Part A: Reading Comprehension
Text 2
Whatever happened to the death of newspapers? A year ago the end seemed near. The recession threatened to remove the advertising and readers that had not already fled to the Internet. Newspapers like the San Francisco Chronicle were chronicling their own doom. America’s Federal Trade Commission launched a round of talks about how to save newspapers. Should they become charitable corporations? Should the state subsidize them? It will hold another meeting soon. But the discussions now seem out of date.
In much of the world there is little sign of crisis. German and Brazilian papers have shrugged off the recession. Even American newspapers, which inhabit the most troubled corner of the global industry, have not only survived but often returned to profit. Not the 20% profit margins that were routine a few years ago, but profit all the same.
It has not been much fun. Many papers stayed afloat by pushing journalists overboard. The American Society of News Editors reckons that 13,500 newsroom jobs have gone since 2007. Readers are paying more for slimmer products. Some papers even had the nerve to refuse delivery to distant suburbs. Yet these desperate measures have proved the right ones and, sadly for many journalists, they can be pushed further.
Newspapers are becoming more balanced businesses, with a healthier mix of revenues from readers and advertisers. American papers have long been highly unusual in their reliance on ads. Fully 87% of their revenues came from advertising in 2008, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD). In Japan the proportion is 35%. Not surprisingly, Japanese newspapers are much more stable.
The whirlwind that swept through newsrooms harmed everybody, but much of the damage has been concentrated in areas where newspapers are least distinctive. Car and film reviewers have gone. So have science and general business reporters. Foreign bureaus have been savagely cut off. Newspapers are less complete as a result. But completeness is no longer a virtue in the newspaper business.
26. By saying “Newspapers like…their own doom” (Para. 1), the author indicates that newspapers
27. Some newspapers refused delivery to distant suburbs probably because
28. Compared with their American counterparts, Japanese newspapers are much more stable because they
29. What can be inferred from the last paragraph about the current newspaper business?
30. The most appropriate title for this text would be
答案解析 (Answers & Explanations)
26. [D] were in a desperate situation.
解析：第一段描述了一年前报业的惨状：“末日似乎临近”，“衰退威胁要带走广告和读者”。紧接着说“像《旧金山纪事报》这样的报纸在编年记录它们自己的毁灭（chronicling their own doom）”。这里的 doom（厄运/毁灭）说明报纸当时处于极度绝望的境地（desperate situation），故选D。
27. [B] newspapers wanted to reduce costs.
解析：第三段提到报纸采取了许多“孤注一掷的措施（desperate measures）”来免于破产（stayed afloat），包括裁员、涨价以及“拒绝向偏远郊区投递报纸（refuse delivery to distant suburbs）”。这些措施的核心目的都是为了削减成本、维持生存，故选B（newspapers wanted to reduce costs）。
28. [C] are less dependent on advertising.
解析：第四段对美日报纸进行了对比。美国报纸极不寻常地依赖广告，其2008年收入的足足87%来自广告；而在日本，这一比例仅为35%。由于日本报纸对广告的依赖度要低得多，所以它们“稳定得多（much more stable）”，故选C。
29. [A] Distinctiveness is an essential feature of newspapers.
解析：最后一段指出，这场席卷新闻编辑室的裁员风暴中，“大部分损失集中在报纸最缺乏特色（least distinctive）的领域”。报纸裁掉了汽车、电影、科学等常规记者，也不再追求全面（completeness is no longer a virtue）。反向推导可知，能在风暴中保留下来的必须是具有“独特性（Distinctiveness）”的内容，这是报纸生存的必要特征，故选A。
30. [A] American Newspapers: Struggling for Survival.
