Question

    “A lie can travel half way around the world before the truth can put its boots on,” said Mark Twain.1.

To make matters worse, most young people get news from social media sites where facts are mixed with rumors, half-truths and complete lies. 2.In the latest PISA, which tested 15-year-olds worldwide on academic subjects, fewer than one in ten of the examinees were reported to be able to distinguish fact from opinion. Another study showed that students at all levels of education could not tell real news from fake news. In one instance, 80 percent thought that a paid advertisement was a real news story.

3. They want to influence public opinion either for or against something or someone. It is important, then, for young people to recognize when they are being used and to be skeptical of online information.

Traditional media, such as newspapers and television, are still the more credible source of information.4.And then editors have the job of making sure those facts are correct. However, if you are getting most of your information online, you have to be your own editor In that case, the first thing to do is to look at the writer of a post. Is this person known to be credible? Does the site where you read the post have a prejudice? 5. By doing so, you won’t be fooled into chasing lies.

A.Secondly, you can ignore traditional media.

B.This has led to young people becoming confused.

C.Reporters are professionally trained to look for facts.

D.Fake news is spread by people who have a prejudice.

E.This may be because fake news can easily catch their attention.

F.In today’s Internet world of “fake news”, lies spread even faster than the truth.

G.Next, look for other sources from mainstream media to confirm the information.

Answer

1.F

2.B

3.D

4.C

5.G

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。文章主要说明了如今网络上假新闻的问题，论述了假新闻的影响以及说明对于年轻人应该如何避免它提出了一些建议。

1.本句为第一段最后一句，有启示下文的作用，结合第二段第一句To make matters worse, most young people get news from social media sites where facts are mixed with rumors, half-truths and complete lies.可知，更糟糕的是，大多数年轻人从社交媒体网站上获取新闻，这些网站上的事实夹杂着谣言、半真半假和完全的谎言。由此可知，本句是在引出文章关于网络上“假新闻”的话题。故F选项“在今天这个‘假新闻’的网络世界里，谎言传播的速度比真相还要快”符合上下文语境，故选F。

2.结合上文To make matters worse, most young people get news from social media sites where facts are mixed with rumors, half-truths and complete lies.可知，更糟糕的是，大多数年轻人从社交媒体网站上获取新闻，这些网站上的事实夹杂着谣言、半真半假和完全的谎言。由此可知，本句承接上文说明网站上的事实夹杂着谣言、半真半假和完全的谎言给年轻人带来的影响是——使得年轻人变得困惑。故B选项“这使得年轻人变得困惑”符合上下文语境，故选B。

3.根据后文They want to influence public opinion either for or against something or someone.可知，他们想要影响支持或反对某事或某人的公众舆论。由此可知，本句是在说明传播假新闻的人具有的特点，后文中they可对应到D选项中people who have a prejudice。故D选项“假新闻是由有偏见的人传播的”符合上下文语境，故选D。

4.根据后文And then editors have the job of making sure those facts are correct.可知，编辑的工作是确保这些事实是正确的。由此可知，后文在说明确保事实是正确的人的职业，那么本句应当是说明寻找事实的人的职业。且后文中those facts可对应到C选项中facts。故C选项“记者是受过专业训练去寻找事实的”符合上下文语境，故选C。

5.根据上文In that case, the first thing to do is to look at the writer of a post. Is this person known to be credible? Does the site where you read the post have a prejudice?可知，在这种情况下，首先要做的是查看一篇文章的作者。这个人是可信的吗？你读这篇文章的网站有偏见吗？以及后文By doing so, you won’t be fooled into chasing lies.可知，这样做，你就不会被骗去追求谎言。由此可知，本句是在说明寻找可靠信息的方法是从主流媒体中寻找其他来源来确认信息，且上文中the first thing to do“首先”可与G选项中next“接下来”形成对应。故G选项“接下来，从主流媒体中寻找其他来源来确认信息”符合上下文语境，故选G。