“The Voice” has become a major player in the TV talent-show stages, as the show has become NBC’s biggest entertainment prime-time program of 2012. In addition to being a hit in the ratings, “The Voice” is also a hit with critics and Emmy voters: The second season of the show , which aired from February to May 2012, has earned the 2012 Critics’ Choice Award for Best Realty-Series Competition and an Emmy nomination (提名) for Outstanding Reality-Competition Program.
All the original coaches are back for the third season in a row: Christina Aguilera, Maroon 5 lead singer Adam Levine, Cee Lo Green and Blake Shelton. The show’s other on-air talent returning for Season 3 are host/producer Carson Daly and social media reporter Christina Milian, who has been with the show since Season 2. The grand prize for the winner is also the same: a record deal with Universal Republic Records.
The third season of “The Voice” features two big new changes: “steals”, in which the coaches can steal contestants who have been rejected from another coach’s team, and “knockout rounds”. In the “battle rounds,” two contestants face off in a duet (二重唱) of a song chosen by their coach. When a contestant is rejected from a team after a battle round, another coach has the option to “steal” the contestant for his or her team. If more than one coach wants the same contestant, then the contestant gets to choose the coach. In the “knockout rounds,” two contestants face off by each doing a different song of the contestant’s choice, and coaches can no longer “steal” a contestant who is rejected.
Season 3 will also have a new group of four advisers, who are each paired with a coach: Green Day lead singer with Aguilera; Mary J. Blige with Levine; Michael Bublé with Shelton; and Matchbox Twenty lead singer Rob Thomas with Green. At an August 2012 press event held at “The Voice” executive producer Mark Burnett’s home in Malibu, California, members of the media gathered for a press conference with Burnett, Aguilera, Green, Shelton, Levine, Daly and Milian to discuss changes in the show and what the future holds for “The Voice.”
小题1:What does the underlined word “aired” in Paragraph 1 mean?

A．open

B．perform

C．sing

D．broadcast

小题2:On which section of a newspaper will you read this passage?

A．Finance

B．Current affairs

C．Tech

D．Entertainment

小题3:According to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT true?

A．“The Voice” has earned the recognition of critics and Emmy voters.

B．The prize of “The Voice” remains the same as the previous year.

C．“The Voice” has become the biggest world entertainment of 2012.

D．All the original coaches are back for the third season in a row.