Question

    Imagine that you’re the creator and show runner of the newest comedy show on television. Only it isn’t so popular yet, and your live Studio audience isn’t giving you the big laughs the show deserves. Do you film the show all over again, hoping that this time the audience will laugh? Or is there another option for making a joke sound funnier than it was received?

Sweeten(改善) the sound by adding a laugh track! “Sweetening,” or the addition of sound effects such as laughs, screams, and other audience-produced noises to the audio track of a TV show, has been used since the 1940s to produce the appearance, or rather the sound, of an engaged and entertained response to a show’s comedy. Laugh tracks came into existence as not only a solution, and sometimes replacement, for an unengaged live audience but also as a way to engage an at-home audience into a more-traditional, public, and theaterlike experience. Adding a laugh track to a television show makes the viewers at home feel much less like they’re sitting on a couch staring at the television screen and much more like they’re in a room full of laughing happy people to varying degrees of success.

Though the art of sweetening has risen and fallen in popularity over the past 60 years, credit for its creation and continued use is owed to laugh-track pioneer and sound engineer Charles Douglass. Douglass was the first to develop, in 1953, a machine for producing “canned laughter”, accessible at the push of a button or pull of a lever (操纵杆). Despite being artificial, sensibly edited laugh tracks are found by television studios to bring about a positive audience response, as their use is usually accompanied by higher ratings and increased audience memory. Though some television audiences may disagree with the value of the laugh track, the cheerful and repetitive sound holds a permanent place in the history and future of television comedy.

1.The author uses the first paragraph to         .

A.introduce the topic “sweetening”

B.seek solutions for the problem

C.point out a way of making comedies

D.arouse readers’ interest in comedies

2.What effect does a laugh track produce?

A.The creation of a show.

B.Funnier sound in a show,

C.More engaged live audience

D.Communication among TV viewers.

3.What’s the author’s attitude towards the use of the laugh track?

A.Doubtful. B.Positive.

C.Neutral (中立的). D.Uncertain,

4.What does the passage mainly talk about?

A.The reason for using laugh tracks.

B.The brief history of laugh tracks.

C.The development of TV comedies.

D.The way to improve television shows.

Answer

1.A

2.B

3.B

4.A

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。文章主要介绍了为什么在电视节目的音轨中加入声音效果，如笑声、尖叫声和其他观众制造的噪音。尽管是人造的，但电视演播室发现，经过精心剪辑的笑料会带来积极的观众反应。

1.

推理判断题。根据第一段中Do you film the show all over again, hoping that this time the audience will laugh? Or is there another option for making a joke sound funnier than it was received?你会把节目重新拍一遍，希望这次观众会笑吗?或者有没有其他的选择让一个笑话听起来比它被接受的更有趣?和第二段第一句Sweeten(改善) the sound by adding a laugh track! 增加一段笑声，使声音更甜美！可知作者用第一段来引入本文话题“sweetening”。故选A。

2.

推理判断题。根据第二段中“Sweetening,” or the addition of sound effects such as laughs, screams, and other audience-produced noises to the audio track of a TV show, has been used since the 1940s to produce the appearance, or rather the sound, of an engaged and entertained response to a show’s comedy.从20世纪40年代开始，在电视节目的音轨中添加声音效果，如笑声、尖叫声和其他观众制造的噪音，用于制作节目喜剧的参与和娱乐反应的外观，更确切地说，声音。可知，笑轨在一场表演中会带来更有趣的声音。故选B。

3.推理判断题。根据最后一段最后一句Though some television audiences may disagree with the value of the laugh track, the cheerful and repetitive sound holds a permanent place in the history and future of television comedy.虽然一些电视观众可能不同意笑声轨的价值，但这种欢快、重复的声音在电视喜剧的历史和未来占有永久的地位。可知作者对笑声声带的态度是肯定的。故选B。

4.主旨大意题。根据第二段中Adding a laugh track to a television show makes the viewers at home feel much less like they’re sitting on a couch staring at the television screen and much more like they’re in a room full of laughing happy people to varying degrees of success.在电视节目中加入笑声会让在家的观众感觉不太像是坐在沙发上盯着电视屏幕，而更像是坐在一间满是不同程度成功人士的笑声的房间里。可知本文谈论的是使用笑轨的原因。故选A。