单选题 . ① In 1755 British writer Samuel Johnson published an acerbic letter to Lord Chesterfield rebuking his patron for neglect and declining further support. ②Johnson'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. ③However, patronage had been in decline for 50 years, yet would survive, in attenuated form, for another 50. ④Indeed, Johnson was in 1762 awarded a pension by the Crown—a subtle form of sponsorship, tantamount to state patronage. ⑤The 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.37. 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、 provide 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

【正确答案】 E

【答案解析】 E：本题属于功能题，定位句3s版本便是在写了信之后，约翰逊依然接受赞助。当然，这句话的根本目的是说明赞助会一直存在下去，因此选项E正确。