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 format. 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 show.
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 catastrophe, yet people are willing to eat up the intriguing predicaments of other people’s lives.
Like 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 work week, to getting to know your neighbors.
Compared with Oprah, the Jerry Springer show looks like poisonous waste being dumped on society. Jerry ends ever 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 20 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.
1. Compared with other TV talk shows, both the Jerry Springer and the Oprah Winfrey shows are ______.
2. Though the social problems Jerry Springer talks about appear distasteful, the audience ______.
3. Which of the following is likely to be a topic of the Oprah Winfrey show?
4. Despite their different approaches, the two talk shows are both ______.
5. We can learn from the passage that the two talk shows ______.
问题1选项
A.more family-oriented
B.relatively formal
C.more profound
D.unusually popular
问题2选项
A.remain fascinated by them
B.are ready to face up to them
C.remain indifferent to them
D.are willing to get involved in them
问题3选项
A.A new type of robot.
B.Racist hatred.
C.Family budget planning.
D.Street violence.
问题4选项
A.ironical
B.sensitive
C.instructive
D.cynical
问题5选项
A.have monopolized the talk show circuit
B.exploit the weaknesses in human nature
C.appear at different times of the day
D.are targeted at different audiences
第1题:D
第2题:A
第3题:C
第4题:C
第5题:D
第1题:
【选项释义】
Compared with other TV talk shows, both the Jerry Springer and the Oprah Winfrey shows are ________. 与其他电视脱口秀节目相比,无论是杰瑞•施普林格还是奥普拉•温弗瑞的节目都是________。
A. more family-oriented A. 更多的以家庭为中心的
B. relatively formal B. 相对正式的
C. more profound C. 更深刻的
D. unusually popular D. 异常受欢迎
【答案】D
【考查点】细节事实题。
【解题思路】根据题干定位至第一段最后一句“但没有哪两个节目在内容上比杰瑞•施普林格和奥普拉•温弗瑞的脱口秀更截然相反,同时又在其他节目中脱颖而出(at the same time standing out above the rest)”可知,杰瑞•施普林格和奥普拉•温弗瑞的脱口秀节目都是脱颖而出的,即非常受欢迎,该题选择D项“异常受欢迎”符合题意。
【干扰项排除】
A项“更多的以家庭为中心的”,B项“相对正式的”和C项“更深刻的”并不是杰瑞•施普林格和奥普拉•温弗瑞的脱口秀节目的共同特点,这三项属于无中生有。
第2题:
【选项释义】
Though the social problems Jerry Springer talks about appear distasteful, the audience ________. 虽然杰瑞•施普林格谈论的社会问题令人不快,但观众________。
A. remain fascinated by them A. 保持对它们的兴趣
B. are ready to face up to them B. 准备好面对它们
C. remain indifferent to them C. 对它们保持冷漠
D. are willing to get involved in them D. 愿意参与其中
【答案】A
【考查点】细节事实题。
【解题思路】根据第二段最后一句“显然,杰瑞•施普林格的节目是对社会道德灾难的展示和利用,但人们乐于接受别人生活中有趣的困境”理解可知,观众对杰瑞•施普林格的节目中谈论的社会问题保持兴趣,A项“保持对它们的兴趣”符合题意。
【干扰项排除】
B项“准备好面对它们”和D项“愿意参与其中”没有提到,这两项属于无中生有;
C项“对它们保持冷漠”与原文相反,该项属于反向干扰。
第3题:
【选项释义】
Which of the following is likely to be a topic of the Oprah Winfrey show? 以下哪项可能会成为奥普拉•温弗瑞的节目的话题?
