1997年Passage 4
No company likes to be told it is contributing to the moral decline of a nation. "Is this what you intended to accomplish with your careers?" Senator Robert Dole asked Time Warner executives last week. "You have sold your souls, but must you corrupt our nation and threaten our children as well?" At Time Warner, however, such questions are simply the latest manifestation of the soul searching that has involved the company ever since the company was born in 1990. It's a self-examination that has, at various times, involved issues of responsibility, creative freedom and the corporate bottom line.
At the core of this debate is chairman Gerald Levin, 56, who took over for the late Steve Ross in 1992. On the financial front, Levin is under pressure to raise the stock price and reduce the company's mountainous debt, which will increase to 17.3 billion after two new cable deals close. He has promised to sell off some of the property and restructure the company, but investors are waiting impatiently.
The flap over rap is not making life any easier for him. Levin has consistently defended the company's rap music on the grounds of expression. In 1992, when Time Warner was under fire for releasing Ice T's violent rap song Cop Killer, Levin described rap as a lawful expression of street culture, which deserves an outlet. "The test of any democratic society," he wrote in a Wall Street Journal column, "lies not in how well it can control expression but in whether it gives freedom of thought and expression the widest possible latitude, however disputable or irritating the results may sometimes be. We won't retreat in the face of any threats."
Levin would not comment on the debate last week, but there were signs that the chairman was backing off his hard line stand, at least to some extent. During the discussion of rock singing verses at last month's stockholders' meeting, Levin asserted that "music is not the cause of society's ills" and even cited his son, a teacher in the Bronx, New York, who uses rap to communicate with students. But he talked as well about the "balanced struggle" between creative freedom and social responsibility, and he announced that the company would launch a drive to develop standards for distribution and labeling of potentially objectionable music.
The 15 member Time Warner board is generally supportive of Levin and his corporate strategy. But insiders say several of them have shown their concerns in this matter. "Some of us have known for many, many years that the freedoms under the First Amendment are not totally unlimited," says Luce. "I think it is perhaps the case that some people associated with the company have only recently come to realize this."
63. Senator Robert Dole criticized Time Warner for _____.
[A] its raising of the corporate stock price
[B] its self examination of soul
[C] its neglect of social responsibility
[D] its emphasis on creative freedom
[答案] C
[解題思路]
文章第一段第二句話""Is this what you intended to accomplish with your careers?" Senator Robert Dole asked Time Warner executives last week. "You have sold your souls, but must you corrupt our nation and threaten our children as well?""（上星期，參議員羅伯特·多爾質(zhì)問(wèn)時(shí)代--華納公司的高級(jí)經(jīng)理們時(shí)說(shuō)："難道這就是你們要成就的事業(yè)嗎？你們已經(jīng)出賣(mài)了自己的靈魂，難道你們還一定要腐化我們這個(gè)民族，威脅我們的下一代嗎？"），四個(gè)選項(xiàng)中只有C選項(xiàng)符合引言的基調(diào)和思想。
[題目譯文]
參議員羅伯特·多爾批評(píng)時(shí)代華納公司是因?yàn)? 。
[A] 該公司提高其股票價(jià)格
[B] 公司在良心上的自我反省
[C] 公司忽略了社會(huì)責(zé)任
[D] 公司強(qiáng)調(diào)創(chuàng)造性自由
64. According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?
[A] Luce is a spokesman of Time Warner.
[B] Gerald Levin is liable to compromise.
[C] Time Warner is united as one in the face of the debate.
[D] Stever Ross is no longer alive
[答案] D
[解題思路]
本題可以一一排除。關(guān)于A選項(xiàng)，Luce出現(xiàn)在文章的最后一段，之前的一句話指出"But insiders say several of them have shown their concerns in this matter"（但據(jù)內(nèi)部消息人士透露，其中有幾位董事對(duì)此事表示擔(dān)憂），由此可以推測(cè)Luce可能是董事之一，因此A選項(xiàng)錯(cuò)誤。B選項(xiàng)對(duì)應(yīng)于文章的第四段，其中第一句話指出"Levin would not comment on the debate last week, but there were signs that the chairman was backing off his hard line stand, at least to some extent"（萊文不愿對(duì)上周的評(píng)論做出評(píng)論，但有跡象表明這位董事長(zhǎng)的強(qiáng)硬立場(chǎng)起碼在一定程度上有所松動(dòng)），雖然說(shuō)Levin的立場(chǎng)有所松動(dòng)，但只是"to some extent"，因此B選項(xiàng)的表述并不完全正確。C選項(xiàng)對(duì)應(yīng)于最后一段的前面兩句話"The 15 member Time Warner board is generally supportive of Levin and his corporate strategy. But insiders say several of them have shown their concerns in this matter"（總的來(lái)說(shuō)，時(shí)代--華納公司的15位董事是支持萊文和公司的經(jīng)營(yíng)策略的。但據(jù)內(nèi)部消息人士透露，其中有幾位董事對(duì)此事表示擔(dān)憂），盡管表面上上下齊心，但是實(shí)際上情況并不是如此，因此C選項(xiàng)也是錯(cuò)誤的。D選項(xiàng)的Stever Ross出現(xiàn)在文章第二段，其名字前面用了late的意思，在英文里面這種用法就是指這個(gè)人已經(jīng)亡故，因此D選項(xiàng)符合題意。
[題目譯文]
根據(jù)文章內(nèi)容，下列那一項(xiàng)是正確的？
[A] 盧斯是時(shí)代華納公司的一名發(fā)言人。
[B] 杰羅德·萊文可能會(huì)妥協(xié)。
[C] 時(shí)代華納公司面對(duì)這場(chǎng)辯論上下齊心
[D] 史蒂夫·羅斯已經(jīng)離開(kāi)了人世。
65. In face of the recent attacks on the company, the chairman _____.
[A] stuck to a strong stand to defend freedom of expression
[B] softened his tone and adopted some new policy
[C] changed his attitude and yielded to objection
[D] received more support from the 15 member board
[答案] B
[解題思路]
文章第四段一開(kāi)始就指出，董事長(zhǎng)在某種程度上緩和了其強(qiáng)硬立場(chǎng)，此外該段最后一句進(jìn)一步指出"he announced that the company would launch a drive to develop standards for distribution and labeling of potentially objectionable music"（他還宣布，公司將全力為那些可能引起人們反感的音樂(lè)制定各種發(fā)行和標(biāo)識(shí)的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)），因此可見(jiàn)正確答案為B，其余三項(xiàng)也相應(yīng)地可以排除。
[題目譯文]
面對(duì)公司近期收到的攻擊，董事長(zhǎng) 。
[A] 堅(jiān)持其強(qiáng)硬立場(chǎng)，維護(hù)言論自由
[B] 緩和了語(yǔ)氣并采取了新的政策
[C] 改變了他的態(tài)度并接受了批評(píng)意見(jiàn)
[D] 從15名董事會(huì)成員那里得到了更多的支持
