Do you prefer to watch TV or listen to the radio? There was a time when some people thought moving pictures sent out live into our houses would mean the 1 of tuning into the radio for entertainment and information. But radio 2 and developed quickly. And now, despite the development in complicated smartphones offering high-definition pictures, the popularity of podcasts（播客）is rising.
Perhaps the 3 in podcasting is not surprising - it offers a digital audio file that can be downloaded and stored for listening at any time. 4, it can also be streamed（在线收听）from the internet and played on a computer or MP3 player. And it's not just broadcasters, like the BBC, who are 5 podcasts; now commercial broadcasters, individuals and companies with no connection to broadcasting are making them. 6, anyone with something to say, and a few pounds to spend on the equipment, can get involved.
But where did this 7 for making portable audio programmes like podcasts begin? Journalist Ben Hammersley told the BBC that two changes greatly 8 the market - one technical and one cultural. In 2012, Apple released the iPhone podcast app, followed by a great improvement in inexpensive recording and editing equipment. Finally, the development of 4G mobile phone connections and 9 wi-fi meant listeners could browse, download or stream shows whenever and wherever they wanted.
Technological development has driven many changes in our 10 consumption habits. But however good the tech may be, there still needs to be something worth watching or listening to. The cultural breakthrough came in 2014 with a very specific podcast, Serial, a piece of non-fiction investigative journalism. It tells a non-fiction story over multiple episodes（集）which 11 people's imagination. To date, the first and second seasons of the show have had more than 340 million 12. Advertisers soon realised the money-making potential of this and other successful podcasts. And where the 13 goes, the money follows.
Now there are podcasts about anything and everything, even the educational contream that BBC Learning English offers! And these aural treats（听觉享受）are 14 on a wide range of platforms. Audiences are very specific, which can help advertisers 15 what they want to promote. And if there isn't a podcast to suit your interests, you can now easily make and distribute them -- and become your very own broadcaster.
