Of all the changes that have taken place in English-language newspapers during the past quarter-century, perhaps the most far-reaching has been the inexorable decline in thescope and seriousness of their arts coverage.
单词&词组inexorable [ɪnˈeksərəbl] adj.不可阻止的
scope [skoʊp]（出现2次）机会，能力，范围
coverage [ˈkʌvərɪdʒ] n.覆盖范围；[僻义] n.新闻报道
本段翻译在过去的25年间英文报纸所发生的变化中，影响最深远的可能就是它们对艺术方面的报道范围和严肃程度上呈现出都不可遏止的衰落。
第二段It is difficult to the point of impossibility for the average reader under the age of forty to imagine a time when high-quality arts criticism could be found in most big-city newspapers. Yet a considerable number of the most significantcollections of criticism published in the 20th century consisted in large part of newspaper reviews. To read such books today is to marvel at the fact that their learned contents were once deemedsuitable for publication in general-circulation dailies.
单词&词组average [ˈævərɪdʒ] （常用词）adj.平均的，典型的，普通的
criticism [ˈkrɪtɪsɪzəm]（出现15次）n.文章评论，批评
considerable [kənˈsɪdərəbl]（出现6次）adj.相当大（多）的，指的考虑的
significant [sɪɡˈnɪfɪkənt]（出现15次）adj.有重大意义的，显著的
collection （出现8次）n.聚集，一群人，作品集，募捐的钱
consist [kənˈsɪst]（出现4次）v.存在于，由...组成
marvel [ˈmɑːrvl] v.感到惊奇
deem [diːm]（出现4次）相信，认为
circulation [ˌsɜːrkjəˈleɪʃn] n.发行
本段翻译对于年龄低于40岁的普通读者来说，他们无法想象在大多数的大城市的报纸上都刊登了高质量的文艺评论的时代。然而，在20世纪出版的最重要的评论集中，有相当多的内容都包含在大部分的报纸评论中。现在，人们一读到这些评论书籍，就会惊叹这样一个事实：它们渊博的内容曾被认为适合发表在大众日报上。
第三段We are even farther removed from the unfocused newspaper reviews published in England between the turn of the 20th century and the eve of World War II, at a time when newsprint was dirt-cheap and stylish arts criticism was considered an ornament to the publications in which it appeared. In those far-off days, it was taken for granted that the critics of major papers would write in detail and at length about the events they covered. Theirs was a serious business, and even those reviewers who wore their learning lightly, like George Bernard Shaw and Ernest Newman, could be trusted to know what they wereabout. These men believed in journalism as a calling, and were proud to be published in the daily press. “So few authors have brains enough or literary gift enough to keep their own end up in journalism,” Newman wrote, “that I am tempted to define ‘journalism’ as ‘a term of contempt applied by writers who are not read to writers who are.’”
单词&词组eve (出现2次) n.前夕
stylish [ˈstaɪlɪʃ] adj.时髦的
ornament [ˈɔːnəment]（出现2次）v.装饰；n.装饰
grant [ɡrænt]（出现13次）v.允许，承认，拨款
about（常用词）[僻义]prep.从事于，忙于
calling n.使命
contempt [kənˈtempt]（出现4次）轻视，蔑视
in detail and at length （十分详尽）
keep one's own end up （在困难面前坚持下去）
be tempted to（不禁）
本段翻译我们已经远离了没有关注焦点的报纸评论，而在 20 世纪早期到二战之前，英国出版这种关注内容广泛的报纸评论；当时白报纸非常便宜，而且人们认为时新的文艺评论给所刊登它的出版物增添了光彩。在那些遥远的年代，各大报刊的评论家们都会详尽报道他们所报道的事件，这在当时被视为是理所当然的事情。他们的写作是件严肃的事情，人们相信：甚至那些轻轻松松就展示了他们的学识的评论家，比如George Bernard Shaw和Ernest Newman也知道自己在做什么。这些人相信新闻写作是他们的天职，并且以（自己的文章）能在日常新闻报刊中出版为豪。几乎没有作家能拥有足够的智慧或文学天赋以保证他们在新闻报纸写作中站稳脚跟”， Newman写道，“我倾向于把‘新闻写作’定义为不受读者欢迎的作家用来嘲讽受读者欢迎的作家的一个‘轻蔑之词’ ” 。
第四段Unfortunately, these critics are virtually forgotten. Neville Cardus, who wrote for the Manchester Guardian from 1917 until shortly before his death in 1975, is now knownsolely as a writer of essays on the game of cricket. During his lifetime, though, he was also one of England’s foremost classical-music critics, a stylist so widely admired that hisAutobiography (1947) became a best-seller. He was knighted in 1967, the first music critic to be so honored. Yet only one of his books is now in print, and his vast body ofwritings on music is unknown save to specialists.
