In 1755 British writer Samuel Johnson published an acerbic letter to Lord Chesterfield rebuking his patron for neglect and declining further support. Johnson’s rejection of his patron’s belated assistance has often been identified as a key moment in the history of publishing, marking the end of the culture of patronage. However, patronage had been in decline for 50 years, yet would survive, in attenuated form, for another 50. Indeed, Johnson was in 1762 awarded a pension by the Crown—a subtle form of sponsorship, tantamount to state patronage. The importance of Johnson’s letter is not so much historical as emotional; it would become a touchstone for all who repudiated patrons and for all who embraced the laws of the marketplace.
GRE阅读真题 文章解析
第一句 ：
In 1755 British writer Samuel Johnson published an acerbic letter to Lord Chesterfield rebuking his patron for neglect and declining further support.
白话版讲解：
在 1755 年，英国文学家 Samuel Johnson 发表了一篇写给蔡斯菲尔德伯爵的信。这封信用词尖酸刻薄，指责了蔡斯菲尔德伯爵（也就是 Samuel Johnson 的赞助商）忽视并不再继续资助自己的事情。
第二句 ：
Johnson’s rejection of his patron’s belated assistance has often been identified as a key moment in the history of publishing, marking the end of the culture of patronage.
白话版讲解：
Johnson 拒绝了其赞助商迟来的援助这件事情通常被认为是出版史上的一个关键时刻，这件事标志着赞助文化的结束 。
第三句 ：
o we ver, patronage had been in decline for 50 years, yet would survive, in attenuated form, for another 50.
白话版讲解：
但是，赞助文化（在 Johnson 这件事之前）已经没落了 50 年，却又以另外一种微弱的（不那么明显的）形式继续存在了 50 年。
这句话说明作者和主流的观点不一致。主流观点认为 Johnson 的这件事就说明赞助文化结束了。但作者认为，在这件事之前，赞助文化就没落了；而这件事之后，赞助文化还继续存在了 50 年，只不过是以其它形式存在的。
第四句 ：
Indeed, Johnson was in 1762 awarded a pension by the Crown—a subtle form of sponsorship, tantamount to state patronage.
白话版讲解：
确实，在 1762 年的时候，Johnson 还获得了皇室发放的退休金——这其实就是一种微妙的资助形式。这笔退休金的金额和国家赞助金相当。
第五句 ：
The importance of Johnson’s letter is not so much historical as emotional; it would become a touchstone for all who repudiated patrons and for all who embraced the laws of the marketplace.
白话版讲解：
Johnson 这封信件的重要性更多地体现在情感上面（相比它的历史重要性而言）；它成为了所有批评赞助文化，以及所有赞成市场规则的人的试金石（检验标准）。
这句话说明作者认为 Johnson 这封信在历史上的意义没有那么大，因为他认为这件事并没有标志着赞助文化的结束。但是 Johnson 这封信依然有着很重要的意义，其意义更多在于它成为了判断一个人是否是批评赞助文化、赞成市场规则的。
GRE阅读真题题目解析
1. The author of the passage mentions Johnson’s 1762 pension award in order to
A. reveal that Johnson remained consistent in his rebuke of Lord Chesterfield well after 1755.
B. p rovide evidence for a general trend in the latter half of the eighteenth century of private patronage’s being replaced by state sponsorship.
C. situate the debate over the end of patronage within the wider realm of eighteenth-century economic history.
D. suggest that Johnson’s letter to Chesterfield was noticed by the Crown only years after it was published.
E. emphasize that patronage still helped support Johnson’s writing after his letter to Chesterfield.
白话版讲解：
第一题：作者提到 Johnson 在 1762 年收到的退信金，目的是什么？
这道题的答案是 E。
A. 表明 Johnson 在 1755 年指责了蔡斯菲尔德伯爵之后，其在言行上保持了一致。
B. 提供了证据，表明 18 世纪后半页，私人赞助被国家赞助所替代的趋势。
C. 将赞助文化究竟是何时结束的这一争论放在 18 世纪经济史这个更大的领域进行讨论。
D. 表明 Johnson 给蔡斯菲尔德伯爵写的信在被发表之后的短短几年里，就被王室注意到了。
E. 强调了在 Johnson 给蔡斯菲尔德伯爵的写了信件之后，赞助商依然在为 Johnson 提供帮助
2. Which of the following best describes the function of the highlighted phrase in the context of the passage as a whole? (patronage had been in decline for 50 years, yet would survive, in attenuated form, for another 50)
A. It points out the most obvious implications of Johnson’s letter to his patron.
B. It suggests a motivation for Johnson’s rejection of Chesterfield’ s patronage.
C. It provides information that qualifies the assertion that Johnson’s letter sharplydefined of the end of a publishing era.
D. It provides a possible defense for Chesterfield’s alleged neglect of Johnson.
E . It refutes the notion the patrons are found primarily among the nobility.
白话版讲解：
第二题：以下哪个选项最能说明文中加粗部分的内容（patronage had been in decline for 50 years, yet would survive, in attenuated form, for another 50）在整篇文章中的作用。
这道题的正确答案是 C。
A.这部分指出了 Johnson 给其赞助商写的信件最明确的意义。
B.这部分表明了 Johnson 拒绝蔡斯菲尔德伯爵的赞助的原因、动机。
C.这部分提供了信息，让前文提到的、认为 Johnson 写给蔡斯菲尔德伯爵的信件就标志着一个出版时代的结束这种说法变得没那么绝对。（这个说法符合原文内容，原文首先提到有些人认为 Johnson 的信件就标志着赞助文化的结束，这件事之后赞助文化就消失了。但加粗这部分的内容认为，在这件事之后，赞助文化并没有完全消失，而是苟延残喘了 50 年之后才结束的。所以加粗这部分是让前面的这个说法变得没那么绝对。）
D.这部分为蔡斯菲尔德伯爵据称忽视了 Johnson 提供了一个可能的辩解（理由）。
E.这部分反驳了一个观点，即赞助商大部分都是贵族。
3. Which of the following statements about literary patronage may be inferred from the passage?
A. It was strongly defended by most patrons.
B. It was regulated by the state in Britain after 1762.
C. It had largely fallen out of favor by 1800.
