单选题 {{B}}Passage Six{{/B}}
Between 1883 and 1837, the publishers of a "penny press" proved that a low-priced paper, edited to interest ordinary people, could win what amounted to a mass circulation for the times and thereby attract an advertising volume that would make it independent. These were papers for the common citizen and were not tied to the interests of the business community, like the mercantile press, or dependent for financial support upon political party allegiance. It did not necessarily follow that all the penny papers would be superior in their handling of the news and opinion functions. But the door was open for some to make important journalistic advances.
The first offerings of a penny paper tended to be highly sensational; human interest stories overshadowed important news, and crime and sex stories were written in full detail. But as the penny paper attracted readers from various social and economic brackets, its sensationalism was modified. The ordinary reader came to want a better product, too. A popularized style of writing and presentation of news remained, but the penny paper became a respectable publication that offered significant information and editorial leadership. Once the first of the successful penny papers had shown the way, later ventures could enter the competition at the higher level of journalistic responsibility the pioneering papers had reached.
This was the pattern of American newspapers in the years following the founding of the New York sun in 1833. The Sun, published by Benjamin Day, entered the lists against 11 other dailies. It was tiny in comparison; but it was bright and readable, and it preferred human interest features to important but dull political speech reports. It had a police reporter writing squibs of crime news in the style already proved successful by some other papers. And, most important, it sold for a penny, whereas its competitors sold for six cents. By 1837 the Sun was printing 30,000 copies a day, which was more than the total of all 11 New York daily newspapers combined when the Sun first appeared. In those same four years James Gordon Bennett brought out his New York Herald (1835), and a trio of New York printers who were imitating Day's success founded the Philadelphia Public Ledger (1836) and the Baltimore Sun (1837). The four penny sheets all became famed newspapers.

单选题 What does the first paragraph say about the "penny press"?

A. It was known for its in-depth news reporting.
B. It had an involvement with some political parties.
C. It depended on the business community for survival.
D. It aimed at pleasing the general public.

单选题 In its early days, a penny paper often ______.

A. paid much attention to political parties
B. provided stories that hit the pubic taste
C. offered penetrating editorials on various issues
D. covered important news with inaccuracy

单选题 As the readership was growing more diverse, the penny paper ______.

A. improved its content
B. changed its writing style
C. developed a more sensational style
D. became a tool for political parties

单选题 The underlined word "ventures" in Paragraph 2 can best be replaced by ______.

A. editors
B. reporters
C. newspapers
D. companies

单选题 What is true about the Philadelphia Public Ledger and the Baltimore Sun?

A. They turned out to be failures.
B. They were later purchased by James Gordon Bennett.
C. They were also founded by Benjamin Day.
D. They became well-known newspapers in the U.S.