①Of 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.

②It 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.

③We 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’.” 

④Unfortunately, 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.

⑤Is 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. 

1.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.

解析：选B。B综合理解题。根据题目定位到第一、二段，在过去25年中英语报纸的艺术报道呈衰退趋势，而在以前那个时代在大多数大城市的报纸上都能找到高质量艺术评论，可推知过去的报纸承载了更多的艺术评论，故选B。

2.Newspaper reviews in England before World War II were characterized by _________

A free themes.

B casual style.

C elaborate layout.

D radical viewpoints.

解析：选A。A细节理解题。根据England和World War II定位到第三段，根据 the unfocused newspaper reviews可知20世纪初和二战前夕的报纸评论没有关注焦点，A“主题自由”更符合原文，故选A。

3.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.

解析：选D。D细节理解题。根据Shaw and Newman定位到第三段后半部分，可知Shaw和Newman观点相近，他们把新闻工作看作一种使命，Newman曾写道很少有作家有足够的头脑或文学天赋来做好新闻工作，keep their own end up意为“做好他们自己的事”，故选D。

4.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 modem specialists.

D His writings fail to follow the amateur tradition.

解析：选A。A推理判断题。根据Cardus定位到最后一段，可知他的大量音乐著作除了专家外无人知晓，后现代读者对他所擅长的辞藻华丽的维多利亚风格的散文也没什么需求，可推知他的音乐评论已经不能吸引现在的读者了，故选A。

5.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

解析：选B。B主旨大意题。文章开篇点题：艺术报道正不可阻挡地衰退，综合后文内容及尾段点题可知，本文主要围绕报纸中的艺术评论正衰退这一主题进行，B符合原文，故选B。