考研英语真题——97年阅读再思考

　　原文：

　　At the core of this debate is Chairman Gerald Levin，56，who took over for the late Steve Ross in1992.On the financial front，Levin is under pressure to raise the stock price and reduce the company’s mountainous debt，which will increase to＄17.3billion after two new cable deals close. He has promised to sell off some of the property and restructure the company，but investors are waiting impatiently. The flap over rap is not making life any easier for him. Levin has consistently defended the company s rap music on the grounds of expression.In1992，when Time Warner was under fire for releasing Ice-T’s violent rap song Cop Killer，Levin described rap as a lawful expression of street culture，which deserves an outlet. “The test of any democratic society，”he wrote in a Wall Street Journal column，“lies not in how well it can control expression but in whether it gives freedom of thought and expression the widest possible latitude，however disputable or irritating the results may sometimes be. We won t retreat in the face of any threats.”

　　批注：

　　At the core of this debate is Chairman Gerald Levin，56，who took over（接管） for the late（已故的） Steve Ross in1992.(1)On the financial front（在财经战场方面），Levin is under pressure to raise the stock（=share股份；bond有息债卷） price and reduce the company’s mountainous debt，which will increase to＄17.3billion after two new cable deals（有线交易） close. He has promised to sell off some of the property and restructure the company，but investors are waiting impatiently. (2)The flap帽檐；拍打；慌乱不安 over rap（说唱音乐） is not making life any easier for him. Levin has consistently defended the company’s rap music on the grounds of expression(依据言论自由为公司辩护). In1992，when Time Warner was under fire for releasing Ice-T’s violent rap song Cop Killer，Levin described rap as a lawful expression of street culture，which deserves an outlet出口、排遣. “The test of any democratic society，”he wrote in a Wall Street Journal column，“lies not in how well it can control expression but in whether it gives freedom of thought and expression the widest possible latitude纬度；（思想行动）自由，however disputable or irritating the results may sometimes be. We won’t retreat in the face of any threats.”

　　(以上段落从2个方面说明Levin面前处于风口浪尖之中，一是在财经战场方面，二是在关于说唱音乐问题方面)