Question

    American writer A.N.DEVERS was at a rare-book fair in New York City in 2015 when she noticed a Joan Didion title selling for just $25. Then she saw the price tag of a novel by the equally famous Cormac McCarthy: about $600. “I realized we don’t value women’s work the same way we do men’s,” Devers says. “It’s depressing. But it’s also exciting, because I can do something about it.”

Three years later, after moving to London and joining the U.K.’s booming rare-book trade, Devers opened the red doors of her new bookstore, the Second Shelf. Located in a quiet courtyard off the busy streets of London’s Soho, the store almost exclusively stocks rare books by women (alongside a handful of male-authored books about women). The focus is modern fiction: Elizabeth Bowen novels, romances by Rosamunde Pilcher, poetry by Ntozake Shange.

Devers’ skill for finding overlooked jewels was polished during a childhood of Visits to yard sales in towns across the U.S., a result of her family’s following her father’s Air Force job. Some of her most sought-after recent finds were works by Miriam Tlali, the first black woman to publish a novel in South Africa. Devers hit on her 1975 debut in a charity store and quickly sourced and sold 15 more Tlali books.

In collecting these works, the Second Shelf is correcting a historical imbalance that has allowed women’s literary achievements to be eclipsed. Bookdealers have tended to be men; much of the trade’s early material was collected by “country gentlemen who ran estates and amassed libraries of books to show their wealth and intelligence,” Devers says. She argues that they’ve been like their peers in other male-led creative industries — including television, film and the news media — in that “they focus on themselves.”

That past contributes to a plain absence of women’s work among the books considered to be valuable cultural objects. In January, the Second Shelf went viral (走红) on Twitter after Devers pointed out that only nine books by women appeared in a list, produced by a trade website, of the 500 biggest sales at auction in the books-and-paper field last year. Even among more recently published works, a 2018 study found, titles by women are on average priced 45% lower than books by men.

In recent years, calls have gone out to read only books by women for a year and for universities to expand their curriculums. The observance of Women’s History Month in the U.S. has also made March a time for publishers to suggest fitting reading lists. Devers’ shop is the physical site of that movement challenging the current situation. “We’ve been taught to find value in something really narrow,” she says. “It’s time to explore something different.”

1.The first paragraph tells the readers _________.

A.why Devers named her shop the Second Shelf

B.how Devers was exposed to rare book trade

C.what motivated Devers to open the Second Shelf

D.where Devers first came across women’s literary works

2.The underlined word “eclipse” in the fourth paragraph means_________.

A.fully exposed

B.partially concealed

C.seriously treated

D.roughly explained

3.Which may explain the absence of the great literary works by women?

A.The trade used to be dominated by men.

B.Women writers’ ideas conflict with the bookdealers’.

C.Males tend to be productive in the creative industry.

D.The majority of male readers don’t read modern fiction.

4.What can be inferred from the passage?

A.In recent years, university curriculums have emphasized books by women.

B.Women’s History Month has pushed women writers to be more productive.

C.More physical bookstores like Devers’ are needed to change the situation.

D.The Second Shelf is helping turn a page for women in literature.

Answer

1.C

2.B

3.A

4.D

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。文章主要讲述Devers发现女性文学作品没有得到和男性作品同等的待遇，决定为女性作品做些事情。

1.主旨大意题。由第一段中的“I realized we don’t value women’s work the same way we do men’s,” Devers says. “It’s depressing. But it’s also exciting, because I can do something about it.”可知，“我意识到，我们并不像重视男性工作那样重视女性的工作，” Devers说。“这是令人沮丧的。但这也很令人兴奋，因为我可以为此做些什么。”由此可见，第一段告诉读者是什么驱使Devers开设了the Second Shelf。故选C。

2.词句猜测题。分析本句可知，“hat has allowed women' s literary achievements to be eclipsed.”在句子作定语，对名词a historical imbalance进行修饰说明，a historical imbalance表示的是历史的不平衡，由此可测，这种不平衡引起女性文学成就遭到不好的待遇，eclipsed应该表达的是一种不好的语境，结合选项，选项B，表示的是有偏见地被隐藏，符合语境。故选B。

3.细节理解题。由第四段的第二句Bookdealers have tended to be men; much of the trade’s early material was collected by “country gentlemen who ran estates and amassed libraries of books to show their wealth and intelligence,”可知，书商一直倾向于是男性，许多的贸易早期资料被乡绅收集，他们经营房地产并且积累了一图书馆的书去显示他们的财富和智慧。由此可见，贸易过去常常被男性控制，导致了女性文学作品的缺失。故选A。

4.推理判断题。由第四段的第一句In collecting these works, the Second Shelf is correcting a historical imbalance that has allowed women' s literary achievements to be eclipsed.和最后一段的第三句Devers’ shop is the physical site of that movement challenging the current situation.可知，在收集这些作品的时候，书店the Second Shelf 正在纠正历史的不平衡，这个不平衡已经让女性文学成就变得黯然失色了。Devers的书店是那场挑战现状的运动的实质性地点。由此可见，Devers的书店The Second Shelf一直在为女性文学的改变提供帮助。故选D。