核心詞匯：

   coverage n. 覆蓋
   [例] The coverage of the subject in his botany text is inadequate. 他的植物學(xué)教科書中對那題目的敘述不充分。
   [派生] cover n. 蓋子, 封面, 藉口
     vt. 覆蓋, 鋪, 掩飾, 保護(hù),掩護(hù), 包括, 包含, 適用
      vi. 覆蓋, 涂, 代替

    tune n. 1 曲調(diào), 調(diào)子 2 和諧, 合調(diào) vt. 1 調(diào)音 2 調(diào)整 3 撥收, 收聽,
    知道或察覺他人所說的話或表現(xiàn)的情緒
    [例] When he began to play a tune, we had our first glimpse of the snake.
     當(dāng)他開始吹奏曲調(diào)時,我們才第一次看到那條蛇。
   [同義] harmony ，melody， music， song

  stretch v. 伸展, 伸長 n. 一段時間, 一段路程, 伸展
   [例] she stretched herself out on the couch and fell asleep.她伸躺在沙發(fā)椅上睡著了
   [同義] distend， extend， spread， strain
   [反義] shrink v. 收縮, (使)皺縮, 縮短

   charter vt 租, 包(船、車等) n. 憲章
   [例] A royal charter exempted the Massachusetts colony from direct interference by the  Crown.
  一張皇家的特許狀，使馬薩諸塞州殖民地免受英王直接干涉。
   [同義] hire， lease ，rent ，treaty

   quote vt. 引用, 引證, 提供, 提出, 報(價)
   [例] The author frequently quoted Shakespeare. 作者經(jīng)常引用莎士比亞作品里的話。
  [同義] cite， illustrate， refer to ，repeat

  bother vt. 煩擾, 打擾 vi. 煩惱, 操心 n. 麻煩, 煩擾
  [例] Will it bother you if I turn the television on? 我開電視會不會吵著你?
  [同義] annoy , concern, trouble, worry
  [派生] bothersome adj. 引起麻煩的, 令人煩惱的
  [固定搭配] bother (oneself) about (=bother one's head about) 為...而操心; 為...而費事

  subscription n. 1 捐獻(xiàn), 訂金 2 訂閱, 簽署；同意, [醫(yī)]下標(biāo)處方
   [例] Your subscription expires next month . 你訂閱的雜志下個月期滿。
  [派生] subscribe v. 1 捐款, 訂閱 2 簽署(文件), 贊成, 預(yù)訂

  【真題原文】

   With the start of BBC World Service Television, millions of viewers in Asia and America can now watch the Corporation's news coverage, as well as listen to it.

   And of course in Britain listeners and viewers can tune in to two BBC television channels, five BBC national radio services and dozens of local radio station. They are brought sport , comedy, drama, music, news and current affairs , education , religion , parliamentary coverage, children ' s programs and films for an annual license fee of £83 pounds per household.

    It is a remarkable record, stretching back over 70 years--yet the BBC' s future is now in doubt. The Corporation will survive as a publicly-funded broadcasting organization, at least for the time being, but its role, its size and its programs are now the subject of a nation-wide debate in Britain.

   The debate was launched by the Government , which invited anyone with an opinion of the BBC-including ordinary listeners and viewers--to say what was good or bad about the Corporation, and even whether they thought it was worth keeping. The reason for its inquiry is that the BBC' s royal charter runs out in 1996 and it must decide whether to keep the organization as it is, or to make changes.

   Defenders of the Corporation-of whom there are many---are fond of quoting the American slogan "If it ain't broke, don't fix it. " The BBC "ain' t broke" , they say, by which they mean it is not broken (as distinct from the word 'broke' , meaning having no money) , so why bother to change it?

   Yet the BBC will have to change, because the broadcasting world around it is changing. The commercial TV channels---ITV and Channel 4---were required by the Thatcher Government's Broadcasting Act to become more commercial, competing with each other for advertisers, and cutting costs and jobs. But it is the arrival of new satellite channels---funded partly by advertising and partly by viewers' subscriptions---which will bring about the biggest changes in the long term .

  【原文翻譯】

  當(dāng)然，英國的觀眾和聽眾可以收到兩個BBC 電視頻道，五個BBC 全國廣播電臺和幾十個地方電臺，每戶每年交83 英鎊的收視費便可收看體育、喜劇、戲劇、音樂、新聞時事、教育、宗教、議會報道、兒童節(jié)目及電影。

   在過去的70 年里，這是一項相當(dāng)了不起的成績，但是BBC 的未來卻前景不明。目前，BBC 公司還是由政府資助的，但是現(xiàn)在它的職能、它的規(guī)模和它的節(jié)目內(nèi)容在英國上下引起了廣泛的爭議。

   這場爭論是由政府引起的，政府邀請任何人——包括普通的聽眾和觀眾——對BBC 發(fā)表意見，評論它的長處和短處，甚至人們是否認(rèn)為BBC 值得保留。政府之所以這麼做，是因為BBC 和女皇簽定的協(xié)約在1996 年就要到期了，所以國家必須決定是否要對它做出調(diào)整，還是最好維持原狀。

   公司的捍衛(wèi)者們——這樣的人有很多——喜歡引用美國的廣告口號：“如果沒壞，就不要修�！倍�他們認(rèn)為BBC 還沒有壞，那干嗎這麼麻煩去改變它呢？

   但由于廣播領(lǐng)域正在發(fā)生變化，BBC 也應(yīng)改變自己，以適應(yīng)新形勢。撒切爾政府制定的廣播法要求電視頻道進(jìn)一步商業(yè)化、搞廣告競爭并削減開支與勞務(wù)。新衛(wèi)星電視頻道的開播將帶來長遠(yuǎn)的巨變，這些頻道部分資金來自廣告收入，部分來自用戶收視費。