A
Last weekend was terrible for awards ceremonies. The BAFTA, defined by a painful monologue(独角戏) from Joanna Lumley, was watched by 500, 000 fewer people than last year. Meanwhile, the number of 18-to 49-year-olds watching the Grammys has reached an all-time low.
Don’t expect the Oscars to fare any better; they have lost millions of viewers since 2014. Add to this the fact that comparatively few people have watched most of the nominated films and you have got a ratings time bomb.
Viewers are deserting awards shows in groups and something needs to be done. But what? Reorganize them to celebrate really popular work? That’s what the Oscars put forward last year when it suggested a best popular film category—and it was swiftly booed(喝倒彩) out of town.
Another option would be to shorten the length of the ceremonies, but this won’t work either; the Oscars recently announced plans to hide several categories in ad breaks, and the anger in some quarters (the cinematographers, makeup artists and editors who this year won’t get their moment on the small screen) has been obvious.
What else can they do? Fewer songs? Shorter speeches? An In Memoriam section that consists of the words: “People die: get over it”?
Fortunately, I have the perfect solution: don’t televise awards shows. Just don’t do it. Awards shows are the opposite of good television. They’re too long and too boring because of regular and repeated patterns and too self-important. And by God, we should have learned by now not to give celebrities any more attention than they already have. It just makes them think that we want to hear them giving out half-baked opinions about Donald Trump and Brexit.
I’m not suggesting that the awards shows shouldn’t happen. I’m just saying that the awards should be announced in the form of a press release at the end of the ceremony, followed by a handful of YouTube clips showing some nice outfits and a couple of speeches. That’s how most of us consume them now anyway. Why not just bite the bullet?
【文章大意】颁奖典礼收视率下降, 作者建议不要在电视上播出, 可以换种其他的形式。
1. Why does the writer mention the BAFTA and the Grammys?
A. To introduce the topic of the article.
B. To support the topic of the paragraph.
C. To attract the readers’ attention.
D. To make comparison with the Oscars.
【解析】选B。写作意图题。第一段第一句话是论点, 提到上个周末对于颁奖典礼来说是晦暗的。后面两句提到BAFTA和Grammys这两个颁奖典礼的情况来证明论点。故选B。
2. What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 3 refer to?
A. The best popular film category.
B. The best actress.
C. The reorganized Oscars.
D. The deserted awards show.
【解析】选A。推理判断题。从第三段中That’s what the Oscars put forward last year when it suggested a best popular film category—and it was swiftly booed out of town. 可知答案。此句意为“这就是奥斯卡去年讨论的话题, 当时它提出了一个最受欢迎的电影类别, 但是很快就被嘘声出局了。”由此可知it指代破折号前面的a best popular film category。故选A。
3. What’s the writer’s opinion on awards shows?
A. Awards shows are better if shortened.
B. Awards shows are excellent television.
C. Awards shows are important to us.
D. Awards shows should be shown in another form.
【解析】选D。细节理解题。根据最后一段可知, 作者并不是认为这些颁奖典礼不能举行, 而是认为可以换种形式播放。奖项仪式结束时以新闻稿的形式公布, 然后在YouTube上放一些视频剪辑, 展示一些不错的服装和几个演讲, 这正是我们当前观看颁奖典礼的主要方式, 所以为什么不咬紧牙直接这样做呢?
4. Which of the following can be the best title of the text?
A. The bright future of awards shows
B. What terrible awards shows
C. Stop the television of awards shows
D. Boycott attention to celebrities
【解析】选C。主旨大意题。作者提到颁奖典礼收视率下降, 建议不要在电视上播出, 可以换种形式。
【知识拓展】背景链接
BAFTA英国电影和电视艺术学院(The British Academy of Film and Television Arts)是一个英国的机构, 每年颁发奖项给杰出的电影、电视、儿童电影和电视以及互动媒体。
学院奖的奖杯是一个面具, 由美国雕塑家米特兹·坎利夫设计, 1955年被电视制作人和导演协会采纳使用。
自从1989年开始, 英国电影和电视艺术学院洛杉矶分部开始颁发自己的奖项, 取名为大不列颠奖(Britannia Awards)。
