British Broadcasting Corporation(the BBC) was founded in 1922, including radio and television services. It is based at Broadcasting House in London.
The BBC is controlled by some governors chosen by the government, but these people have complete freedom and government can’t interfere. That is, the BBC is not the mouthpiece (喉舌) of the government. It has to be as fair as possible in giving radio and television time to, for example, political parties and religious groups.
There is a kind of interesting services in Britain- rental (租借) services. Many people prefer to rent their television sets instead of buying them. The rent for a black and white set is about 80 pence a week. The rent of a color set is more than twice that of a black and white set. If the sets go wrong, people can have them repaired free of charge or replace immediately.
Everyone who owns or rents a television set has to pay a yearly licence, there is no advertising on BBC radio or television. It is from the sale of licence that the BBC gets most of its money. A licence for a black and white set costs 8 pounds, and for a color set 18 pounds a year.
There are four specialized radio channels, which broadcast different kinds of programmes. Radio I is mainly pop music. Radio 2 deals with light music, sports and other programmes. Radio 3 broadcasts serious music, talks on serious subjects etc. News broadcasts are mainly given by Radio 4.
There are special programmes for Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and certain parts of England. It also broadcasts programmes about Britain - in many different languages as well as in English to all parts of the world.
小题1:The BBC Broadcasting House lies in ______.
A．Scotland
B．England
C．Wales
D．Northern Ireland小题2:How much should you pay if you rent a color TV set and use it for a year?
A．More than 100 pounds
B．About 37 pounds
C．About 83 pounds
D．18 pounds小题3:The BBC gets most of its money ______.
A．from the government
B．from rental services
C．by selling licences
D．by advertising小题4:Which of the following is true?
A．You can listen to classical music from Radio 1.
B．If you rent a TV set and there is something wrong with it, you should fix it with your own money.
C．The BBC special programmes are not only for different areas in its own country but also for foreign countries.
D．The BBC broadcasts to foreign countries only in English
