Reading Comprehension Text 4
There will eventually come a day when The New York Times ceases to publish stories on newsprint. Exactly when that day will be is a matter of debate. “Sometime in the future,” the paper’s publisher said back in 2010.
Nostalgia for ink on paper and the rustle of pages aside, there’s plenty of incentive to ditch print. The infrastructure required to make a physical newspaper—printing presses, delivery trucks—isn’t just expensive; it’s excessive at a time when online-only competitors don’t have the same set of financial constraints. Readers are migrating away from print anyway. And though print ad sales still dwarf their online and mobile counterparts, revenue from print is still declining.
Overhead may be high and circulation lower, but rushing to eliminate its print edition would be a mistake, says BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti.
Peretti says the Times shouldn’t waste time getting out of the print business, but only if they go about doing it the right way. “Figuring out a way to accelerate that transition would make sense for them,” he said, “but if you discontinue it, you’re going to have your most loyal customers really upset with you.”
Sometimes that’s worth making a change anyway. Peretti gives the example of Netflix discontinuing its DVD-mailing service to focus on streaming. “It was seen as a blunder,” he said. The move turned out to be foresighted. And if Peretti were in charge at the Times? “I wouldn’t pick a year to end print,” he said. “I would raise prices and make it into more of a legacy product.”
The most loyal customers would still get the product they favor, the idea goes, and they’d feel like they were helping sustain the quality of something they believe in. “So if you’re overpaying for print, you could feel like you were helping,” Peretti said. “Then increase it at a higher rate each year and essentially try to generate additional revenue.” In other words, if you’re going to make a print product, make it for the people who are already obsessed with it. Which may be what the Times is doing already. Getting the print edition seven days a week costs nearly $500 a year—more than twice as much as a digital-only subscription.
“It’s a really hard thing to do and it’s a tremendous luxury that BuzzFeed doesn’t have a legacy business,” Peretti remarked. “But we’re going to have questions like that where we have things we’re doing that don’t make sense when the market changes and the world changes. In those situations, it’s better to be more aggressive than less aggressive.”
36. The New York Times is considering ending its print edition partly due to
37. Peretti suggests that, in face of the present situation, the Times should
38. It can be inferred from Paragraphs 5 and 6 that a “legacy product”
39. Peretti believes that, in a changing world,
40. Which of the following would be the best title of the text?
答案与解析 (Answers)
36. [A] the high cost of operation.
解析：第二段提到纸质报纸的基础设施（印刷机、货车）非常昂贵（expensive），且这种开支是过度的（excessive），暗示运营成本高是考虑停止纸质版的原因。
37. [B] make strategic adjustments.
解析：佩雷蒂建议不要急于消除印刷版，而是通过提价、将其转变为“老牌/遗产产品（legacy product）”等策略进行转型，这属于战略调整。
38. [B] is meant for the most loyal customers.
解析：第六段明确提到，印刷版应该“为那些已经对它痴迷的人制作（make it for the people who are already obsessed with it）”，即最忠实的客户。
39. [C] aggressiveness better meets challenges.
解析：最后一段佩雷蒂总结道，当世界改变时，“更具进取心/激进（more aggressive）”比不够进取要好，意指积极应对挑战。
40. [B] Make Your Print Newspaper a Luxury Good.
解析：文章的核心观点是佩雷蒂建议纸质版不应直接关停，而应通过提价打造成针对忠实粉丝的“遗产/奢侈”产品。
核心长难句精解 (Highlighted Sentences)
1. 比较结构与反差表达：
"And though print ad sales still dwarf their online and mobile counterparts, revenue from print is still declining."
【解析】dwarf 动词意为“使显得矮小”。这里表达了一个悖论：虽然纸质广告销售额仍然远超（dwarf）在线广告，但纸质版的收入却在持续下滑。
【翻译】尽管纸质广告的销售额仍然让在线和移动端广告相形见绌，但来自纸质版的收入仍在下降。
"And though print ad sales still dwarf their online and mobile counterparts, revenue from print is still declining."
【解析】dwarf 动词意为“使显得矮小”。这里表达了一个悖论：虽然纸质广告销售额仍然远超（dwarf）在线广告，但纸质版的收入却在持续下滑。
【翻译】尽管纸质广告的销售额仍然让在线和移动端广告相形见绌，但来自纸质版的收入仍在下降。
2. 虚拟语气与策略建议：
"I wouldn’t pick a year to end print... I would raise prices and make it into more of a legacy product."
【解析】legacy product 是商业术语，指虽然不再主流但仍有忠实受众的传统产品。Peretti 建议通过提价（raise prices）将报纸“精品化”。
【翻译】我不会选定一个具体的年份来终结印刷……我会提高价格，将其变成一种更具传统情怀的产品。
"I wouldn’t pick a year to end print... I would raise prices and make it into more of a legacy product."
【解析】legacy product 是商业术语，指虽然不再主流但仍有忠实受众的传统产品。Peretti 建议通过提价（raise prices）将报纸“精品化”。
【翻译】我不会选定一个具体的年份来终结印刷……我会提高价格，将其变成一种更具传统情怀的产品。
3. 动态环境下的管理哲学：
"In those situations, it’s better to be more aggressive than less aggressive."
【解析】aggressive 在这里并非贬义的“侵略性”，而是指在面对市场剧变时采取主动、果断、具有进取心的姿态。
【翻译】在那些情况下，表现得更具进取心（积极应对）比不够进取要好。
"In those situations, it’s better to be more aggressive than less aggressive."
【解析】aggressive 在这里并非贬义的“侵略性”，而是指在面对市场剧变时采取主动、果断、具有进取心的姿态。
【翻译】在那些情况下，表现得更具进取心（积极应对）比不够进取要好。