Picture-taking is a technique both for annexing the objective world and for expressing the singular self. Photographs depict objective realities that already exist, though only the camera can disclose them. And they depict an individual photographer’s temperament, discovering itself through the camera’s cropping of reality. That is, photography has two antithetical ideals: in the first, photography is about the world and the photographer is a mere observer who counts for little; but in the second, photography is the instrument of intrepid, questing subjectivity and the photographer is all.
These conflicting ideals arise from a fundamental uneasiness on the part of both photographers and viewers of photographs toward the aggressive component in “taking” a picture. Accordingly, the ideal of a photographer as an observer is attractive because it implicitly denies that picture-taking is an aggressive act. The issue, of course, is not so clear-cut. What photographers do cannot be characterized as simply predatory or as simply, and essentially, benevolent. As a consequence, one ideal of picture-taking or the other is always being rediscovered and championed.
An important result of the coexistence of these two ideals is a recurrent ambivalence toward photography’s means. Whatever the claims that photography might make to be a form of personal expression on a par with painting, its originality is inextricably linked to the powers of a machine. The steady growth of these powers has made possible the extraordinary informativeness and imaginative formal beauty of many photographs, like Harold Edgerton’s high-speed photographs of a bullet hitting its target or of the swirls and eddies of a tennis stroke. But as cameras become more sophisticated, more automated, some photographers are tempted to disarm themselves or to suggest that they are not really armed, preferring to submit themselves to the limits imposed by premodern camera technology because a cruder, less high-powered machine is thought to give more interesting or emotive results, to leave more room for creative accident. For example, it has been virtually a point of honor for many photographers, including Walker Evans and Cartier Bresson, to refuse to use modern equipment. These photographers have come to doubt the value of the camera as an instrument of “fast seeing”. Cartier Bresson, in fact, claims that the modern camera may see too fast.
This ambivalence toward photographic means determines trends in taste. The cult of the future (of faster and faster seeing) alternates over time with the wish to return to a purer past — when images had a handmade quality. This nostalgia for some pristine state of the photographic enterprise is currently widespread and underlies the present-day enthusiasm for daguerreotypes and the wok of forgotten nineteenth-century provincial photographers. Photographers and viewers of photographs, it seems, need periodically to resist their own knowingness.
1.According to the passage, interest among photographers in each of photography’s two ideals can be described as（）
2.The author is primarily concerned with （）
3.The author mentions the work of Harold Edgerton in order to provide an example of（）
4.According to the passage, the two antithetical ideals of photography differ primarily in the （）
5.Which of the following statements would be most likely to begin the paragraph immediately follow-ing the passage?
问题1选项
A.rapidly changing
B.cyclically recurring
C.steadily growing
D.unimportant to the viewers of photographs
问题2选项
A.establishing new technical standards for contemporary photography
B.analyzing the influence of photographic ideals on picture-taking
C.tracing the development of camera technology in the twentieth century
D.describing how photographers’ individual temperaments are reflected in their work
问题3选项
A.how a controlled ambivalence toward photography’s means can produce outstanding pictures
B.how the content of photographs has changed from the nineteenth century to the twentieth
C.the popularity of high-speed photography in the twentieth century
D.the relationship between photographic originality and technology
问题4选项
A.value that each places on the beauty of the finished product
B.emphasis that each places on the emotional impact of the finished product
C.degree of technical knowledge that each requires of the photographer
D.way in which each defines the role of the photographer
问题5选项
A.Photographers, as a result of their heightened awareness of time, are constantly trying to cap-ture events and actions that are fleeting.
B.Thus the cult of the future, the worship of machines and speed, is firmly established in spiteof efforts to the contrary by some photographers.
C.The rejection of technical knowledge, however, can never be complete and photography can-not for any length of time pretend that it has no weapons.
D.The point of honor involved in rejecting complex equipment is, however, of no significance to the viewer of a photograph.
