A
Sports account for a growing amount of income made on the sales of commercial time by television companies. Many television companies have used sports to attract viewers from particular sections of the general public, and then they have sold audiences to advertisers.
An attraction of sport programs for the major U. S. media companies is that events are often held on Saturday and Sunday afternoons—the slowest time periods of the week for general television viewing. Sport events are the most popular weekend programs, especially among male viewers who may not watch much television at other times during the week. This means the television networks are able to sell advertising time at relatively high prices during what normally would be dead time for programming.
Media corporations also use sports to attract commercial sponsors that might take their advertising dollars elsewhere if television stations did not report certain sports. The people in the advertising departments of major corporations realize that sports attract male viewers. They also realize that most business travelers are men and that many men make family decisions on the purchases of computers, cars and life insurance.
Golf and tennis are special cases for television programming. These sports attract few viewers, and the ratings(收视率)are unusually low. However, the audience for these sports is attractive to certain advertisers. It is made up of people from the highest income groups in the United States, including many lawyers and business managers. This is why television reporting of golf and tennis is sponsored by companies selling high-priced cars, business and personal computers, and holiday trips. This is also why the networks continue to carry these programs regardless of low ratings. Advertisers are willing to pay high fees to reach high-income consumers and those managers who make decisions to buy thousands of “company cars” and computers. With such viewers, these programs don’t need high ratings to stay on the air.
【语篇概述】本文主要是讲体育赛事决定电视台的收视率, 也决定了电视广告的收入。
1. Television sport programs on weekend afternoons .
A. result in more sport events
B. get more viewers to play sports
C. make more people interested in television
D. bring more money to the television networks
【解析】选D。细节理解题。根据第二段最后一句可知, 周末下午的电视体育节目给电视网络带来了更多的收益。
2. In many families, men make decisions on .
A. holiday trips B. sports viewing
C. television shopping D. expensive purchases
【解析】选D。细节理解题。根据第三段最后一句可知, 购买电脑、汽车和保险之类贵重的东西通常由男性做主。
3. The ratings are not important for golf and tennis programs because .
A. their advertisers are carmakers
B. their viewers are attracted by sports
C. their advertisers target at rich people
D. their viewers can afford expensive cars
【解析】选C。推理判断题。由最后一段可知, 高尔夫和网球节目的观众大都是高收入人群, 它们的广告商瞄准(target at)的是rich people, 所以收视率低对它们并不重要。
4. What is the passage mainly about?
A. Television ratings are determined by male viewers.
B. Rich viewers contribute most to television companies.
C. Sports are gaining importance in advertising on television.
D. Commercial advertisers are the major sponsors of sport events.
【解析】选C。主旨大意题。本文主要是讲体育赛事决定电视台的收视率, 从而也决定了电视广告的收入, 再根据本文主题句(topic sentence)即第一段第一句“Sports account for a growing amount of income. . . ”可知, 选C。
