In the world of entertainment, TV talk shows have undoubtedly flooded every inch of space on daytime television. And anyone who watches them regularly knows that each one varies in style and forma. But no two shows are more profoundly opposite in content, while at the same time standing out above the rest, than the Jerry Springer and the Oprah Winfrey shows.
Jerry Springer could easily be considered the king of “trash talk”. The topics on his show are as shocking as shocking can be. For example, the show takes the ever-common talk show themes of love, sex, cheating, guilt, hate, conflict and morality to a different level. Clearly, the Jerry Springer show is a display and exploitation of society‟s moral catastrophes, yet people are willing to eat up the intriguing predicaments of other people‟s lives.
Live Jerry Springer, Oprah Winfrey takes TV talk show to its extreme, but Oprah goes in the opposite direction, the show focuses on the improvement of society and an individual‟s quality of life. Topics range from teaching your children responsibility, managing your workweek, to getting to know your neighbors.
Compared to Oprah, the Jerry Springer show looks like poisonous waste being dumped on society. Jerry ends every show with a “final word”. He makes a small speech that sums up the entire moral of the show. Hopefully, this is the part where most people will learn something very valuable.
Clean as it is, the Oprah show is not for everyone. The show‟s main target audiences are middle-class Americans. Most of these people have the time, money, and stability to deal with life‟s tougher problems. Jerry Springer, on the other hand, has more of an association with the young adults of society. These are 18- to 21-year-olds whose main troubles in life involve love, relationship, sex, money and peers. They are the ones who see some value and lessons to be learned underneath the show‟s exploitation.
While the two shows are as different as night and day, both have ruled the talk show circuit for many years now. Each one caters to a different audience while both have a strong following from large groups of fans. Ironically, both could also be considered pioneers in the talk show world.
What do you think of the Jerry Springer and the Oprah Winfrey compared with other TV talk shows? List some words to support yourselves.
Both the Jerry Springer and the Oprah Winfrey are unusually popular, because they are standing out above the rest.
第一段最后一句提到Jerry Springer和Oprah Winfrey的节目虽然风格迥异，但都比其他节目表现突出， 因此它们都非常受欢迎。
What kinds of characteristics are contained in Jerry Springer talks and Oprah Winfrey talks respectively?
Jerry Springer show contains shocking topics and is a display and exploitation of society‟s moral catastrophes, while Oprah Winfrey show focuses on the improvement of society and an individual‟s quality of life.
文章第二段提到Jerry Springer show通常包含令人震惊的主题， 揭露了社会的道德灾祸， 而Oprah Winfrey show集中展现社会的进步和个人生活品质。
Why are Jerry Springer talks and Oprah Winfrey talks so popular?
They are popular because both have a strong following from large groups of fans.
文章后两段提到the Oprah show集中于中产阶级， 而Jerry Springer集中于年轻人， 两个节目都有不同但忠实的观众， 因此他们能够如此受欢迎。