第1题:B
第2题:B
第3题:D
第4题:D
第5题:C
第1题:
【选项释义】
According to the passage, interest among photographers in each of photography’s two ideals can be described as ________. 根据这篇文章，摄影师对摄影的两种理念的兴趣可以描述为________。
A. rapidly changing A. 快速变化
B. cyclically recurring B. 周期性重复出现
C. steadily growing C. 稳步增长
D. unimportant to the viewers of photographs D. 对照片的观看者来说不重要
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词two ideals可以定位到原文第二段最后一句As a consequence, one ideal of picture-taking or the other is always being rediscovered and championed.（因此，一种或另一种拍照的理念总是被重新发现和拥护。），由此可知，两种理念总是交替着被重新发现，因此B选项“周期性重复出现”。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“快速变化”，C选项“稳步增长”，D选项“对照片的观看者来说不重要”均属于曲解原文。
第2题:
【选项释义】
The author is primarily concerned with ________. 作者主要关心的是________。
A. establishing new technical standards for contemporary photography A. 为当代摄影建立新的技术标准
B. analyzing the influence of photographic ideals on picture-taking B. 分析摄影理念对摄影的影响
C. tracing the development of camera technology in the twentieth century C. 追溯二十世纪摄影技术的发展
D. describing how photographers’ individual temperaments are reflected in their work D. 描述摄影师的个人气质如何反映在他们的作品中
【考查点】主旨大意题。
【解题思路】纵观全文，第一段分别描述了两种摄影理念，第二段讲了两种理念的关系，最后两段讲了两种摄影理念对摄影的影响，综合来看，作者主要是在分析理念对摄影产生的影响，因此B选项“分析摄影理念对摄影的影响”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“为当代摄影建立新的技术标准”，C选项“追溯二十世纪摄影技术的发展”，D选项“描述摄影师的个人气质如何反映在他们的作品中”均属于曲解原文。
第3题:
【选项释义】
The author mentions the work of Harold Edgerton in order to provide an example of ________. 作者提到Harold Edgerton的作品是为了给________提供例子。
A. how a controlled ambivalence toward photography’s means can produce outstanding pictures A. 对摄影手段的一种有节制的矛盾心理是如何产生出色的照片的
B. how the content of photographs has changed from the nineteenth century to the twentieth B. 从19世纪到20世纪，照片的内容发生了怎样的变化
C. the popularity of high-speed photography in the twentieth century C. 二十世纪高速摄影的普及
D. the relationship between photographic originality and technology D. 摄影创意与技术之间的关系
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词Harold Edgerton可以定位到原文第三段The steady growth of these powers has made possible the extraordinary informativeness and imaginative formal beauty of many photographs, like Harold Edgerton’s high-speed photographs of a bullet hitting its target or of the swirls and eddies of a tennis stroke.（这些能力的稳步增长使得许多照片具有非凡的信息量和富有想象力的形式美成为可能，比如哈罗德•埃杰顿拍摄的子弹击中目标的高速照片，或者网球击球时的漩涡和漩涡。），由此可知，Harold Edgerton的这些作品证明了是技术进步让摄影的想象力成为可能，因此D选项“摄影创意与技术之间的关系”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“对摄影手段的一种有节制的矛盾心理是如何产生出色的照片的”，由第四段第一句An important result of the coexistence of these two ideals is a recurrent ambivalence toward photography’s means.（这两种理想共存的一个重要结果是对摄影手段的反复矛盾。）可知，这两种理念共存时的矛盾导致的是摄影手法的反复矛盾，并一定会带来好的摄影作品，属于曲解原文；
B选项“从19世纪到20世纪，照片的内容发生了怎样的变化”，C选项“二十世纪高速摄影的普及”在文中并未提到，属于无中生有。
第4题:
【选项释义】
According to the passage, the two antithetical ideals of photography differ primarily in the ________. 根据这篇文章，两种对立的摄影理念主要区别在于________。
A. value that each places on the beauty of the finished product A. 重视成片中每个地方的美
B. emphasis that each places on the emotional impact of the finished product B. 强调成片中每个地方的情感影响
C. degree of technical knowledge that each requires of the photographer C. 摄影师的技术知识水平
D. way in which each defines the role of the photographer D. 定义摄影师角色的方式
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词the two antithetical ideals of photography differ可以定位到原文第二段第一句These conflicting ideals arise from a fundamental uneasiness on the part of both photographers and viewers of photographs toward the aggressive component in “taking” a picture.（这两种对立的观念主要在于摄影师和旁观者在摄影时是否扮演着积极的角色。），由此可知，这两种对立的观点主要在于摄影师的角色，因此D选项“定义摄影师角色的方式”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“重视成片中每个地方的美”，B选项“强调成片中每个地方的情感影响”，C选项“摄影师的技术知识水平”在文中均未提到，属于无中生有。
第5题:
【选项释义】
Which of the following statements would be most likely to begin the paragraph immediately following the passage? 下列哪一种说法最有可能紧接着短文开始本段?
A. Photographers, as a result of their heightened awareness of time, are constantly trying to capture events and actions that are fleeting. A. 由于时间意识的增强，摄影师不断尝试捕捉稍纵即逝的事件和动作。
B. Thus the cult of the future, the worship of machines and speed, is firmly established in spite of efforts to the contrary by some photographers. B. 因此，对未来的崇拜，对机器和速度的崇拜，牢固地建立了起来，尽管有些摄影师做出了相反的努力。
C. The rejection of technical knowledge, however, can never be complete and photography cannot for any length of time pretend that it has no weapons. C. 然而，对技术知识的拒绝永远不可能是完全的，摄影也不能在任何时间内假装自己没有武器。
D. The point of honor involved in rejecting complex equipment is, however, of no significance to the viewer of a photograph. D. 然而，拒绝复杂的设备所涉及的荣誉点对照片的观看者来说毫无意义。
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】题干问的文章接下来会讨论什么，因此可以定位到文章最后一段最后一句，Photographers and viewers of photographs, it seems, need periodically to resist their own knowingness（摄影师和旁观者似乎需要质疑自己对摄影的认知），由此可知，文章接下来会讨论拍照认知对摄影的影响，因此C选项“然而，对技术知识的拒绝永远不可能是完全的，摄影也不能在任何时间内假装自己没有武器。”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“由于时间意识的增强，摄影师不断尝试捕捉稍纵即逝的事件和动作。”，B选项“因此，对未来的崇拜，对机器和速度的崇拜，牢固地建立了起来，尽管有些摄影师做出了相反的努力。”，D选项“然而，拒绝复杂的设备所涉及的荣誉点对照片的观看者来说毫无意义。”均属于曲解原文。
