁”节目的批评，认为在欺诈事件中the show and its makers have a wider responsibility for greed by promoting a something for nothing culture，(节目本身及其制作人更该负责，因为他们倡导一种“无本万利”的文化，从而助长了贪欲)。第九段承接上文，说到Perhaps because of this argument(也许正是因为这种观点)，其中的this argument指的就是上文的节目和制作人应该付更大的责任一说，所以答案是C。
单选题
The author''s attitude towards such TV show as "The millionaire trial" is________.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】态度题。本文是新闻评论，作者在介绍了Charles Ingram一案后，重点评论了“百万大测试”之类娱乐测试节目，作者在第四段明确表达了自己的观点：It was a modern morality tale，a story of media，money and greed (这个事件是现代版的道德寓言，是一个融媒体、金钱和贪欲于一体的故事)；接下来的每一段都从道德的角度批评了这类节目。可见，作者以非常严肃的态度，批评了这类节目的非道德性，因此答案是A。