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If you’re heading for your nearest branch of Waterstones，the biggest book retailer in the UK, in search of the Duchess of Sussex’s new children’s book The Bench, you might have to be prepared to hunt around a bit; the same may be true of The President's Daughter, the new thriller by Bill Clinton and James Patterson. Both of these books are published next week by Penguin Random House, a company currently involved in a stand-off with Waterstones.
The problem began late last year, when Penguin Random House confirmed that it had introduced a credit limit with Waterstones “at a very significant level”. The trade magazine The Bookseller reported that Waterstones branch managers were being told to remove PRH books from prominent areas such as tables, display spaces and windows, and were “quietly retiring them to their relevant sections”.
PRH declined to comment on the issue, but a spokesperson for Waterstones told me: “Waterstones are currently operating with reduced credit terms from PRH, the only publisher in the UK to place any limitations on our ability to trade. We are not boycotting PRH titles but we are doing our utmost to ensure that availability for customers remains good despite the lower overall levels of stock. We are hopeful with our shops now open again that normality will return and that we will be allowed to buy appropriately. Certainly, our shops are exceptionally busy and book sales are very strong. The sales for our May Books of the Month surpassed any month since 2018.”
In the meantime, PRH authors have been the losers. Big-name PRH authors may suffer a bit, but it’s those mid-list authors, who normally rely on Waterstones staff’s passion for promoting books by lesser-known writers, who will be praying for an end to the dispute.
It comes at a time when authors are already worried about the consequences of the proposed merger between PRH and another big publisher, Simon & Schuster - the reduction in the number of unaligned UK publishers is likely to lead to fewer bidding wars, lower advances, and more conformity in terms of what is published.
“This is all part of a wider change towards concentration of power and cartels. Literary agencies are getting bigger to have the clout to negotiate better terms with publishers, publishers consolidating to deal with Amazon,” says Lownie. “The publishing industry talks about diversity in terms of authors and staff but it also needs a plurality of ways of delivering intellectual contact, choice and different voices. After all, many of the most interesting books in recent years have come from small publishers.”
We shall see whether that plurality is a casualty of the current need among publishers to be big enough to take on all-comers.
31. The author mentions two books in Paragraph 1 to present ______.
[A] an ongoing conflict
[B] an intellectual concept
[C] a prevailing sentiment
[D] a literary phenomenon
32. Why did Waterstones shops retire PRH books to their relevant section?
[A] to make them easily noticeable
[B] to comply with PRH’s requirement
[C] to respond to PRH’s business move
[D] to arrange them in a systematic way
33. What message does the spokesperson for Waterstones seem to convey?
[A] Their customer remain loyal.
[B] The credit limit will be removed.
[C] Their stock is underestimated.
[D] The book market is rather slack.
34. What can be one consequence of the current dispute?
[A] Sales of books by mid-list PRH writers fall off considerably.
[B] Lesser-known PRH writers become the target of criticism.
[C] Waterstones staff hesitate to promote big-name author’s book.
[D] Waterstones branches suffer a severe reduction in revenue.
35. Which of the following statements best represents Lownie’s view?
[A] Small publishers ought to stick together.
[B] Big publishers will lose their dominance.
[C] The publishing industry is having a hard time.
[D] The merger of publishers is a worrying trend.
答案解析：
31.【答案】[A] an ongoing conflict
【解析】本题为例证题。根据题干关键词two books和Paragraph 1定位到第一段①句，该句提出了寻找这两本书可能会比较难找的现象。②句紧接着说明原因Both of these books are published next week by Penguin Random House, a company currently involved in a stand-off with Waterstones(这两本书都将于下周由企鹅兰登书屋出版，该公司目前正与水石书店陷入对峙的僵局)。A项ongoing conflict(正在发生的矛盾)是对②句involved in a stand-off 的同义替换。所以本题选A。
32.【答案】[C] to respond to PRH’s business move
【解析】本题为细节题。根据题干关键词retire PRH books to their relevant section定位到第二段末句也即②句。该句所论述的Waterstones的操作对于PRH而言，必然是负面的。再看①句，PRH首先对Waterstones引入了水平惊人的信用额度限制，可见Waterstones的操作就是对PRH的反击。所以本题选C。
33.【答案】[A] Their customers remain loyal.
【解析】本题为细节题。根据题干关键词the spokesperson for Waterstones 定位到第三段①句，浏览整段，发现该段都是此人的发言。由第④⑤句Certainly, our shops are exceptionally busy and book sales are very strong. The sales for our May Books of the Month surpassed any month since 2018(当然，我们的商店非常繁忙，图书销售也非常好。自2018年以来，我们5月份最佳图书的销量超过了任何一个月)可知，该店的客户依然很忠诚。A项Their customers remain loyal(他们的客户仍然很忠诚)是对④⑤句的合理推断。所以本题选A。
34.【答案】[A] Sales of books by mid-list PRH writers fall off considerably.
【解析】本题为细节题。根据题干关键词the current dispute定位到第四段②句。该句指出Big-name…, but it’s those mid-list authors, who normally rely on Waterstones staff’s passion for promoting books by lesser-known writers, who will be praying for an end to the dispute(但那些通常依靠Waterstones的员工(这些员工会推销不太知名作家的书)的热情的中游作家们，将会祈祷这场争端的结束)，该句but转折引出重点，并用了强调句型，说明mid-list writers将会面临很大的打击。A项Sales of books by mid-list PRH writers fall off considerably(中游作家的书籍销量大幅下滑)是对该句的合理推断，所以本题选A。
35.【答案】[D] The merger of publishers is a worrying trend.
【解析】本题为细节题。根据题干关键词Lownie’s view定位到第六段首句。Lownie指出，This is all part of a wider change towards concentration of power and cartels(这些正是权力和企业联合更加集中的大变化中的一部分)，说明行业内的企业在不断的兼并融合，形成更庞大的企业。紧接着指出The publishing industry talks about diversity in terms of authors and staff but it also needs a plurality of ways of delivering intellectual contact, choice and different voices(出版业从作者和工作人员的角度谈论多样性，但它也需要多种方式来传递知识联系、选择和不同的声音)，也即，当下的这种兼并融合趋势不利于多样化多渠道地传递知识，发出不同的声音。所以这一趋势堪忧。D项The merger of publishers is a worrying trend(出版商的兼并是一个令人担忧的趋势)是对这部分内容的概括。所以本题选D。
