Passage A
◆Important Words and Expressions◆
pocked［ˈpɒk It］adj.having holes or hollow marks on the surface（表面）有洞的，有坑的
e.g. Some of the walls were pocked with bullet holes.有些墙面有子弹留下的坑洞。
reject［rIˈdʒekt］vt.refuse to accept or consider sth.拒绝接受，不予考虑
e.g. 1.The prime minister rejected any idea of reforming the system.
首相驳回了体制改革的提议。
2.All our suggestions were rejected out of hand.我们的建议立即遭到了拒绝。
commission［kəˈmIʃn］①n.a formal request to sb.to design or make a piece of work such as a painting（请某人作一幅画等的）正式委托
e.g. 1.The commission for the new theatre was given to a well⁃known architect.
新剧院的设计委托给了一位著名建筑师。
2.Commodities can be sold by the commercial departments on a commission basis.
商品可以委托给商场销售。
②vt.officially ask sb.to write，make or create sth.or to do a task正式委托（谱写或制作、创作、完成）
e.g. 1.She has been commissioned to write a new national anthem.新国歌委托给她谱写。
2.The publisher has commissioned a French translation of the book.
这本书的法文版委托给了这个出版社。
erect［Iˈrekt］vt.build sth.；put sth.in position and make it stand vertical建造；竖立，搭起
e.g. 1.The church was erected in 1582.这座教堂于1582年建成。
2.Opposition demonstrators have erected barricades in roads leading to the parliament building.反对示威者在通往议会大厦的道路上搭起了路障。
fragment［ˈfrægmənt］n.a small part of sth.that has broken off or comes from sth.larger碎片；片段
e.g. 1.Police found fragments of glass near the scene.警方在现场附近发现了玻璃碎片。
2.I overheard a fragment of their conversation.我无意听到了些他们谈话的片段。
distortion［dIsˈtɔːʃn］n.change of the shape，appearance or sound of sth.so that it is strange or not clear变形，扭曲，失真
e.g. 1.The distortion of form is a constant in his painting.
形体变形在他的绘画作品中经常出现。
2.His report was attacked as a gross distortion of the truth.
他的报道被指存在大量扭曲事实的地方。
3.Signals would then be recorded without the least distortion.
信号将会被毫无失真地记录下来。
◆Explanations of Difficult Sentences◆
（1）Although he is generally considered the progenitor of modern sculpture,Rodin did not set out to rebel against the past.
•虽然罗丹被认为是现代雕塑的开创者，但是他从未想要背叛过去。
•set out to do sth.开始做某事；着手做某事
e.g. 1.He has achieved what he set out to do three years ago.他已经实现了他3年前的奋斗目标。
2.We set out to find the truth behind the mystery.我们开始着手揭开谜团背后的真相。
（2）He went to Italy in 1875,and it was there he was exposed to the works of Michelangelo,who would serve as his inspiration for his first major work,Bronze Age,exhibited in 1878.
•1875年罗丹去了意大利，在那里他接触到了米开朗基罗的作品，并从中获取灵感创作了他的第一个重要作品——《青铜时代》，该作品于1878年展出。
•it was there he was exposed to the works of Michelangelo这句话是强调句型，省略了that，原句应该为it was there that he was exposed to the works of Michelangelo。
•exhibited in 1878是过去分词短语作后置定语，修饰前面的名词Bronze Age。
（3）Its life⁃liking quality,accuracy of proportion and anatomy,and rendering of movement gave rise to the tale that it had been made from a cast taken from a live model.
•这一作品由于人物形象逼真、形体比例准确、解剖精准以及动作神态和谐而引起非议，被认定是从模特身上模印下来的。
•that it had been made from a cast taken from a live model这句话中that引导的是同位语从句，修饰先行词the tale。
（4）Gates of Hell,inspired by Ghiberti's so⁃called Gates of Paradise for the Baptistery in Florence,contained a large number of figures which provided him with a fount of ideas which he used over and over in large independent statues and groups in bronze and marble.
•《地狱之门》是罗丹受吉尔贝蒂为佛罗伦萨洗礼堂创作的《天堂之门》启发而制作的，这一作品人物众多，让他产生了无穷无尽的创作思想，这为他日后在创作大量青铜和大理石独雕和群雕时提供了创作源泉。
•整个这句话的谓语动词是contained。inspired by Ghiberti's so⁃called Gates of Paradise for the Baptistery in Florence是过去分词短语作后置定语，修饰前面的名词Gates of Hell。
（5）…and he also employed a variant of Michelangelo's unfinished figures,giving to some parts a waxy delicacy of finish,while leaving other parts buried in the hardly touched block.
•……他还运用了米开朗基罗的未完成人物变体，将雕像的某些部分处理得如蜡质般光滑细腻，而其他部分却未加任何处理。
•giving to some parts a waxy delicacy of finish是现在分词短语作伴随情况状语，原句中的while是连词，表示转折，意思是“但是，而”。