Question

【題目】 As recently as 15 years ago, if you wanted to catch up on the news, you could look at a handful of publications or a few nightly programs. And if you wanted to listen to music, you could turn on MTV or fiddle with your radio. People in major cities had more options, because a large population can support specialty shops. 【1】.

Today, as we all know, access to information has exploded. One consequence, according to Toure, a cultural critic writing in Salon, is that the ability of pop culture to unify us-- he refers to the massive interest in Michael Jackson’s Thriller, or Nirvana’s Nevermind--has been eroded, probably forever. Steven Hyden, also writing in Salon, counters that whatever the advantages and disadvantages of a centralized pop-culture authority, the monoculture never actually existed.

【2】 Even when it supposedly existed, its content largely depended on other characteristics of your little corner of the world. In the 1992-1993 school year, I was a student at a multiracial and relatively urban junior high school in California’s central valley. We listened to Salt-n-Pepa, Snoop Doggy Dogg, and Kris Kross, with the latter having inspired a trend in which kids wore their clothes backwards. The next year I was enrolled in a mostly white junior high school in leafy Chiago suburb. One of the houses was famous for having appeared in the 1990 film “Home Alone”; the popular bands were Nirvana, Hole and the Smashing Pumpkins; and the biggest pop-cultural event of the school year was Kurt Cobain’s suicide.

But Toure’s point is about the virtues of common cultural experience. It seems he is recalling centralized media only in so far as it’s a distribution system that fostered ( 促進(jìn)) that outcome.

【3】 It doesn’t matter whether a record is released by an important label or an indie ( 獨(dú)立制片人); if it’s online, people can usually find, forward, share and promote it. But what’s interesting and perhaps surprising, given that both Toure and Mr Hyden seem to agree that the old distribution favored big media, is that we still have widely shared cultural experiences. Just think of Barack Obama doing the little hand gesture from Beyonce’s “Single Ladies ” video.

【4】. It’s safe to say that the monoculture never really existed, and that some artists still reach a wide audience, whether we like it or not.

A.That suggests that we like pop culture partly because it’s a shared experience, regardless of quality.

B.However, in vast areas of the world you had to work to get outside the mainstream.

C.Whether you like it or not, “monoculture” is here with us.

D.I think Mr Hyden is correct that the concept of a “monoculture” is a bit of a myth.

E.They see globalization as being the spread of a monoculture, based on western values, which is killing the cultural diversity of the world.

F.And it’s true that the ways we now consume pop culture to some extent level the playing field.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】B

【2】D

【3】F

【4】A

【解析】

這是一篇議論文。今天，我們都知道，獲取信息的途徑呈爆炸式增長。有人則認(rèn)為，不管集中的流行文化權(quán)威有什么優(yōu)點(diǎn)和缺點(diǎn)，單一文化實(shí)際上從未存在過。作者贊同這一觀點(diǎn)，并舉例進(jìn)行了證明。

【1】根據(jù)上文People in major cities had more options, because a large population can support specialty shops.可知大城市的人們有更多的選擇，因?yàn)榇罅康娜丝诳梢灾С謱Ｙu店。由此可知，上文提到了大城市人們的選擇，本句應(yīng)當(dāng)對應(yīng)地提到大城市以外的其他地方，人們不得不努力工作才能脫離主流。故B選項(xiàng)“然而，在世界上很多地方，你必須努力工作才能脫離主流”符合上下文語境，故選B。

【2】根據(jù)后文Even when it supposedly existed, its content largely depended on other characteristics of your little corner of the world.可知即使在它應(yīng)該存在的時(shí)候，它的內(nèi)容也很大程度上依賴于你這個(gè)小角落的其他特征。由此可知，作者對于Hyden先生的觀點(diǎn)是贊成的，也認(rèn)為“單一文化”的概念有點(diǎn)像神話。后文中it可對應(yīng)到D選項(xiàng)中the concept of a “monoculture”。故D選項(xiàng)“我認(rèn)為Hyden先生是對的，‘單一文化’的概念有點(diǎn)像神話”符合上下文語境，故選D。

【3】根據(jù)后文It doesn’t matter whether a record is released by an important label or an indie; if it’s online, people can usually find, forward, share and promote it.可知一張唱片是由重要的廠牌發(fā)行還是由獨(dú)立廠牌發(fā)行并不重要；如果是在網(wǎng)上，人們通�？梢哉业�、轉(zhuǎn)發(fā)、分享和推廣它。由此可知，如今的網(wǎng)絡(luò)的發(fā)達(dá)使得競爭環(huán)境更加公平了。故F選項(xiàng)“的確，我們現(xiàn)在消費(fèi)流行文化的方式在一定程度上為我們提供了公平的競爭環(huán)境”符合上下文語境，故選F。

【4】根據(jù)上一段中But what’s interesting and perhaps surprising, given that both Toure and Mr Hyden seem to agree that the old distribution favored big media, is that we still have widely shared cultural experiences.可知但有趣的是，也許令人驚訝的是，Toure和Hyden先生似乎都認(rèn)為舊的發(fā)行模式有利于大型媒體，但我們?nèi)匀粡V泛共享文化體驗(yàn)。由此可知，流行文化是一種共享文化體驗(yàn)，這也是人們喜歡流行文化的原因。故A選項(xiàng)“這表明，我們之所以喜歡流行文化，部分原因是它是一種共享的體驗(yàn)，而與質(zhì)量無關(guān)”符合上下文語境，故選A。