单选题 The most noticeable trend among today"s media companies is vertical integration—an attempt to control several 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"s stock exchanges. This makes acquisitions relatively easy.
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 were 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】[解析] 该题答案见第一段第一句：The most noticeable trend among today"s media, companies is vertical integration—an attempt to control several related aspects of the media business at once, each part helping the other.(当今传媒公司最引人注目的趋势是垂直整合，即企图同时控制传媒业的几个行业，以利于相互支持与促进。)句中vertical integration意为“垂直整合”，也可以根据破折号之后的同位语an attempt to control several related aspects of the media business at once来理解，同位语中at once意为“同时”，如Don"t all talk at once!(不要同时都说话!)为了证明第一句话，作者接着给出了两个例子：Time Warner和Matsushita。由此可以推断Time Warner和Matsushita都尝试了“垂直整合”，即拥有几家不同的，但是又相互关联的传媒公司，故选项D正确。

单选题 Which of the following is true of the media?

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[解析] 回答该问题首先需要注意的是trade each other不等于trade with each other，前者意为“相互出售自身”(即相互兼并)，而后者则为“相互做买卖”之义。其次，根据第二段：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.(目前，传媒公司正以前所未有的数量相互买进和卖出，组成传媒集团，占据市场以维持和增加其利润。)其中buying and selling each other的意思即为选项B中trading each other之义，故选项B正确。

单选题 According to the passage, what makes acquisitions easier?

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[解析] 文章第三、四段提到传媒公司的合并自1980年以来一直急剧增加的原因：The first is that most big corporations today are publicly traded companies, which means that their stock is traded on one of the nation"s stock exchanges.(首先是当今大多数的大公司都可以公开交易，这意味着它们的股票可以在某个证券交易所进行交易，这使得兼并变得相对容易了。)这恰好与选项D的意思相符，故D项正确。

单选题 What is the FCC"s new policy regarding media alliances?

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析] 该题答案见第五段：Before 1980…the FCC allowed one company to own only five TV stations，five AM radio stations, and five FM radio stations; companies also were 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.句中post(在……之后)与1980相连，意为“1980年以后的”；eliminate为动词，意为“消除，根除，剔除，淘汰”，如Can we ever eliminate hunger from the world?(我们能在世界上消除饥饿吗?)