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 16th 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 17th 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 18th century, Sweden became the first country to make press freedom a part of its law.
In the 19th 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 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.
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 paragraph 3, we learn that _______.
A. England was the first to believe in a free press
B. Sweden’s „press freedom’ law followed England’s
C. King Charles I opposed a free press
D. criticizing governments was the original purpose of a free press
Kiến thức: Đọc hiểu
Giải thích:
Trong đoạn 3, chúng ta biết được rằng ___.
A. Anh là quốc gia đầu tiên tin vào báo chí tự do
B. Luật tự do báo chí của Thuỵ Điển theo luật pháp của Anh
C. Vua Charles I phản đối báo chí tự do
D. chỉ trích các chính phủ là mục đích ban đầu của nền báo chí tự do
Thông tin: England was among the first countries to escape government control of the press. This occurred during the reign of King Charles I in the 17th century, when, during a period of breakdown in the king's authority, people began to publish what they wanted.
Tạm dịch: Anh là một trong những quốc gia đầu tiên thoát khỏi sự kiểm soát của chính phủ đối với báo chí. Điều này xảy ra dưới triều đại của vua Charles I vào thế kỷ 17, trong một thời kỳ suy sụp của chính quyền của nhà vua, người ta bắt đầu xuất bản những gì họ muốn.
“sự kiểm soát của chính phủ đối với báo chí” này có nghĩa là Vua Charles I phản đối báo chí tự do.
Chọn C