Print journalism Cannot Fade Away

Close your eyes and think back to the last time you picked up a physical (实体的) copy of a print publication. Maybe it was at the newspaper stand at the airport. Maybe it was at a relative’s house or a hair salon.

    1     this may seem old-fashioned to some, I have always enjoyed waking up in the morning to read the newspaper. Even as a child, I would search for The Washington Post to read the daily edition of Kids Post while I     2     (eat) breakfast. It is hard for me     3     (watch) print journalism fade away as digital platforms become most people’s primary source of news.

Since the introduction of the Internet in the early 1990s, society     4     (find) other ways to display news and information. The Internet is everywhere, from phones to laptops. This makes accessing news much     5     (easy), because it is at one’s fingertips at all times. The spreading of news began to change from solely print journalism to digital outlets (途径). Anyone can post online. Users can easily edit pages from websites such as Wikipedia or post publicly     6     social media sites such as Instagram and Facebook. Digital media     7     make news more readily available, but it raises questions about the most important rule of journalism: accuracy.

Readers may get tired of the constant spread of misinformation (虚假消息) over time. This attitude works in favor of print journalism, which is an effort     8     deserves to be appreciated. Every day, as the public opens the fresh pages of their favorite publication, it is important to stop and think about     9     dedication (奉献) goes into creating that body of work. Behind the scenes of every publication is a team of journalists working tirelessly to keep the public     10     (inform) of current events.

While print journalism is currently in this state of continuous change, the future of its existence lies within the hands of the public. As long as readers continue to value accuracy and journalists stick to this rule, print journalism does not have to fade away.

6 . BLOSSOMS SHANGHAI, a Six-Year Wait Over Now

HONG KONG film director Wong Karwai’s first television series, Blossoms Shanghai, began its broadcast at the end of December. The drama with 30 ______ is adapted from a 2012 novel of the same name, winner of the 9th Mao Dun Literature Prize in 2015. It aims to ______ stereotypes (刻板老套的印象) about Shanghai and help readers understand its culture.

The TV drama, set in 1990s Shanghai, centers around a young man called A Bao (played by Hu Ge, now a cultural ______ in TV field) who rises from ______ beginnings to become a successful businessman in ten years. Along the way, he receives help from supporters and faces off against rivals to expand his business empire.

The TV adaptation comes out in two ______ one in Shanghainese, the other dubbed (配音) in Putonghua. The former is an effort in particular to stay true to the novel’s ______ flavor, with the major roles taken on by actors born and raised in Shanghai and a large amount of the dialogue had in Shanghainese. Even director Wong himself spoke ______ Shanghainese while working on set.

The success of the TV series can ______ the effort invested in recreating the look and atmosphere of the time. In August 2020, the crew posted a newspaper notice to seek everyday household objects from the period between 1976 and 1995. The appeal received a nation-wide response. Various items from old newspapers to cigarette lighters to ______ , and even a car, were sent to them. Some of these items had interesting stories behind them, which bring strong ______ from the Shanghai citizens for the past days.

In addition, the main setting of the story, “Huanghe Road”, was rebuilt at a 1:1 ______ at Shanghai Film Park in Songjiang.

In typical Wong Kar-wai style, the production took six years to complete. The director has a reputation for being very ______ each and every shot, often requiring actors to perform a scene upwards of ten times. At a promotional event when the cast was asked to provide a reason for people to watch the series, actress Ma Yili said, “I hope you can see our growth and change of the city in this drama and remove the old fixed general image.” Three trailers (预告片) had previously been released. Each trailer also focused on a different part of the series: the first on A Bao’s life before his success, and the story brings us to the old days when almost all the Shanghai citizens invested their savings in stock due to ______ in marketing; the second on him as an influential businessman; and the final one on the era of the drama, which is essential to A Bao's personal struggle.

The TV series has received mixed reviews. On Douban, quite a number of viewers are not happy with its plot which they think is transitioning too rapidly and thus a bit challenging to follow, thus it ______ the viewing. But nearly 80 percent of the viewers have given it a ______ rating. ‘This is not a TV series! This is art!’ said one post on the platform.

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________/10                                                                                Hardship                                                       Judy          May, 2020 Early on I thought this family was a bunch of complainers. But the focus of this reality show is how sweet family life was in the tough wartime era, which really touched me. But as I watched I noted that the 1940s mid-class family life was not that unbearable. Even though they didn’t have labor-saving facilities, they still had coal fire. Maybe, it’s only due to modern people’s sense of privilege that they promptly forget what immense, bodily labor was involved in the previous chore it replaced. So, the experiment was not that “real”?! Therefore, I recommend, but not highly, this show to you.

_________/10                                                                   Must See TV-Really!                                   Lily          June, 2021 For anyone interested in “Reality TV” with an emphasis on “Real”, checkout 1940’s House as soon as you can. The Hymer family from northern England spends 9 weeks living the life of a suburban 1940’s house during the infamous London blitz. Everything they use, wear, purchase, read comes from that time period - including ration books, blackout curtains, Victory gardens, and a self-built bomb shelter. What makes this   “House”   installment the best in   a long line   (see   “Frontier House”, “Colonial House”, “1900 House”) is the family’s willingness to immerse themselves in the project wholeheartedly. You as the viewer really begin to sympathize with the Hymer family’s struggles to live a 1940’s life with a 21st century mindset. I think most people will come away liking the attitude and spirit of the mother the best - she truly embodies the British spirit that was so essential and prevalent during England’s darkest hour. This is 3 hours of “history” that no one will want to end. Children would also enjoy this as there are 2 young boys (ages 10 and 7) who participate in the program wholeheartedly.

________/10                                                                                  A bit   sinister                                               David            February, 2023 Although it’s as well made as the other PBS reality shows, this one was disturbing. Many of the hardships imposed on the Hymers are by design, not circumstance. A committee of seven or eight experts privately judges them in a star chamber and decides how strict rationing will be and how much they will be fined for infractions. Watching the children go hungry while the experts debated how much to cut the food budget bothered me. The Hymers live more like lab rats than adventurers. It’s also hard to get worked up about how much wartime Brits suffered from rationing since it was nothing compared to the hardships undergone by eastern Europeans, Asians and even their own soldiers. The show was simply too narrow in scope and sinister.

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The National Gallery The National Gallery displays one of the finest and most comprehensive collections of paintings in the Western European tradition. It includes many famous works, such as Botticelli's Venus and Mars, Titian's Bacchus and Ariadne, Caravaggio's Supper at Emmaus and Monet's The Water-Lily Pond. All major traditions of Western European painting are represented from the artists of the late medieval period and Renaissance to the French Impressionists. Become a Member Join today and enjoy free entry to exhibitions, exclusive (专属的) events, special offers,and more. To join, visit national gallery.org.Uk/ membership, call 0207747 2850, or speak to our Visitor Engagement team. Support us If you have enjoyed your visit, please make a donation in our visitor donation boxes, which can be found at all entrances. Donations from visitors make areal difference to the Gallery, helping to preserve and care for this unique collection. Thank you for your support. Free Wi-Fi nationalgallery.org.uk

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