On a nondescript block south of New York's Union Square’ up a dreary staircase and through a black-barred gate, there is a long, narrow room that might be mistaken for a very small museum of literary counterculture. On one wall hangs two rows of iconic posters：a print of Che Guevara's proud head; a photograph of the authors Jean Genet, William S. Burroughs, and Allen Ginsberg marching at the 1968 Democratic National Convention ;a portrait of Bobby Kennedy. Ixiose-leaf binders of correspondence with groundbreaking authors line floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. Beside the bookcases, Samuel Beckett peers out of a black-and-white photograph with a fierce crow's gaze. Next to him in the picture stands a shorter, milder-looking man named Barney Rosset.

Rosset's publishing house, Grove Press, was a tiny company operating out of the ground floor of Rosset's brownstone when it published an obscure play called Waiting for Godot in 1954. By the time Beckett had won the Nobel Prize in 1969 ’ Grove had become a force that challenged and changed literature and American culture in deep and lasting ways. Its impact is still evident——from the Che Guevara posters adorning college dorms to the canonical status of the house's once controversial authors. Rosset is less well known— but late in his life he is achieving some wider recognition.

"Hie story of Rossel's life is essentially one of creative destruction. He found writers who wanted to break new paths, and then he picked up a sledge-hammer to help ihem whale away at the existing order.

Rosset saw many crises. He or his company was forever going broke, being attacked, breaking the law. In his legal battles, Rosset made his most enduring impact. Before Rosset challenged federal and slate obscenity laws, censorship was an accepted feature of publishing. His victories in high courts helped to change that. Rosset believed that it was impossible to represent life in the streets and in the dark recesses of the heart and mind honestly without using language that in ihe mid-20th century was considered “ obscene"— and therefore illegal to sell or mail. To a significant extent, the books he published convinced others that this was true.

Rosset wasn't the only publisher who took risks, but he was one of the most visible and uncompromising. Not everything he published was high-minded. Some of it aimed below the belt, and he was uncompromising about that too. His stubbornness made his achievements possible, bul it also helped to undo him. At the end of the 60s, Grove moved into fancy offices, into film, and, to some extent, away from books. The repression of the 50s and freewheeling openness of the 60s were over, and other houses, now free from fear of censorship, took more chances. The left splintered. The feminist movemenl attacked him. Grove began to drift. But Rosset, as always, kept doing what he wanted, everything else be damned.

1.Which of the following statements contains a metaphor? [A]…with a fierce crow's gaze. (Paragraph One)　 　[B] He or his company was forever going broke ...(Paragraph Four)

[C] Some of it aimed below the belt ... (Paragraph Five)

[D] "Die feminist movement attacked him. (Paragraph Five)

2. What does "creative deBtmclion" (Paragraph Three) mean?

[A] Rosset caused various types of damage.

[B] Rosset broke rules to bring about good changes.

[C] Rosset picked out creative writer to destroy.

[D] Rosset needed writers of powerful influence.

3. According to the passage, the biggest achievement Rosset has made is

[A] publishing Waiting for Godot.

[B] defeating all the crisis.

[C] winning the case of censorship.

[D] producing successful films.

4. Which of the following can best describe Barney Rosset?

[A] He's the only publisher who dares to take risks.

[B] He's an uncompromising man who favors obscenity books. [C] He's a stubborn man who doesn't care others' opinion. [D] He's a Nobel-prize winning American publisher.

5. Tlie purpose of the writer in writing this passage is to

[A] describe the changes Rosset bring to American publishing.

[B] introduce Bamey Rosset, an American publisher.

[C] show the development of Grove Press.

[D] analyze what helps Rosset to be successful.

iconic a.圣像的，偶像的

nondescript a.無(wú)明顯，特征而不易分類的 obscenity n.下流,** recess n.深處

repression n.壓抑，壓制， sledge-hammer 長(zhǎng)柄大錘 splinter v.分裂 whale away 猛打

答案解析

1. [A]修辭格題。原文把貝克特的眼睛比喻成了牛眼,屬于隱喻“用法。因iS案為[A]。[B]所在句意為“他和他的公司始終處于玻產(chǎn)、受攻擊和違法的處境。" 沒(méi)有隱喻的用法，故排除;[C]中的表達(dá)方式below the belt字面意思是“腰帶以下”,本文中指的是與性有關(guān)的內(nèi)容,或是不符合規(guī)則的行為，所以此處為委婉語(yǔ),不是隱喻;[D]意為“婦女運(yùn)動(dòng)者攻擊他",不是隱喻,故排除。

2. [B:語(yǔ)義理解題。由第三段第二句可知,羅塞特首先尋找那些想要有所突破的作家，然后幫助他們一起打破現(xiàn)有的秩序——這是在進(jìn)行破壞。但是在破壞的同時(shí)，他們也會(huì)重新創(chuàng)造出新的規(guī)則與藝術(shù)作品。因此答案為[B]“羅塞特打破規(guī)則,帶來(lái)好的變革"。

3. [C]事實(shí)細(xì)節(jié)題。第四段第二句明確指出“在他與法律的抗?fàn)幹?羅塞特的影響力最為久遠(yuǎn)"。接下來(lái),文章講述的正是羅塞特的努力，政府對(duì)于出版業(yè)的檢查制度才不再那么嚴(yán)格。因此,羅塞特的成就是[C]“贏了與檢查制度有關(guān)的案子”。

4. [C]事實(shí)細(xì)節(jié)題。第五段第一句中就用到了uncompromising—詞,最后一句也說(shuō),Rosset始終堅(jiān)持做自己想做的事情。因此,[C] “他非常固執(zhí),不在意別人的看法”為正確答案。由第五段第一句可知,羅塞特并不是敢于冒險(xiǎn)的出版家.故排除[A];雖然第四段說(shuō)他贏得了關(guān)于審查**作品的案子,但他是為了能夠出版更多深刻揭露社會(huì)的作品，并不能說(shuō)[B] “他特別喜歡**書籍"，故排除;第二段中說(shuō)獲得諾貝爾獎(jiǎng)的是貝克特,而不是羅塞特,故排除[D]。

5. [B]主旨大意題。文章以羅塞特的辦公室引出了這位出版家,在第二段中講述了他對(duì)于美國(guó)的重要影響,在接下來(lái)的幾段中描寫了他的成就及性格。因此,本文的主題為[B]“介紹美國(guó)出版家一巴尼?羅賽特”。

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