小報的秘密：為何它們如此吸引人？

Before any journalist thought to use the word， a drugs company trademarked it in 1884. “Tabloid”， a portmanteau（混合詞）of “tablet” and “alkaloid”（生物堿）， denoted drugs in tablet form but quickly assumed a broader meaning： “anything compressed or concentrated for easy assimilation”. That also describes what has come to be known as tabloid journalism： brief sentences， appealing headlines， short articles， famous subjects.

Sophisticates’ list of complaints is long： tabloids enrage more than they enlighten; they deepen and pander to readers’ prejudices; they traffic in gossip and vapidity（平凡無趣），they pry into people’s private lives and exploit tragedy for sales. But looming above these worthy whines reveal a simple truth： tabloids attract a huge number of readers.

Printed accounts of horrific crimes were popular in Britain in the early 17th century. Circulars around that same time told of wheat raining for miles around Suffolk and a monster that appeared out of a tempest.

Ben Jonson， an English playwright， lampooned people’s appetite for gossip in a satirical play called “The Staple of News”， first performed in 1625. A character tells a “goss46553db7bf96f4162ea8aebaa5ceced1ip scout” to “get o’ this News， to store your office，/ Who dines and sups i’ the town？ Where and with whom？”

Mr Kirby’s history is heavily slanted towards Britain， for good reason. Tabloids began there rather than in America， and America’s size worked against its having influential national tabloids， as Britain did. The New York Post is a first-rate tabloid， but， as the name suggests， focuses a lot on local concerns.

As Mr Kirby’s story reaches the present， he grows increasingly shrill. Heaping scorn on Robert Maxwell， the eccentric and crooked owner of the Daily Mirror in the 1980s-90s， or tabloids’ campaigns against migrants and the European Union is one thing. And he is right to bemoan tabloids’ intrusiveness and unethical conduct concerning the lives of celebrities and the royal family.

However， his scolding at length about “an endless scroll of content aggregated from everywhere around the world”， or celebrity stories written in prose that “resembled something out of the lushly worded romantic fiction of writers like Barbara Cartland” or “the baser nationalistic and jingoistic prejudices” of tabloid readers quickly grows tiresome.

Still， The Newsmongers is a largely enjoyable and enlightening story—for journalists. Of course， but also for anyone who wants to understand better the intricate relationship between newspapers and their readers.

（材料選自The Economist，有刪改）

1.What is the prominent feature of tabloid journalism？

A.It is enlightening and vapidity， it will enable readers to learn knowledge.

B.It is tragic and looming， it will reduce the pandering to readers’ prejudices.

C.It gradually faded out of people’s sight， more and more people are no longer supporting it.

D.Brief sentences， appealing headlines， short articles， famous subjects.

2.Which of the following words has a similar meaning to the word “lampoon” in the fourth paragraph？

A.Satirize. B.Approve. C.Oppose. D.Encourage.

3.What can we infer from the second to last paragraph？

A.Maxwell’s lengthy rebukes resonated with people， and as a result， he gained numerous fans.

B.News from all over the world no longer arouses people’s interest， on the contrary， people loudly oppose such news.

C.Maxwell’s lengthy discourse， even though outstanding， still arouses people’s annoyance.

D.His lengthy discourse is very interesting， with many erotic news designs， which has sparked protests and opposition from numerous celebrities.

4.What is the author’s attitude towards The Newsmugglers？

A.Scepticism. B.Positive. C. Sarcastic. D.Opposed.

1.D。解析：推理判斷題。材料第一段的最后一句提到“這也描述了后來被稱為小報的東西：簡短的句子、吸引人的標題、短文、著名的主題”，D選項與材料內容相符，故選D。A選項的“使得人們學習知識”在材料中未提及；B選項的“它會減少人們的偏見”與材料內容不符；C選項的“淡出人們的視野”屬于無中生有。

2.A。解析：詞義判斷題。畫線詞所在句子的意思是“英國劇作家本·瓊森在1625年首演的一部諷刺劇《新聞的主食》中諷刺了人們對八卦的渴望”，由此可知lampoon的意思是“諷刺”，與satirize的意思相似，故選A。

3.C。解析：細節理解題。材料倒數第二段提到，“他對‘來自世界各地的內容無休止地滾動更新’，或是用‘仿佛出自芭芭拉·卡特蘭那種華麗小說的語言’撰寫的名人故事，以及小報讀者的‘粗俗民族主義和沙文主義偏見’的冗長批評，很快便顯得令人厭煩”，C選項與材料內容相符，故選C。

4.B。解析：觀點態度題。材料最后一段的第一句提到“盡管如此，《新聞販子》依然是一部非常有趣并且啟發性強的作品”，由此可知作者雖然大力批駁小報新聞的缺點，但仍表達了積極的態度，故選B。