III 新闻

1. 辨别题
辨别题是专八新闻中出现频率相当高的题型,考查考生对新闻的通篇把握能力,如:

2005年新闻第2题:
What is NOT a feature of the new karaoke machine?

2006年新闻第2题:
Which of the following statements about the man is TRUE?

2006年新闻第5题:
The newly developed credit card is said to have all the following EXCEPT .

2009年新闻第4题:
Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

2010年新闻第4题:
Which of the following is CORRECT?

辨别题的难度视具体情况而定,有时此类题目要求考生吃透新闻的某些细节内容,例如:

2011年新闻第1题:
Which of the following statements is INCORRECT?

2011年新闻第4题:
Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a cause of the current decline in the Mexican
economy?

2006年新闻第5题:
The newly developed credit card is said to have all the following EXCEPT .
A. switch B. battery C. speaker D. built-in chip

问题的要点是听懂新型信用卡的特点。从新闻中的The card is apparently the fi rst to put a voice recognition chip, a microphone, speaker and battery into a credit card... 不难推导出答案为A。

但通常情况下判别题并非如此简单,需要通篇把握新闻内容,而非考查单一的信息点。

如2010年新闻第4题:
Which of the following is CORRECT?
A. A big fi re erupted on the Nile River.
B. Helicopters were used to evacuate people.
C. Five people were taken to hospital for burns.
D. A big fi re took place on two fl oors.

根据新闻中的导语A large fi re erupted Tuesday in Egypt’s Parliament and fi ve people were hospitalized for smoke inhalation, offi cials said.可首先排除选项A和C,因为是议会大厦而非尼罗河上发生大火。另外,五人是因为吸入烟尘而非因为烧伤被送往医院救治。新闻中还提到:Two helicopters scooped water from the nearby Nile River in small buckets and dumped it onto the blaze. 可见直升飞机的作用并不是疏散群众,而是去尼罗河取水前来灭火。因此,根据 Dozens of fi re trucks were at the scene, while fi re fi ghters focused on one corner of the building, the blaze burnt heavier on a second corner, spreading to the second fl oor. 可知火势迅猛,很快蔓延到二楼,所以正确答案为D。

又如2011年新闻第4题:
Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a cause of the current decline in the Mexican
economy?
A. Strong ties with the U.S. economy.
B. Fewer job opportunities in Mexico.
C. Decline in tourism.
D. Decline in tax revenues.

新闻中提到导致墨西哥经济衰退的原因包括:Analysts say the main cause of Mexico’s  nosedive is that the nation’s economy is tied strongly to that of the United States, which is mired in the deepest economic downturn since the 1930s. Other factors dragging the Mexican economy down include a tourism decline caused by the H1N1 fl u outbreak, declining oil and tax revenues, and fewer Mexicans abroad sending money back home. 这里选项A、C、D都有所提及,只有选项B并不包含在内,因此答案为B。

2. 主旨题
主旨题考查的是对新闻主题的整体把握,即考查新闻的主要内容。新闻报道有其本身的文体特点,往往在新闻的前几句给出主题句,也就是下文提到的导语。对导语部分的把握也是考生最棘手的问题之一。主题句出现后一般不会在下面的细节报道中再次出现,所以如果出现考查整篇新闻内容的主旨题,试题的难度就会相对高些。所幸的是,通过分析历年真题,我们发现此类考题并不多见,只要掌握一般技巧就能从容应对。

例如2008年的第1篇新闻:
What is the main idea of the news item?
A. A new government was formed after Sunday’s elections.
B. The new government intends to change the welfare system.
C. The Social Democratic Party founded the welfare system.
D. The Social Democratic Party was responsible for high unemployment.

此题考查新闻主旨,新闻首句只是点明了瑞典将组建新政府:The New Moderates Party began forming the new Swedish government on Monday. 而新政府将有何新作为在下文中才提到:The Social Democratic party has controlled Sweden for all but nine years since 1932, building up the country’s generous welfare state. But, the New Moderates wants to change it.可见新政府将对现有的福利制度进行改革,因此答案是B。

又如2009年的第3篇新闻:
What is the main message of the news item?
A. Young people should seek career advice.
B. Career service needs to be improved.
C. Businesses are not getting talented people.
D. Career advice is not offered on the Internet.

这篇新闻有关职业规划教育,近一成年轻人声称在受教育过程中从未得到过就业建议。有关专家指出不但年轻人会为此失去就业机会,工商业也会失去竞争所需的新生力量,因此需要加大就业服务力度,答案为B。

再如2010年的第1篇新闻:
What is the main idea of the news item?
A. Sony developed a computer chip for cell phones.
B. Japan will market its wallet phone abroad.
C. The wallet phone is one of the wireless innovations.
D. Reader devices are available at stores and stations.
这篇新闻开篇的导语部分提到: Japan will start its rapid push to market abroad its mobile technology, especially the nation’s popular wallet phone, a government offi cial said Tuesday. 日本将要在海外市场大力推出自己的移动技术,尤其是要推广在日本流行的钱包手机,所以答案是B。

又如2012年的第1篇新闻:
What is the news item mainly about?
A. A problem in the cooling system was solved.
B. A 350-kilogram ammonia pump was removed.
C. U.S. astronauts made three space walks.
D. An international space station was set up.
这篇新闻的开篇导语是:NASA astronauts successfully installed a new ammonia pump on the international space station Monday during their third space walk to make the emergency repairs. The astronauts do not yet know whether their efforts were enough to restore the space stations cooling system to full capacity. 主要介绍了美国国家航空和宇宙航行局的宇航员在国际空间站成功安装了新的液氨泵,这次应急维修是在第三次太空行走作业过程中完成的,空间站降温系统的问题得以解决。因此答案为A。