Two decades
2 . What is the future of newspapers as the industry has faced increasing newsprint prices, falling sales and the great drops in circulation (发行量)? In recent years the number of newspapers being closed down has risen, especially in the United States and the United Kingdom. Income has dropped while competition from the Internet has pressed older print publishers a lot.
To live on, newspapers are considering uniting and other choices though the result hasn’t been agreed.
Since the beginning of 2009, the United Sates has seen a number of major newspapers closed after no buyers appeared, including The Rocky Mountain News, closed in February, and The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, reduced to a complete Internet operation. In Detroit, both newspapers, The Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News, cut down home delivery to three days a week, while inviting readers to visit the newspapers’ Internet sites on other days. In Tucson, Arizona, the state’s oldest newspaper, The Tucson Citizen, would stop publishing on March 21, 2009, when parent Gannett Company failed to find a buyer.
A number of other large, financially troubled newspapers are trying to get buyers. One of the few large dailies finding a buyer is The San Diego Union-tribune. It agreed to be sold to a private firm for what The Wall Street Journal called the rock-bottom price over of less than $50 million considered to have been worth about $1 billion in 2004.
In the United Kingdom, newspaper publishers have been similarly hit. In late 2008 The Independent announced job cuts. In January the chain Associated Newspapers sold a controlling stake (股金) in the London Evening Standard as it announced a 24% decline in 2008 as income. In March 2009 parent company Daily Mail and General Trust said job cuts would be deeper than expected.
1. How does the author feel about the future of newspapers?| A．Concerned. | B．Uncaring. | C．Hopeful. | D．Satisfied. |
| A．The Detroit News. | B．The Detroit Free Press. |
| C．The Rocky Mountain News. | D．The Seattle Post-Intelligencer. |
| A．Increasing. | B．Common. | C．Reasonable. | D．Lowest. |
| A．More newspapers in the UK and the USA are closing down. |
| B．Newspaper publishers try to control their employees. |
| C．Newspapers are developing fast in the UK and the USA. |
| D．British newspapers have been losing money. |
3 . In this digital age, information is increasingly digitized through the wide use of technology. Newspapers, magazines and even textbooks are becoming or expected to be digital soon. However, despite the sharp increase of such technology in daily life, print media is far from becoming unnecessary. I don’t think that reading in print is a dying mode.
Firstly, print offers a super reading experience. The feeling of holding a book in our hands, feeling its weight and turning over its pages, helps us to be immersed in and engaged fully with the material. The act of turning over pages also helps to direct ourselves in the concepts and structure of the text. In contrast, reading through a number of pages on a device is unsatisfying, and we can lose track of how much we have read. In addition, the artificial glow of digital screens tires one’s eyes out, and can even affect one’s sleep.
Moreover, physical copies express greater aesthetic (审美的) beauty than digital ones. The designs that beautify book covers and spines make the ideas complete and add beauty to our homes as well. The wrinkles that have accumulated over time leave us with an emotional attachment to the books themselves. Furthermore, the presentation of content in print also allows for greater appreciation of imagery (意象). In contrast to the restrictions of digital screens, the tangible (可触摸的) nature of print allows for clear imagery that is clear and impactful in its presence.
Advocates of digital print support the convenience of the medium. Indeed, e-readers provide a convenient solution to storage and transportation. However, this carries its own weaknesses as well. For one, the use of digital media requires the investment in a smart device. For another, taking notes on the printed text is easier.
In conclusion, despite the conveniences afforded by digital media, physical print still remains a popular mode of reading today. The “less is more” nature of print media remains its strongest selling point today.
1. Which of the following is true according to paragraph 2?| A．Too much digital reading will not influence our health. |
| B．Turning over pages helps to completely understand the texts. |
| C．Reading in print offers readers full engagement with materials. |
| D．Readers can exactly know how much they have read by digital reading. |
| A．A clear imagery. | B．Abundant ideas. |
| C．Emotional dependence. | D．Convenience of transportation. |
| A．To popularize two types of reading modes. |
| B．To persuade people to enjoy digital reading. |
| C．To inform people of a new trend in reading. |
| D．To argue why reading in print will not disappear. |
| A．using examples | B．making a comparison |
| C．asking and answering questions | D．analyzing causes and effects |
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5 . “It’s like tasering an elderly person who’s already on a pacemaker,” says a British newspaper boss of the newsprint market, where prices have risen by over 50% in a matter of months.
