The earliest newspapers started in ancient Rome. They were handwritten news sheets. The first printed newspapers appeared in China during the Tang dynasty, which were printed from carved(雕刻的) wooden blocks. Modern papers first appeared in Venice, Italy in the middle of the 14th century. The newspapers of today, with advertising and a mixture of political, economic, and social news and comments, were started in Britain in the mid-18th century.
The main function of newspapers is to report news. Many newspapers also provide special information to readers, such as weather reports and television timetables. They also provide comments on politics, economics, arts and culture. Almost all newspapers depend on advertising to make money.
Nearly six out of ten adults in the United States and Canada read a newspaper every day. Seven out of ten read a paper each weekend. Readers search newspapers for de-tailed background information(背景资料)and analysis(分析). This is what television and radio news reports seldom offer. Newspapers tell readers what happened, and they also help readers understand what caused an event and how it will affect the world around them.
The workers at large newspaper companies work under a lot of pressure to bring news to readers as soon as possible. Reporters, photographers, artists, and editors collect articles in just a few hours. Page designers select articles, photos, advertisements, and eye-catching headlines to make the pages, and then rush their work to the printer. Printing workers may work overnight around printing presses to
churn out more than 60,000 copies per hour.
小题1:Which is the best title for the passage?
| A．Production of Newspapers | B．Functions of Newspapers |
| C．Publication of Newspapers | D．An Introduction to Newspapers |
小题2:Modern newspapers were first made in ______.
| A．China | B．Ancient Rome | C．Italy | D．Britain |
小题3:What is the main idea of the third paragraph?
| A．Most adults in America and Canada read newspapers every day. |
| B．The importance of newspapers in people’s lives. |
| C．Newspapers offer readers detailed information. |
| D．The effects of newspapers on readers. |
小题4:We can infer everything from the passage EXCEPT that ______.
| A．newspapers will become less popular because of the development of TV |
| B．few newspapers have no advertising |
| C．many adults in America read newspapers every day |
| D．people can read about many different issues in newspapers |
小题5:The phrase "churn out" in the last paragraph probably means ______.
| A．press | B．produce | C．publish | D．sell |