Perhaps only a small boy training to be a wizard at the Hogwarts school of magic could cast a spell so powerful as to create the biggest book launch ever. Wherever in the world the clock strikes midnight on June 20th, his followers will flock to get their paws on one of more than 10m copies of “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix”. Bookshops will open in the middle of the night and delivery firms are drafting in extra staff and bigger trucks. Related toys, games, DVDs and other merchandise will be everywhere. There will be no escaping Pottermania.
Yet Mr. Potter’s world is a curious one, in which things are often not what they appear. While an excitable media (hereby including The Economist, happy to support such a fine example of globalization) is helping to hype the launch of J.K. Rowling’s fifth novel, about the most adventurous thing that the publishers (Scholastic in America and Britain’s Bloomsbury in English elsewhere) have organized is a reading by Ms Rowling in London’s Royal Albert Hall, to be broadcast as a live web cast.
Hollywood, which owns everything else to do with Harry Potter, says it is doing even less. Incredible as it may seem, the guardians of the brand say that, to protect the Potter franchise, they are trying to maintain a low profile. Well, relatively low. Ms Rowling signed a contract in 1998 with Warner Brothers, part of AOL Time Warner, giving the studio exclusive film, licensing and merchandising rights in return for what now appears to have been a steal: some $500,000. Warner licenses other firms to produce goods using Harry Potter characters or images, from which Ms Rowling gets a big enough cut that she is now wealthier than the queen ―if you believe Britain’s Sunday Times rich list. The process is self-generating: each book sets the stage for a film, which boosts book sales, which lifts sales of Potter products.
Globally, the first four Harry Potter books have sold some 200m copies in 55 languages; the two movies have grossed over $1.8 billion at the box office. This is a stunning success by any measure, especially as Ms Rowling has long demanded that Harry Potter should not be over commercialized. In line with her wishes, Warner says it is being extraordinarily careful, at least by Hollywood standards, about what it licenses and to whom. It imposed tough conditions on Coca Cola, insisting that no Harry Potter images should appear on cans, and is now in the process of making its licensing programme even more restrictive. Coke may soon be considered too mass market to carry the brand at all.
The deal with Warner ties much of the merchandising to the films alone. There are no officially sanctioned products relating to “Order of the Phoenix”; nor yet for “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban”, the film of the third book, which is due out in June 2004. Warner agrees that Ms Rowling’s creation is a different sort of commercial property, one with long-term potential that could be damaged by a typical Hollywood marketing blitz, says Diane Nelson, the studio’s global brand manager for Harry Potter. It is vital, she adds, that with more to come, readers of the books are not alienated. “The evidence from our market research is that enthusiasm for the property by fans is not waning.”
26. When the author says “there will be no escaping Potter mania”, he implies that .
[A] Harry Potter’s appeal for the readers is simply irresistible
[B] it is somewhat irrational to be so crazy about the magic boy
[C] craze about Harry Potter will not be over in the near future
[D] Hogwarts school of magic will be the biggest attraction world over
27. Ms Rowling’s reading in London’s Royal Albert Hall is mentioned to show .
[A] publishers are really adventurous in managing the Potter’s business
[B] businesses are actually more credible than media in Potter’s world
[C] the media are promoting Pottermania more actively than Hollywood
[D] businesses involved with Potter are moving along in an unusual way
28. The author believes that .
[A] Britain’s Sunday Times rich list is not very convincing as it sounds
[B] Time Warner’s management of licenses is a bit over commercialized
[C] other firms may produce goods using Harry Potter images at will
[D] what Ms Rowling got in return for her offering to Warner is a real bargain
29. Paragraph 4 intends mainly to show Warner’s .
[A] determination to promote Potter
[B] consistence in conducting business
[C] high regard for Ms Rowling’s request
[D] careful restrictions on licensing to Coco-Cola
30. It can be concluded from the last paragraph that .
[A] products of Potter films have brought enormous profits to Warner
[B] current Hollywood’s marketing of Potter may damage its potential
[C] readers could get tired of Ms Rowling’s writings sooner or later
[D] Warner will maintain the same strategy with Potter in future
Text 3
What accounts for the astounding popularity of Dr.Phil McGraw? Why have so many TV viewers and book buyers embraced this tough warrior of a psychologist who tells them to suck it up and deal with their own problems rather than complaining and blaming everyone else? Obviously, Oprah Winfrey has a lot to do with it. She made him famous with regular appearances on her show, and is co-producing the new "Dr.Phil" show that’s likely to be the hottest new daytime offering this fall. But we decided to put Dr. Phil on the cover not just because he’s a phenomenon. We think his success may reflect an interesting shift in the American spirit of time. Could it be that we’re finally getting tired of the culture of victimology?
This is a tricky subject, because there are very sad real victims among us. Men still abuse women in alarming numbers. Racism and discrimination persist in subtle and not-so-subtle forms. But these days, almost anyone can find a therapist or lawyer to assure them that their professional relationship or health problems aren’t their fault. As Marc Peyser tells us in his terrific profile of Dr. Phil, the TV suits were initially afraid audiences would be offended by his stern advice to "get real!" In fact, viewers thirsted for the tough talk. Privately, we all know we have to take responsibility for decisions we control. It may not be revolutionary advice (and may leave out important factors like unconscious impulses). But it’s still an important message with clear echoing as, a year later, we contemplate the personal lessons of September 11.
Back at the ranch (livestock farm)-the one in Crawford, Texas-President Bush continued to issue mixed signals on Iraq. He finally promised to consult allies and Congress before going to war, and signaled an attack isn’t coming right now ("I’m a patient man"). But so far there has been little consensus-building, even as the administration talks of "regime change" and positions troops in the gulf. Bush’s team also ridiculed the press for giving so much coverage to the Iraq issue. Defense Secretary Rumsfeld called it a "frenzy," and Press Secretary Ari Fleischer dismissed it as "self-inflicted silliness." But as Michael Hirsh notes in our lead story, much of the debate has been inside the Republican Party, where important voices of experience argue Bush needs to prepare domestic and world opinion and think through the global consequences before moving forward. With so much at stake, the media shouldn’t pay attention? Now who’s being silly?
31. Faced with diversified issues of injustice, Dr. Phil McGraw advised that people should __.
[A] strongly voice their condemnation of those responsible
[B] directly probe the root of their victimization
[C] carefully examine their own problems
[D] sincerely express their sympathy for the victims
32. One possible response, when the program "Dr. Phil" was first presented on TV, that people were afraid of was _____.
[A] suspicion
[B] satisfaction
[C] indifference
[D] indignation
33. The word "tough"(Line 7, Paragraph 2) most probably means_____.
[A] piercing to the truth
[B] using vulgar language
[C] mean and hostile
[D] difficult to understand
34. The author advises the public to _____.
[A] leave out factors such as unconscious impulses
[B] draw lessons of their own from September 11
[C] respond decisively to September 11 tragedy
[D] accept decisions beyond our control
35. With a series of questions at the end of the text, the author _____.
[A] feels uncertain of what his own opinion is
[B] differentiates two conflicting views
[C] criticizes the Bush Administration
[D] argues for the US policy on Iraq