A. A new type of robot. A. 一种新型机器人。
B. Racist hatred. B. 种族仇恨。
C. Family budget planning. C. 家庭预算计划。
D. Street violence. D. 街头暴力。
【答案】C
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据第三段最后两句“这个节目聚焦于社会和个人生活质量的提高。话题范围从教你的孩子的责任,管理你的工作周,到了解你的邻居。”,从中理解可知,奥普拉•温弗瑞的节目主要讨论的话题是关于人们生活质量的提高,C项“家庭预算计划”是属于其中一个方面,故该题选择C项符合题意。
【干扰项排除】
A项“一种新型机器人”是属于科技方面的话题,不是奥普拉•温弗瑞的节目可能讨论到的,该项属于无中生有;
B项“种族仇恨”和D项“街头暴力”是杰瑞•施普林格的节目可能讨论到的话题,这两项属于张冠李戴。
第4题:
【选项释义】
Despite their different approaches, the two talk shows are both ________. 尽管他们的方式不同,这两个脱口秀节目都是________。
A. ironical A. 讽刺的
B. sensitive B. 敏感的
C. instructive C. 有启发性的
D. cynical D. 愤世嫉俗的
【答案】C
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据第三段第二句“这个节目(奥普拉脱口秀)聚焦于社会和个人生活质量的提高”,以及第四段内容“杰瑞总是以‘最后一句话’结尾。他做了一个简短的演讲,总结了整个节目的寓意。希望这是大多数人能学到非常有价值的东西的部分。”可知,奥普拉脱口秀和杰瑞脱口秀同样都传递了有价值的东西给受众群体,可推断,这两个脱口秀都是具有启发意义的,该题选择C项“有启发性的”符合题意。
【干扰项排除】
A项“讽刺的”,B项“敏感的”和D项“愤世嫉俗的”都不是两个脱口秀的共同特点,这三项属于曲解原文。
第5题:
【选项释义】
We can learn from the passage that the two talk shows ________. 我们可以从文章中得知这两个脱口秀________。
A. have monopolized the talk show circuit A. 垄断了脱口秀的线路
B. exploit the weaknesses in human nature B. 利用人性中的弱点
C. appear at different times of the day C. 出现在一天的不同时间
D. are targeted at different audiences D. 针对不同的受众
【答案】D
【考查点】细节事实题。
【解题思路】根据最后一段内容“虽然这两个节目有着天壤之别,但它们都主宰了脱口秀圈多年。每一个脱口秀都迎合了不同的受众群体,但都拥有庞大的粉丝群体。具有讽刺意味的是,两人都被认为是脱口秀领域的先驱。”可知,这两个脱口秀面对的是不同的受众群体,D项“针对不同的受众”符合题意。
【干扰项排除】
A项“垄断了脱口秀的线路”,这两个脱口秀是脱口秀领域的先驱,但这不意味着垄断,该项属于曲解原文;
B项“利用人性中的弱点”和C项“出现在一天的不同时间”没有提到,这两项属于无中生有。
【文章来源】2000年英语六级真题
【参考译文】
在娱乐界,电视脱口秀节目无疑已经充斥了日间电视节目的每一寸空间。经常看的人都知道,每一个的风格和形式都各不相同。但没有哪两个节目在内容上比杰瑞•施普林格和奥普拉•温弗瑞更截然相反,同时又从其他节目中脱颖而出。
杰瑞•施普林格很容易被认为是“垃圾话”之王。他节目里的话题非常令人震惊。例如,该节目将一直以来常见的爱、性、欺骗、内疚、仇恨、冲突和道德等脱口秀主题提升到了一个不同的水平。显然,杰瑞•施普林格的节目是对社会道德灾难的展示和利用,然而人们却愿意吃透其他人生活中耐人寻味的困境。
就像杰瑞•施普林格一样,奥普拉•温弗瑞也把电视脱口秀节目发挥到极致,但奥普拉走的是相反的方向。该节目聚焦于社会和个人生活质量的改善。话题范围从教育孩子的责任,管理你的工作周,到了解你的邻居。
与奥普拉相比,杰瑞•施普林格的节目看起来就像是向社会倾倒的有毒废物。杰瑞总是以“最后一句话”结尾。他做了一个简短的演讲,总结了整个节目的寓意。希望大多数人能从中学到一些有价值的东西。
尽管奥普拉的节目很干净,但它并不适合所有人。该节目的主要受众是美国中产阶级。这些人中的大多数有时间、金钱和稳定性来处理生活中更棘手的问题。另一方面,杰瑞•施普林格与社会上的年轻人有更多的联系。他们是18到20岁的年轻人,生活中的主要问题包括爱情、性、金钱和同龄人。他们是那些在该节目的剥削下看到一些价值和教训的人。
虽然这两档节目就像白天和黑夜一样不同,但它们都统治了脱口秀行业多年。这两档节目都迎合了不同的受众群体,并且都拥有大量的粉丝。具有讽刺意味的是,这两档节目也可以被认为是脱口秀界的先驱。