When times were good, before ads went online, newspapers had a supportive partnership with paper mills. As ads went away and circulations fell, “paper mills had the worst of it for years as newspapers reduced pages, went wholly digital or shut forever.”
The papers were able to cut down the cost of newsprint from firms fighting for business as demand decreased. Price-taking paper mills suffered in silence, taking out newsprint capacity and adjusting machines to make packaging for e-commerce. The pandemic, with people working from home, meant even fewer newspaper sales, which depressed demand for newsprint again and increased the pain for paper suppliers. In the past 24 months European mills have responded by shutting almost a fifth of their newsprint capacity, says a buyer for a large British newspaper group.
Then reopening of economies and growing demand for newsprint, combined with much reduced capacity and coupled with up-going energy prices, has resulted in a price shock. Particularly controversial are additional energy charges that some paper suppliers are seeking to pass on.
Newspaper firms consider this amounts as breaking agreements. European newspapers will have to pay newsprint prices that are 50—70% higher in the first quarter of 2022 compared with the year before. As for their counterparts in Asia and Oceania, they are facing prices around 25% to 45% above their usual level. North American prices went up earlier, and more gradually; agreements are fixed monthly rather than half-yearly. But there, too, newsprint prices are 20—30% higher in 2021 than in 2020.
Germany’s print and media industry association has warned that mills are going to force newspapers to quit paper editions, hurting each other in the process. But more digital adrenaline is one possible response of newspapers to the paper mills’ tasers.
1. What can be learned from the first three paragraph?| A．Newspapers have raised their prices by over 50% . |
| B．Newspapers and paper mills were good friends all the time. |
| C．Newspapers and paper mills affect each other. |
| D．Newspapers increased their sales and the pain of paper mills. |
| A．Reopening of economies. | B．Growing demand for newsprint. |
| C．Much reduced capacity. | D．Additional energy consumption. |
| A．Europe. | B．Asia. | C．Oceania. | D．North American. |
| A．Health. | B．Science. | C．Business. | D．Environment. |
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1. Why was Science News founded?| A．To provide science news. | B．To make more money. |
| C．To meet individual needs. | D．To expand people’s world. |
| A．By offering books. | B．Through a website. |
| C．By discussing events. | D．Through a science show. |
| A．Events held by Nobel Prize winners. | B．Future challenges related to science. |
| C．Important moments in science history. | D．Talks between scientists and reporters. |
We rely on news
To sum up, it is wise to read news reports written from
8 . Four Popular Newspapers in 2021
The Guardian
The Guardian is a British daily newspaper founded on May 5, 1821. It was founded by John Edward Taylor. Its headquarters (总部) is in London, the United Kingdom. It covers daily news from various sections like political news, sports news, business news, jobs and interviews, current affairs, local news, national and international news etc. The Guardian Weekly and The Observer are the sister newspapers of The Guardian.
The Asashi Shimbun
The newspaper is one of the five national newspapers in Japan. This Japan’s oldest and largest daily newspaper was founded on January 25, 1879. Its headquarters is in Tokyo, Japan. It circulates (发行) about 3,000 copies each day. It covers news from various fields like world, sports, business, jobs, current affairs, interviews, breaking news and so on.
The Washington Post
The newspaper, an American daily newspaper, was founded on December 6, 1877. It was founded by Stilson Hutchins. Its headquarters is in Washington, DC, the United States. It is an English newspaper which circulates about 474,000 daily copies while about 830,000 on Sunday. It is the oldest and largest English newspaper in the US that covers news from various fields such as sports, business, jobs, current affairs, politics etc.
China Daily
It is an English-language daily newspaper that was founded on June 1, 1981. Its head-quarters is in Beijing, China. It’s published from Monday to Saturday and its circulation is about 500,000. It is the widest print circulation of any English language newspaper in China. It serves those who are foreigners in China as well as those who wish to improve their English. It covers news from each field like sports, business, jobs, current affairs, politics etc.
1. Which newspaper has the longest history?| A．The Washington Post. | B．The Asashi Shimbun. |
| C．The Guardian. | D．China Daily. |
| A．About 3,000. | B．About 474,000. | C．About 500,000. | D．About 830,000. |
| A．They have sister newspapers. |
| B．They are daily newspapers. |
| C．They are published for English learners. |
| D．They were founded in the 19th century. |
