普通高中课程标准实验教科书 英语必修5 Unit 4 Making the news-

SEARCHING FOR THE TRUTH
        Collecting and writing news is like researching in history: the best information comes from those who were there at the time. So if we want to study the history of China in the sixth century AD, we look at the writings of the people who lived then. They are called the primary sources because they tell us what it was like to live then. People at a much later date who write about the same. events are called secondary¹ sources. For example, when we read the original writings of Jia Sixie on agriculture, we are reading a primary source; when we read about Jia Sixie in our textbook we are reading a secondary source because the passage was written about him and his ideas many years after he died.
         When we make news we use primary and secondary sources. We can see this most clearly in TV programmes. As we watch the news on TV, the person presenting the programme in the studio is the secondary source (because he tells us about the news) and the reporter in Iraq or the USA is the primary source (because he is telling us about what is actually happening there). Without these reporters acting² as primary sources, you would never find out what really happened in a war, earthquake, sports meeting, concert or festival. These reporters explain what is happening so we have a clearer idea of what is going on there. They often take photographers with them who also act as primary sources by giving us pictures of events.
         In a newspaper the position is different because these two roles are often combined. This means a reporter who investigates a story may be the same person who writes it. If this happens, the reporter is both the primary and the secondary source. But the photographer who works³ with him/her is still a primary source.
         It is important to separate primary and secondary sources because they can help us to decide what is true. A primary source is more likely to be true than a secondary one because he/she can give us facts (what happened) rather than opinions (what he/she thinks happened).

1 secondary   

adj.中级的，中等的，次要的；n.次要位置，副手

参考例句：

• It's a question of secondary importance.这是个次要的问题。
• Secondary school means junior school and high school.中学是指初中和高中。

2 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

3 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。