Part A: Reading Comprehension

Directions: Read the following text. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on the ANSWER SHEET. (40 points)

Text 1

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 the scope and seriousness of their arts coverage.

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 significant collections 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 deemed suitable for publication in general-circulation dailies.

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 were about. 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’.”

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 known solely 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, and a stylist so widely admired that his Autobiography (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 of writings on music is unknown save to specialists.

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.

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 

Answers & Explanations (答案与深度解析)

试题精解

21. [B] English-language newspapers used to carry more arts reviews.
【解析】细节题。文章第一段指出，过去25年报纸变化最大的是“艺术报道的范围（scope）和严肃性不可避免的衰落（inexorable decline）”。第二段提到，20世纪许多重要的评论集大部分是由报纸评论组成的。由此可推知，以前的报纸刊登的艺术评论比现在更多。

22. [A] free themes.
【解析】细节题。定位到第三段首句：We are even farther removed from the unfocused newspaper reviews...。unfocused 在此处意为“自由的、不集中的、不受限的”，对应 A 选项中的 free themes（自由的主题）。

23. [D] Not all writers are capable of journalistic writing.
【解析】人物观点题。定位到第三段 Newman 的话：“So few authors have brains enough or literary gift enough...”。纽曼认为很少有作家有足够的才华或天赋在新闻业中立足。D 选项是对这句话的同义替换。

24. [A] His music criticism may not appeal to readers today.
【解析】推理题。定位到最后一段。作者提到 postmodern readers have little use for the richly upholstered Vicwardian prose in which he specialized（后现代读者不再需要他擅长的那种华丽的散文风格）。说明他的风格不再吸引当代读者。

25. [B] The Lost Horizon in Newspapers.
【解析】主旨题。文章开头点明主题：报纸艺术报道的衰落。B 选项“报纸中消失的视野/地平线”生动地概括了这种高质量内容的流失。

考研核心句型与词汇

【亮点句型解析】

1. 倒装与比较结构：
"We are even farther removed from the unfocused newspaper reviews published in England..."
【解析】farther removed from 意为“距离更远”，这里比喻现代人更难理解那个时代的评论风格。

2. 连字符复合词：dirt-cheap, general-circulation
【解析】考研英语常使用此类复合词来增加信息密度。dirt-cheap（像土一样便宜，极便宜），general-circulation（普通发行）。