Are the children afraid of _______ dark?

A. the　 B. a　 C. /　 D. an

　　In 1826, a Frenchman named Niepce needed pictures for his business. But he was not a good artist. So he invented a very simple cameras. He put it in a window of his house and took a picture of his yard. That was the first photograph.

　　The next important date in the history! of photography was 1837. That year, Daguerre, another French, took a picture of his studio. He used a new kind of camera and a different process. In his pictures, you could see everything very clearly, even the smallest details. This kind of photograph was called a daguerreotype.

　　Soon, other people began to use Daguerre's process. Travelers brought back daguerreotypes from all around the world. People photographed famous buildings, cities and mountains.

　　In about 1840, the process was improved. Then photographers could take pictures of people and moving things. The process was not simple. The photographers had to cary lots of films and processing equipment. But this did not stop the photographers, especially in the United States. After 1840s daguerreotype artists were popular in most cities.

　　Mathew Brady was a well - known American photographer. He took many pictures of famous people. The pictures were unusual because they were very life - like and full of personality （个性）.

　　Brady was also the first preson to take pictures of war. His 1862 Civil War pictures showed dead soldiers and ruined cities. They made the war seem more real and more terrible.

　　In the 1880s, new inventions began to change photography... Photographers could buy films readymade in rolls（卷）. So they did not have to make the film themselves. Also, they did not have to process the film immediately. They could bring it back to their studios and develop it later meaning that they did not have to carry lots of equipment. And finally, the invention of the small handheld camera made photography less expensive.

　　With the small camera, anyone could be a photographer. People began to use cameras just for fun. They took pictures of their families, friends and favorite places. They called these pictures" snapshot".

　　Photographs became very popular in newspapers in the 1890s. Soon magazines and books also used documentary photographs. These pictures showed true events and people. They were much more real than drawing.

　　Photography also turned into a form of art by the end of the 10th century. Some photographs were not just copies of the real world. They showed ideas and feelings, like other art forms.

　　The passage is mainly about ________.

　　A. the inventoin of cameras

　　B. a kind of new art - photography

　　C. the development of photography

　　D. the important dates in the history of photography

　　　The first pictures of a war were taken by________.

　　A. a French photographer in the 1840s

　　B. an American photographer in the 1860s

　　C. a German reporter in the 1880s

　　D. a French artist in the 1890s

　　Photography can also be an art form because artists can ________.

　　A. take anything they like

　　B. keep a record of real life

　　C. take photos of the famous

　　D. show ideas and feeling in pictures

With the start of BBC World Service Television, millions of viewers in Asia and America can now watch the Corporation's news coverage, as well as listen to it.  
And of course in Britain listeners and viewers can tune in to two BBC television channels, five BBC national radio services and dozens of local radio station. They are brought sport, comedy, drama, music, news and current affairs, education, religion, parliamentary coverage, children's programmes and films for an annual license fee of ￡83 per household.
It is a remarkable record, stretching back over 70 years - yet the BBC's future is now in doubt. The Corporation will survive as a publicly-funded broadcasting organization, at least for the time being, but its role, its size and its programmes are now the subject of a nation-wide debate in Britain.
The debate was launched by the Government, which invited anyone with an opinion of the BBC - including ordinary listeners and viewers - to say what was good or bad about the Corporation, and even whether they thought it was worth keeping. The reason for its inquiry is that the BBC's royal charter runs out in 1996 and it must decide whether to keep the organization as it is, or to make changes.
Defenders of the Corporation - of whom there are many - are fond of quoting the American slogan. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. The BBC ain't broke, they say, by which they mean it is not broken (as distinct from the word broke, meaning having no money), so why bother to change it?
Yet the BBC will have toks5u change, because the broadcasting world around it is changing. The commercial TV channels － ITV and Channel 4－ were required by the Thatcher Government's Broadcasting Act to become more commercial, competing with each other for advertisers, and cutting costs and jobs. But it is the arrival of new satellite channels - funded partly by advertising and partly by viewers' subscriptions - which will bring about the biggest changes in the long term.
56. The world famous BBC now faces ________.
A. the problem of new coverage　　               B. an uncertain prospect
C. inquiries by the general public　                D. shrinkage of audience
57. In the passage, which of the following about the BBC is not mentioned as the key issue?
A. Extension of its TV service to Far East.
B. Programmes as the subject of a nation-wide debate.
C. Potentials for further international co-operations.
D. Its existence as a broadcasting organization.
58. The BBC's royal charter （line 4, paragraph 4） stands for ________.
A. the financial support from the royal family      B. the privileges granted by the Queen
C. a contract with the Queen  　　                      D. a unique relationship with the royal family
59. The foremost reason why the BBC has to readjust itself is no other than ________.　　　　　　　　
A. the emergence of commercial TV channels
B. the enforcement of Broadcasting Act by the government
C. the urgent necessity to reduce costs and jobs
D. the challenge of new satellite channels