考研英语阅读理解命题思路透析和真题揭秘(25)

　　1996年Passage 2

　　With the start of BBC World Service Television, millions of viewers in Asia and America can now watch the Corporation's news coverage, as well as listen to it. And of course in Britain listeners and viewers can tune in to two BBC television channels, five BBC national radio services and dozens of local radio station. They are brought sport, comedy, drama, music, news and current affairs, education, religion, parliamentary coverage, children's pragrammes and films for an annual license fee of 83 pounds per household.

　　It is a remarkable record, stretching back over 70 years--yet the BBC's future is now in doubt. The Corporation will survive as a publicly-funded broadcasting organization, at least for the time being, but its role, its size and its programmes are now the subject of a nation-wide debate in Britain.

　　The debate was launched by the Government, which invited anyone with an opinion of the BBC-including ordinary listeners and viewers--to say what was good or bad about the Corporation, and even whether they thought it was worth keeping. The reason for its inquiry is that the BBC's royal charter runs out in 1996 and it must decide whether to keep the organization as it is, or to make changes.

　　Defenders of the Corporation-of whom there are many---are fond of quoting the American slogan "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." The BBC "ain't broke", they say, by which they mean it is not broken (as distinct from the word ‘broke', meaning having no money), so why bother to change it?

　　Yet the BBC will have to change, because the broadcasting world around it is changing. The commercial TV channels---TV and Channel 4-were required by the Thatcher Government's Broadcasting Act to become more commercial, competing with each other for advertisers, and cutting costs and jobs. But it is the arrival of new satellite channels--funded partly by advertising and partly by viewers' subscriptions-which will bring about the biggest changes in the long term.

　　57. The BBC`s "royal charter" (Line 4, Paragraph 3) stands for__

　　[A] the financial support from the royal family

　　[B] the privileges granted by the Queen

　　[C] a contract with the Queen

　　[D] a unique relationship with the royal family

　　[答案] C

　　[解题思路]

　　文章第三段的最后一句话指出"The reason for its inquiry is that the BBC's royal charter runs out in 1996 and it must decide whether to keep the organization as it is, or to make changes"(这样征求民意的原因在于BBC持有的皇家许可证到了1996年就会到期，政府必须决定继续使公司维持现状，抑或做出一些改变)，royal charter即皇家协议，也就是指BBC与英国女王签订的合约或协议，C选项符合题意。A和B选项都与原文无关，而D选项意思含糊，没有传达出charter的含义，因此也是错误的。事实上royal charter指的是与女王签订的规定一个组织享有的权利、义务和目标等的协议。

　　[题目译文]

　　BBC的"royal charter"(第四段第三行)代表的意思是 。

　　[A] 皇室的经济资助

　　[B] 女王授予的权利

　　[C] 与女王签订的合同

　　[D] 与皇室的独特关系