Before the 1830s,most newspapers were sold through annual subscriptions in America, usually $8 to $10 a year. Today $8 or $10 seems a small amount of money, but at that time these amounts were forbidding to most citizens. Accordingly, newspapers were read almost only by rich people in politics or the trades. In addition, most newspapers had little in them that would appeal to a mass audience. They were dull and visually forbidding. But the revolution that was taking place in the 1830s would change all that.
在1830年代之前，美国的大多数报纸都是通过年度订阅销售的，通常是每年8到10美元。今天看来，这些金额似乎微不足道，但在当时，这些金额对大多数公民来说是难以承受的。因此，报纸几乎只被政治或商业界的富人阅读。此外，大多数报纸的内容很少能吸引大众。它们枯燥乏味，视觉上也不吸引人。但是，1830年代发生的革命将改变这一切。

The trend, then, was toward the “penny paper”— a term referring to papers made widely available to the public. It meant any inexpensive newspaper; perhaps more importantly it meant newspapers that could be bought in single copies on the street.
那时的趋势是向“便士报纸”发展——这个术语指的是广泛向公众提供的报纸。它意味着任何价格低廉的报纸；也许更重要的是，它意味着可以在街头单份购买的报纸。

This development did not take place overnight. It had been possible(but not easy)to buy single copies of newspapers before 1830,but this usually meant the reader had to go down to the printer’s office to purchase a copy. Street sales were almost unknown. However, within a few years, street sales of newspapers would be commonplace in eastern cities. At first the price of single copies was seldom a penny—usually two or three cents was charged —and some of the older well-known papers charged five or six cents. But the phrase “penny paper “ caught the public’s fancy, and soon there would be papers that did indeed sell for only a penny.
这一发展并非一蹴而就。在1830年之前，购买单份报纸是可能的（但并不容易），但这通常意味着读者必须亲自到印刷厂购买。街头销售几乎闻所未闻。然而，几年之内，东部城市的报纸街头销售将变得司空见惯。起初，单份报纸的价格很少是一分钱——通常收费两到三分钱——一些知名的老牌报纸收费五到六分钱。但“便士报纸”这个说法吸引了公众的注意，很快，就会有报纸真的只卖一分钱。

This new trend of newspapers for “the man on the street” did not begin well. Some of the early ventures(企业)were immediate failures. Publishers already in business, people who were owners of successful papers, had little desire to change the tradition. It took a few youthful and daring businessmen to get the ball rolling.
这种面向“街头民众”的报纸新趋势起初并不顺利。一些早期的尝试立即失败了。已经从事出版业的出版商，即那些拥有成功报纸的业主，几乎没有改变传统的意愿。这需要一些年轻而大胆的商人来推动这一进程。

28.Which of the following best describes newspapers in America before the 1830s?
A. Academic. B. Unattractive. C. Inexpensive. D. Confidential.
答案：B

29.What did street sales mean to newspapers?
A. They would be priced higher. B. They would disappear from cities.
C. They could have more readers. D. They could regain public trust.
答案：C

30.Who were the newspapers of the new trend targeted at?
A. Local politicians. B. Common people.
C. Young publishers. D. Rich businessmen.
答案：B

31.What can we say about the birth of the penny paper?
A. It was a difficult process. B. It was a temporary success.
C. It was a robbery of the poor. D. It was a disaster for printers.
答案：A