On Aug 29, 1988, the University of Wisconsin-Madison juniors Tim Keck and Christopher Johnson published the first-ever issue of The Onion. The two founders claimed it was the US’ “finest news source”.

Nearly thirty years later, the news outlet has become one of the most    1    media presences in the US. But don’t expect    2    and timeliness from it, because The Onion, which is now a website, only publishes fake news, or news satire. Its aim is to make readers    3   , and perhaps make them see things from a different angle.

The Onion’s articles comment on current events both real and fictional. Using a traditional newspaper layout, it    4    traditional newspapers with stories, editorials, op-ed pieces, and street-talk interviews.

Its humor often depends on presenting ordinary, everyday events as    5   . Stories with headlines such as “Area man knows all the shortcut keys”, or “Area man too poor to afford movers, too old to get help from his friends” are good    6   . “You know somebody like that,” Will Tracy, The Onion’s editor-in-chief, told the NPR in an interview. Their stories are presented “in that sort of news voice which    7    them to a certain level of importance that they don’t actually deserve.

   8    The Onion is most famous for its political reporting. An article in New Republic magazine says The Onion is the US’ “best op-ed page”, because it has “an ability to    9    locate and address a problem with an economy of words”. For example, when George W. Bush became the US president in 2001, The Onion published a satire piece predicting massive debt and a huge boost in military spending. The article    10   a speech Bush delivered to the public; its headline said it all: “Bush: ‘Our long national nightmare of peace and prosperity is finally over’.”

While traditional media outlets are    11    when reporting on sensitive topics such as religion and race, Tracy says nothing is off limits for The Onion, “no matter how uncomfortable they may make some readers.”

But editors at The Onion do tread a fine line (ÈçÂı¡±ù), as Tracy explains: “What you have to be really careful about is what the target of the joke is. If the target of the joke is wrong, if you’re targeting the victim or someone who doesn’t    12    our anger, then it doesn’t feel right and it also doesn’t feel funny.” The Onion caused public    13   when earlier this year, it tried to make fun of a 9-year-old Oscar-nominated actress by using highly offensive language. It later apologized.

For those unfamiliar with the concept of fake news stories, their satire and humor can easily be    14   . The Onion published a fake poll last year announcing that rural white Americans had a more favorable opinion of Iran’s then-president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, than of Barack Obama. An Iranian state news agency covered this as    15    news. The news agency immediately became an international laughing stock.

1£®A£®established   B£®progressive      C£®reliable         D£®authoritative

2£®A£®comprehensiveness                 B£®accuracy         C£®uniqueness    D£®complexity

3£®A£®motivated     B£®entertained      C£®awakened         D£®informed

4£®A£®makes improvements of             B£®makes use of     C£®makes fun of  D£®makes sense of

5£®A£®newsworthy    B£®trustworthy      C£®creditworthy     D£®praiseworthy

6£®A£®materials     B£®instructions     C£®opinions         D£®examples

7£®A£®exposes       B£®commits          C£®attaches         D£®elevates

8£®A£®But           B£®Moreover         C£®Instead          D£®Therefore

9£®A£®elegantly     B£®intensively      C£®earnestly        D£®instantly

10£®A£®criticized   B£®invented         C£®carried          D£®reviewed

11£®A£®considerate  B£®inefficient      C£®imprecise        D£®cautious

12£®A£®value        B£®tolerate         C£®deserve          D£®comprehend

13£®A£®alarm        B£®doubt            C£®confusion        D£®anger

14£®A£®missed       B£®removed          C£®accused          D£®imitated

15£®A£®inspiring    B£®remarkable       C£®misleading       D£®real