Passage One
If the new art is not accessible to everyone, which certainly seems to be the case, this implies that its impulses are not of a generically human kind. It is an art not for people in general but for a special class who may not be better but who are evidently different.
Before we go further, one point must be clarified. What is it that the majority of people call aesthetic pleasure? What happens in their minds when they “like” a work of art; for example， a play? The answer is easy. They like a play when they become interested in the human destinies that are represented, when the love and hatred, the joys and sorrows of the dramatic personages so move them that they participate in it all as though it were happening in real life. And they call a work “good” if it succeeds in creating the illusion necessary to make the imaginary personages appear like living persons. In poetry the majority of people seek the passion and pain of the human being behind the poet. Paintings attract them if they find in them figures of men or women it would be interesting to meet.
It thus appears that to the majority of people aesthetic pleasure means a state of mind that is essentially indistinguishable from their ordinary behavior. It differs merely in accidental qualities, being perhaps less utilitarian, more intense, and free from painful consequences. But the object toward which their attention and, consequently, all their other mental activities are directed is the same as in daily life: people and passions. When forced to consider artistic forms proper—for example, in some surrealistic or abstract art—most people will only tolerate them if they do not interfere with their perception of human forms and fates. As soon as purely aesthetic elements predominate and the story of John and Susie grows elusive, most people feel out of their depth and are at a loss as to what to make of the scene, the book, or the painting. A work of art vanishes from sight for a beholder who seeks in that work of art nothing but the moving fate of John and Susie or Tristan and Isolde. Unaccustomed to behaving in any mode except the practical one in which feelings are aroused and emotional involvement ensues, most people are unsure how to respond to a work that does not invite sentimental intervention.
Now this is a point that has to be made perfectly clear. Neither grieving nor rejoicing at such human destinies as those presented by a work of art begins to define true artistic pleasure; indeed, preoccupation with the human content of the work is in principle incompatible with aesthetic enjoyment proper.
This passage is primarily concerned with the ________.
由第二段开头第二句 “What is it that the majority of people call aesthetic pleasure?” 大多数人说的艺术享受是什么.......第三段第一句 “It thus appears that to the majority of people aesthetic pleasure m e a n s .” 对于大多数人艺术享受大概意味着.......最后一段第二句 “Neither grieving nor rejoicing...begins to define true artistic pleasure”无论悲伤或喜悦，都不能定义真正的艺术享受。可知全文在探讨什么是“artistic pleasure”。
It is most likely that “the story of John and Susie” in Paragraph 3 refers to ________.
由第二段 “...they call a work “good” if it succeeds in creating the illusion necessary to make the imaginary personages appear like living persons...seek the passion and pain of the human being...find...figures...it would be interesting to meet.” 大多数人觉得一个作品好，如果他们觉得这个作品生动形象的体现生活……其中的酸甜苦辣……生活中可能存在的有趣人物。故可知“John and Susie” 讲述的都是日常中的典型形象。
The author suggests that the majority of people resist modern art because they ________.
同上一题，又开头第一段“If the new art is not accessible to every one...for a special class who may not be better but who are evidently different. ”并不是每个人都能欣赏新兴艺术.......给一个不能说更好，但一定和常人有所不同的人欣赏的。可见新型艺术不能为大多数人所接受是因为大部分人无法在其中产生对生活的共鸣。
The author's attitude toward the majority of people can best be described as ________.
由最后一段作者以 “Neither…begins to define true artistic pleasure; indeed， preoccupation with the human content of the work is in principle incompatible with aesthetic enjoyment proper. ”任何—种都不能定义真正的艺术享受，带着人本身对作品的预想去看待一个作品是相悖于享受艺术本身的。可见作者对大众审美和少数派均持批判态度，但又不否定两者的合理性。可见是即批评又包容的。
The author's assumption in the final paragraph is that ________.
同上作者以 “Neither...begins to define true artistic pleasure; indeed, preoccupation with the human content of the work is in principle incompatible with aesthetic enjoyment proper. ” 任何一种都不能定义真正的艺术享受，带着人本身对作品的预想去看待一个作品是相悖于享受艺术本身的。