Question

[Lê Quỳnh Anh]

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the following questions from 17 to 24.

Newspapers can be traced back to 16^th century Venice. In 1566, handwritten news sheets - called 'avis' or ‘gazette' – filled with information on wars and politics in Europe were distributed weekly in Venice. Similar news sheets soon started to appear in other European countries. By 1615, Germany and Austria were publishing weeklies. And in 1621, the first news sheets appeared in England.

At first, these news sheets only printed news which came from outside the country in which they were printed. Discussion of local or national issues was avoided. Europe’s governments did not tolerate anything negative being said about them as it could lead to national unrest.

Such censorship slowed the development of newspapers. Nevertheless, a belief in the importance of a 'free press’ slowly began to take hold in Europe. England was among the first countries to escape government control of the press. This occurred during the reign of King Charles I in the 17^th century, when, during a period of breakdown in the king's authority, people began to publish what they wanted.

Eventually, free press had the right to criticize government and voice other ideas freely. In the middle of the 18^th century, Sweden became the first country to make press freedom a part of its law.

In the 19^th century, the newspaper industry was transformed by the invention of the telegraph. The telegraph was a communication system that allowed messages to be sent over long distances in a matter of minutes. It wasn’t long before newspapers became society's primary means of spreading and receiving information. In 1880, the first photographs appeared in newspapers and, by the end of the century, all the basic technical tools for the modern newspaper were in place.

The story of newspapers in the 20^th century was one of adaptation to changing consumer and media markets. The invention of radio, TV, and later the Internet, repeatedly drove newspapers to re-invent themselves. Also, during the 20^th century, mass-market advertising increased profitability for newspapers. This attracted large, publicly-owned corporations who began buying newspapers from the descendants of company founders.

Over the years, people have periodically predicted the extinction of newspapers. In fact, every time a new media has come into being, dire predictions have been made for existing forms (e.g. television was supposed to have replaced radio, radio was supposed to have replaced newspapers). Yet history has repeatedly shown that new media do not replace existing media. Instead, what happens is that media consumption grows, which creates the necessary space for the new media to become a part of the media landscape.

According to the World Association of Newspapers (WAN), each day more than 1.5 billion people around the world read a newspaper. The WAN has also estimated the total annual worth of the global newspaper industry and put it at just under 180 billion USD. Such statistics suggest the newspaper industry is healthier than at any other time in its history. Indeed, if the industry proves itself as capable of adapting to change as it has done in the past, it is unlikely that newspapers will be disappearing from newsstands anytime soon. 

In the 20^th century, newspapers _______. 

A. invented mass-market advertising 

B. began to pass to public hands 

C. lost many readers to TV 

D. used ads to attract investors 

Answer 1

[Dương Hoàn Anh]

Kiến thức: Đọc hiểu

Giải thích:

Trong thế kỷ 20, báo chí ___.

A. phát minh ra quảng cáo đại chúng                             B. bắt đầu truyền đến tay công chúng

C. mất nhiều độc giả vào tay TV     D. sử dụng quảng cáo để thu hút các nhà đầu tư

Thông tin: The story of newspapers in the 20th century was one of adaptation to changing consumer and media markets. The invention of radio, TV, and later the Internet, repeatedly drove newspapers to re-invent themselves. Also, during the 20th century, mass-market advertising increased profitability for newspapers. This attracted large, publicly-owned corporations who began buying newspapers from the descendants of company founders.

Tạm dịch: Câu chuyện của các tờ báo trong thế kỷ 20 là một trong những thích ứng với việc thay đổi thị trường tiêu dùng và truyền thông. Việc phát minh ra đài phát thanh, TV và sau đó là Internet, liên tục thúc đẩy các tờ báo tự làm mới mình. Ngoài ra, trong thế kỷ 20, quảng cáo trên thị trường đại chúng đã tăng lợi nhuận cho các tờ báo. Điều này đã thu hút các tập đoàn lớn, thuộc sở hữu công cộng, những người bắt đầu mua báo từ hậu duệ của những người sáng lập công ty.

Chọn B