考研英语范文阅读（八）

文章作者 100test 发表时间 2007:05:28 11:16:47
来源 100Test.Com百考试题网

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. Its 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 companys 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 companys rap music on the grounds of expression. In 1992， when Time Warner was under fire for releasing Ice-Ts violent rap song Cop Killer， Levin described rap as 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 wont 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 months stockholdersmeeting. Levin asserted that music is not the cause of societys 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.

　　1. 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

　　2. 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）Steve Ross is no longer alive.

　　3. 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

　　4. The best title for this passage could be ________.

　　（A）A Company under Fire

　　（B）A Debate on Moral Decline

　　（C）A Lawful Outlet of Street Culture

　　（D）A Form of Creative Freedom

　　答案及试题解析

　　C D B A

　　1.（C）意为：它对社会责任的忽视。

　　第一段指出，没有哪个公司喜欢别人说它导致了全国道德败坏，多尔参议员所指责时代华纳公司的正是这一点。他说：难道这就是你们的经营目标吗，你们出卖了自己的灵魂，难道你们也想毁了国家、危及我们的孩子吗？另从第三、四段来看，这里多尔所指责的正是该公司用它的音乐作品带来的社会影响，多尔认为这些音乐作品对社会和青少年有不良影响。

　　A 意为：它将公司股价提高。从多尔所说的话来看，他关心的不是该公司的经济状况。

　　B 意为：它对灵魂的自我检验。第一段第三句指出，对时代沃纳公司来说，多尔所质疑的问题只不过是公司自创立以来一直进行的自我反省的最新表述，在公司发展的不同阶段，这一自我反省涉及（社会）责任、创作自由、公司利润（bottom line）。换言之，在公司的发展过程中，社会责任、创作自由、公司能否赚钱这三者之间的矛盾一直困扰着公司。根据公司董事长列文的话（见第三段），公司把创作自由放在了发展的首位。这造成了它对作品的社会影响的忽视，所以，后来列文改变态度以后，承认应该在创作自由和社会责任上寻找一个平衡点（见第四段）。可见，多尔参议员所指责的正是公司的所作所为带来的不良社会影响，这样他就击中了要害。