泽熙美文Reading Comprehension
Lou Dobbs is apparently larger than life, which is pretty much just the way he wants it.
When you enter the Midtown Manhattan studio of his syndicated radio show, the first thing you see is Big Lou—in a pinpoint shirt, striped tie, and dark-blue suit adorned with de rigueur flag pin. With his waves of sandy hair, confident gaze, and glint of a smile, the 64-year-old is the essence of Distinguished Broadcaster. I approach to shake his hand. “Hello, sir!” bellows an emerging presence at the door at the opposite end of the room. That’s the real Lou Dobbs, in argyle sweater, jeans, and a Rolex baseball cap. He waves me over. “Let’s go get a sandwich!” The other Lou is actually a life-size cardboard cutout, designed for radio trade shows and now part of the studio trimmings that include giant posters for his bestselling books. Cardboard Lou is so convincingly wrought that I was, believe it or not, certain it was he.
Dobbs jokes it’s slimmer and trimmer than he is, but the line also unintentionally raises larger questions about who the real Lou Dobbs is: True Believer or Ideological Mercenary? Right now, depending on whom you ask, Dobbs is the most despised, or best-loved, broadcaster in America. The questions about his identity matter, especially as Dobbs says he’s contemplating a third-party run for national office in 2012, either for the U.S. Senate or, incredibly, the White House. Whichever route he takes, the erstwhile voice of the financial world—the Cronkite for the business community for two decades—is clearly casting about for his next act. In 1981 Dobbs was one of the first business anchors at CNN and helped build the upstart. Steady, authoritative, and Harvard-credentialed, Dobbs won a Peabody for his coverage of the 1987 stock market crash and an Emmy for lifetime achievement. Then 9/11 and Wall Street scandals like Enron transformed—or transmogrified—him into an opinion-spewing, rabble-rousing provocateur. You could count on Fox’s Bill O’Reilly to attack from the right, and MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann from the left. By contrast, Dobbs was a bilious brew on CNN. Confoundingly, he also was hard to peg, an assortment of contradictions that reflected either independence or opportunism.
For example, he seemed to have genuine concerns for U. S. jobs and empathy for the middle class, yet it’s hard to be a paragon of the people when you have your own plane and preside over a 300-acre farm, Hickory Hollow, in the suburbs of New York City. He wants us all to buy American, yet that twin-engine Hawker jet of his was made in the U. K. by British Aerospace. He has railed against illegal aliens yet professed support for immigration. He opposed outsourcing, globalization, and unfettered trade yet calls himself a champion of free enterprise. He has little use for unions or corporations. He’s pro-choice and anti-gun-control. He wants out of Iraq and Afghanistan. He despises “elites” yet is an Ivy Leaguer. He has denounced the Pope, the United Nations, bailouts, and Columbus Day. He called for the impeachment of George W. Bush, and relentlessly skewers Barack Obama, whom he mocks as “our supreme leader.” For the past eight years Dobbs has been a populist madman.
But then, in November, CNN cut him loose, though neither party to the breakup will officially describe it that way. Positioning itself as a neutral in the ideological cable wars between Fox and MSNBC, CNN concluded that Dobbs’s fulminations had ceased to have utility, since his ratings weren’t very good; it didn’t help either that Dobbs was perceived at CNN as leaning right when a lot of folks there happened to lean left. An executive at Time Warner, which owns CNN (as well as Fortune), calls it a divorce between spouses who hadn’t been getting along for some time. Dobbs walked away with upwards of $ 8 million, according to sources who asked for anonymity. Neither Time Warner nor Dobbs would comment on the terms of his contractual release. Nobody, though, disputes that Dobbs was stunned that CNN was ending his run of nearly 30 years (interrupted only by a much-lampooned two-year interlude at space, com during the dotcom bubble). He announced his departure on the air and was gone minutes later, describing his exit in what sounded like a stump speech. With a huge digital Stars and Stripes waving behind him, he said: “Over the past six months it’s become increasingly clear that strong winds of change have begun buffeting this country… Some leaders in media, politics, and business have been urging me to go beyond my role here at CNN and to engage in constructive problem solving, as well as to contribute positively to a better understanding of the great issues of our day.” Strong winds indeed.
He says now the hurt is gone and he is “exhilarated” to have fresh choices. Fox presumably would be thrilled to have him on its business channel or in its cable stable with such bloviating stallions as Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity. Even without a TV presence for the moment, Dobbs can roar away on his daily three-hour radio news). And while he’s wise enough to acknowledge the hassles of politics, he is altogether charmed by the idea of elected office. “It’s flattering that so many people have urged me to consider it,” he says. So who are those people? Dobbs declines to say. (from Fortune, January 18, 2010)
1. Which of the following statements can best explain the meaning of the underlined phrase “larger than life” in the first paragraph?
A.The cardboard cutout is designed larger than the real Dobbs.
B.He is a walking contradiction, partly truth and partly fiction.
C.The line of the first Dobbs is slimmer and trimmer than the real Dobbs.
D.He likes to make exaggerated commentary in his syndicated radio show.
正确答案：B
2. Which of the following can be inferred from the second paragraph of the passage?
A.There are more than one Lou Dobbs in the Midtown Manhattan studio of his syndicated radio show.
B.The first Big Lou the author sees in the Midtown Manhattan studio is the essence of Distinguished Broadcaster.
C.The author mistakes the cardboard cutout as the real Lou Dobbs when he enters the Midtown Manhattan studio.
D.The author knows clearly which is the real Lou Dobbs but he pretends to have made a mistake.
正确答案：C
3. What does the writer mean by saying “Right now, depending on whom you ask, Dobbs is the most despised, or best-loved, broadcaster in America.” in paragraph 3?
A.Whoever you ask in America, she/he enjoys Dobbs’s way of broadcasting and his views on great issues of the day.
B.Dobbs is a controversial figure because no one is clear whether the real Dobbs is a True Believer or Ideological Mercenary.
C.No one knows the identity of Dobbs because he is thinking of a third-party run for national office.
D.Dobbs is a controversial figure because even the Cronkite is clearly casting about for his next act.
正确答案：B
4. What’s the main idea of paragraphs 3 and 4?
A.Dobbs was one of the first business anchors at CNN and helped to build the upstart.
B.Dobbs is a provocateur and is attacked a lot by Fox’s Bill O’Reilly on the right and MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann on the left.
C.Dobbs’s achievements and why he is deemed as “an assortment of contradictions”.
D.Dobbs’s experiences and development as an original anchor at CNN for nearly 30 years.
正确答案：C
5. Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph 6?
A.The breakup between Dobbs and CNN is described as a divorce and both parties hadn’t been on friendly terms for a long time.
B.According to an anonymous person, when Dobbs went away from CNN, he took nearly $8 million.
C.Nobody is stunned by the news that CNN was ending Dobbs’s run of nearly 30 years.
D.Dobbs announced his exit in a stump speech on the air to engage in constructive problem solving.
正确答案：A
6. According to the passage, what can best explain Dobbs’s departure from CNN?
A.He has been contemplating the departure before because he wants to run for national office, either for the U. S. Senate or the White House.
B.He announced his departure on the air all of a sudden and left minutes later to impress his audience.
C.He left CNN because Fox would be thrilled to have him on its business channel or in its cable stable.
D.He was dismissed by CNN, but he believed that strong winds have
