The Power and Influence of the Media

Two hundred years ago, it took several weeks for the news of the important Battle of Trafalgar to reach London. Nowadays, you can watch a terrorist attack as it happens anywhere in the world. The communications revolution means that we are constantly bombarded with instant news. This has great advantages, but it also raises important questions.

两百年前，重要的特拉法加战役的消息到达伦敦要花好几周的时间。今天，你可以在事发当时看到世界上任何一个地方正在发生的恐怖袭击。通讯革命意味着我们正不断地受到即时新闻的轰击。这有很大的好处，但同时也引发了一些问题。

Satellites have enabled immediate reporting worldwide. A reporter can send the news to a network like CBS News and within seconds it can be all over the world. They send electronic reports that go straight into the newspaper or onto the TV screen. Reporters can now also stransmit imagesa through their mobile phones. Consequently, live, “on-the-spot” reporting has become the norm and TV viewers can get a much better idea of what a natural disaster, a conflict or an interesting scientific discovery is like.

卫星使全球即时报道成为可能。记者能将新闻传到如哥伦比亚新闻网这样的网络上，只需要几秒钟这则新闻就会传遍世界各地。卫星将电子报道直接传送到报纸或电视屏幕。记者们现在可以通过移动电话来传输图象。其结果是，现场报道成为了一种标准。看电视的人们可以清楚地了解一种自然灾害、一场冲突或一项有趣的科学发现是什么样的。

In recent years, several changes have occurred in the ownership of news media. Networks owned by large companies and governments have become bigger and very powerful. These networks – such as BBC News 24 – are hungry for news and have huge audiences. However, there can only be a limited number of such networks and their ownership is a big issue.

近几年来，新闻媒体的所有权发生了一些变化。大公司和政府所拥有的网络正越来越强大。这些网络，例如英国广播公司的新闻24，渴望得到新闻，拥有庞大的受众。但这样强大的新闻网数量有限，而它们的所有权问题则是一个大问题。

Some companies not only own TV and radio networks but newspaper groups as well. Who decides what news to publish and what sort of “spin” to put on it? Is it always objective? There are now “spin doctors” who manipulate the news, emphasising certain parts and not others – and as a result, much of it is not neutral. Therefore, the question of control of the media matters very much. In some cases, the media companies are more powerful than governments. They can even influence elections. So the question is – should they be controlled and if so, by whom?

一些公司不仅拥有电视和广播这样的新闻网，也有报业集团。那么由谁来决定公布哪些新闻并赋予这些新闻什么形式的舆论导向呢？这些决定总是客观的吗？现在有一些舆论操纵者通过强调新闻中某些部分而不是其他部分来操纵新闻。最终，大部分的新闻都不可能保持中立的立场。所以大众媒体的控制权问题就变得很重要。某些情况下，媒体公司比政府强大。他们甚至可以影响大选。接下来的问题是：这样一些媒体公司应该受到监控吗？如果答案是肯定的，由谁来监控它们呢？

It + takes (took) + 一段时间 + (for sb./sth) + to do sth.　做某事花费多长时间

★ it takes/took（sb）some time to do sth

(1)It takes me two weeks to finish the assignment.

(2)It took us half a year to do the research.

(3)It might take longer to finish the other half.

★ news　新闻，消息（名词尽管是复数形式，但常用作单数使用。）

(1)Darts is essentially a free and easy game.

(2)Economics is a vital subject.

★ be bombarded with　受到……的轰击

The thief was bombarded with questions.

★ raise　使出现，升起，饲/抚养

（1）The joke raised a laugh.

（2）He raised a hand for silence.

（3）The woman raised her son alone.

（4）They raised their own vegetables.

★ enable　使能够　　　enable sb/sth to do sth.

（1）This dictionary will enable you to understand English words.

（2）The eagle’s large wings enable it to fly very fast.

★ 世界主要媒体的全称和缩略形式：

CCTV —— China Central Television　中国中央电视台

BBC —— British Broadcasting Corporation　英国广播公司

VOA —— Voice of America　美国之音

★ what引导的从句做介词的宾语：

（1）This reminded me of what he had once told us.

（2）She was praised for what she had done.

★ be hungry for　渴望……的

We’re hungry for news of our brother in Australia.

★ neutral　中立的

★ matter　要紧，有关系

（1）Does it matter when we start?

（2）It doesn’t matter much whether we go together or separately.