解析：主旨题。文章首段提出报业“消亡”的话题，但随后两段话锋一转，指出美国报纸通过裁员、涨价、缩减投递范围等“绝望的措施”活了下来并恢复了盈利（survived but often returned to profit）。第四、五段分析了其改变收入结构和舍弃全面性追求独特性的求生策略。全文核心在于描述美国报纸如何在逆境中挣扎求生（Struggling for Survival），故选A。B、D项过于悲观，C项（繁荣发展）又过于乐观。
全文翻译
报纸死亡怎么了？一年前，末日似乎近在眼前。经济衰退威胁要从许多报纸那里夺走它们仍在享受的分类广告，而互联网让它们承载着另一个冲击。据报纸协会说，报纸，尤其是全国性和大城市报纸的发行量已下降多年。但出乎意料的是，当前的经济衰退似乎产生了相反的效果：更多的有文化的美国消费者在为许多英语国家报纸的死亡写墓志铭，就像去年《时代》杂志讽刺地建议报纸应该像汽车行业一样获得救助那样。而现在全世界许多报纸的情况远非下降如此简单。
但许多报纸编辑中存在一种乐观。报纸正在回归其基本：关于他们所服务的城镇、城市或地区的故事，而不是关于遥远首都的报道。结果是，报纸中的"地方性"故事被大多数美国人所占据。然而，一个重要的障碍仍然存在，那就是对读者而言这样的故事必须值得付钱，但许多美国人没有看到为网上内容付费的需要。
报纸正变得越来越像生活方式杂志，通过迎合特定的客户来赚钱，包括通过活动的门票销售以及一系列的营销努力，包括向其他媒体的转移。但这可能不会长久：现在大多数美国报纸都急于将他们的记者重新定位为更好的全能记者、博主以及能够使用各种设备、通过社交媒体接触新闻读者的优质内容生产者。
报纸出版商担心的不是报纸的生与死，而是它的商业模式——以及广告业低迷对它的影响——他们现在明白他们必须做些什么才能让报纸在摇摇欲坠的商业模式中生存下去。
核心长难句精解 (High-Light)
1. 定语从句的嵌套与时态：
"The recession threatened to remove the advertising and readers that had not already fled to the Internet."
【解析】that 引导定语从句，修饰 advertising and readers。从句使用了过去完成时 had not already fled，表示在经济衰退发生（过去时）之前，这些广告和读者还未逃往互联网。
"The recession threatened to remove the advertising and readers that had not already fled to the Internet."
【解析】that 引导定语从句，修饰 advertising and readers。从句使用了过去完成时 had not already fled，表示在经济衰退发生（过去时）之前，这些广告和读者还未逃往互联网。
2. 非限制性定语从句与并列谓语：
"Even American newspapers, which inhabit the most troubled corner of the global industry, have not only survived but often returned to profit."
【解析】which 引导非限制性定语从句，补充说明美国报纸处在全球报业最艰难的角落。主句的主语是 American newspapers，谓语动词通过 not only... but... 连接了两个并列的现在完成时：have survived 和 (have) returned。
"Even American newspapers, which inhabit the most troubled corner of the global industry, have not only survived but often returned to profit."
【解析】which 引导非限制性定语从句，补充说明美国报纸处在全球报业最艰难的角落。主句的主语是 American newspapers，谓语动词通过 not only... but... 连接了两个并列的现在完成时：have survived 和 (have) returned。
3. 定语从句与反向推理：
"The whirlwind that swept through newsrooms harmed everybody, but much of the damage has been concentrated in areas where newspapers are least distinctive."
【解析】that 引导定语从句修饰 whirlwind（旋风/风暴）。where 引导定语从句修饰 areas。这句话是解答第29题的题眼：既然损害（裁员）集中在最没有特色的领域，说明在当前的报业中，“独特性”是保命的根本。
"The whirlwind that swept through newsrooms harmed everybody, but much of the damage has been concentrated in areas where newspapers are least distinctive."
【解析】that 引导定语从句修饰 whirlwind（旋风/风暴）。where 引导定语从句修饰 areas。这句话是解答第29题的题眼：既然损害（裁员）集中在最没有特色的领域，说明在当前的报业中，“独特性”是保命的根本。