单词&词组virtually [ˈvɜːrtʃuəli]（出现6次）adv.差不多，实际上
solely [ˈsoʊlli] （出现5次）adv.仅，单独地
cricket [ˈkrɪkɪt] n.板球
foremost [ˈfɔːrmoʊst]（出现1次）adj.最重要的，最好的，一流的
admire [ədˈmaɪər]（出现7次）v.钦佩，欣赏
autobiography [ˌɔːtəbaɪˈɑːɡrəfi] n.自传
knight [naɪt] n.爵士；v.封为爵士
save（常用词）v.救，存储，节约；[僻义]prep.除了....之外
本段翻译遗憾的是，这些评论家几乎被完全遗忘了。Neville Cardus从1917年开始一直到1975年去世前不久还在为《曼彻斯特卫报》写文章，如今他仅仅作为一位板球比赛的评论作家而为人们所知。然而，在他的一生之中，他同样也是最重要的英国古典音乐评论家之一，他是一位如此广受称赞的名作家，以至于他的自传（1947）成为最畅销的书籍。1967年，他被授予爵士头衔，成为第一个享此殊荣的音乐评论家。然而，他的书中只有一本现在还在销售，他大量的有关音乐的文章除了专家以外已经鲜为人知。
第五段Is there any chance that Cardus’s criticism will enjoy a revival? The prospect seems remote. Journalistic tastes had changed long before his death, and postmodern readers have little use for the richly upholstered Vicwardian prose in which he specialized. Moreover, the amateur tradition in music criticism has been in headlong retreat.
单词&词组revival [rɪˈvaɪvl] n.复苏，复兴，再流行
prospect [prospect]（出现12次）n.可能性，背景，前景
taste（出现4次）n.爱好，品位
postmodern adj.后现代的
upholster [ʌpˈhoʊlstər] v.给...做软垫
prose [proʊz]（出现3次）n.散文；adj.散文的
amateur [ˈæmətər]（出现16次）业余爱好者
headlong retreat（急速衰减）
本段翻译Cardus的评论有没有机会重新流行？前景似乎非常渺茫。在他去世很久以前，新闻业的品味已经发生改变，而且后现代的读者几乎不需要他所擅长的修辞华丽的维多利亚和爱德华时期的散文体。而且，音乐评论的业余传统已经迅速走向衰落。
5道题目21. It is indicated in Paragraphs 1 and 2 that .
[A] arts criticism has disappeared from big-city newspapers
[B] English-language newspapers used to carry more arts reviews
[C] high-quality newspapers retain a large body of readers
[D] young readers doubt the suitability of criticism on dailies
22. Newspaper reviews in England before World War II were characterized by .
[A] free themes
[B] casual style
[C] elaborate layout
[D] radical viewpoints
23. Which of the following would Shaw and Newman most probably agree on?
[A] It is writers’ duty to fulfill journalistic goals.
[B] It is contemptible for writers to be journalists.
[C] Writers are likely to be tempted into journalism.
[D] Not all writers are capable of journalistic writing.
24. What can be learned about Cardus according to the last two paragraphs?
[A] His music criticism may not appeal to readers today.
[B] His reputation as a music critic has long been in dispute.
[C] His style caters largely to modern specialists.
[D] His writings fail to follow the amateur tradition.
25. What would be the best title for the text?
[A] Newspapers of the Good Old Days
[B] The Lost Horizon in Newspapers
[C] Mournful Decline of Journalism
[D] Prominent Critics in Memory
选项单词radical [ˈrædɪkl] adj.根本的，彻底的
elaborate [ɪˈlæbəreɪt] adj.精心制作的
layout [ˈleɪaʊt] n.布局，安排，设计
casual [ˈkæʒuəl] adj.马虎的，疏忽的
mournful [ˈmɔːrnfl] adj.悲哀的
horizon [həˈraɪzn] n.见识，眼界
prominent [ˈprɑːmɪnənt] adj.卓越的
参考答案BADAB
