单选题 {{B}}Text 4{{/B}}
Picture-taking is a technique both for reflecting 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 directly opposite 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 fearlessness, questing subjectivity and the photographer is all.
These conflicting ideals arise from 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 observer is attracting 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 are the claims that photography might make to be a form of personal expression just like painting, its originality is closely linked to the power 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 limit imposed by pre-modern 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 longing for some primitive state of the photographic enterprise is currently widespread and underlies the present-day enthusiasm for daguerreotypes and the work of forgotten nineteenth-century provincial photographers. Photographers and viewers of photographs, it seems, need periodically to resist their own knowingness. (451 words)

{{B}}Notes:{{/B}} crop vt.播种，修剪(树木),收割。count for little 无关紧要。predatory 掠夺成性的。champion n.冠军; vt.支持。benevolent 好心肠的，行善的。ambivalence 矛盾心理。make (+不定式)似乎要：He makes to begin. (他似乎要开始了。) swirls and eddies 漩涡。cult 狂热崇拜。daguerreotype 银板照相法。
单选题 The two directly opposite ideals of photography differ primarily in the
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[注释] 细节归纳题。本题问：根据本文，两个直接对立的摄影观念主要区别何在?第1段最后一句写道：“That is，photography has two directly opposite 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 fearlessness，questing subjectivity and the photographer is all．”(那就是说，关于摄影有两个直接对立的观念：第一种观念认为，摄影是反映世界的，而摄影师只是一个无足轻重的观察者；但第二种观念则主张，摄影是一种探究主观世界的无畏的工具，摄影师决定一切。)由此可见，两种观念的区别就在于对摄影师所起作用的定义不同。故应选[C]。
单选题 According to paragraph 2, the interest among photographers in each of the photography's two ideals can be described as
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[注释] 细节理解题。本题问：根据第2段，摄影师对摄影的两种观念中每个观念的兴趣可用下面哪一种表述来描述?第2段最后一句写道：“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．”(摄影者所做的事不能简单地定性为掠夺式的，也不能简单地定性为实质上是友好的行善行为。因此，有关照相的这一观念或那一观念总是被重新发现并受到支持。)言外之意，这两种观念中，有时一种观念被发现并受到支持，而有时另一种观念被发现并受到支持。可见，摄影师有时对一种观念感兴趣，有时又对另一种观念感兴趣，即这种兴趣是周期性反复出现的。故应选[D]。[D]“自发地发生的”不合题意。 注意：这类细节题是难度较大的推断型理解题，要求考生具有很强的逻辑归纳能力。
单选题 The text states all of the following about photographs EXCEPT:
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[注释] 细节辨认题。本题问：本文中有关照片方面下面哪一点没有谈到?[A]They can display a cropped reality．(它们能展示经过剪辑的现实。)第1段第2句中已经谈到：Photographs depict objective realities that already exist,...[B]They can convey information．(它们能传达信息。)第3段第3句中也已提及：The steady growth of these powers has made possible the extraordinary informativeness...[C] They can depict the photographer's temperament．(它们能够描绘摄影者的性情。)第1段第3句中已写到：And they depict an individual photographer's temperament,...只有[D]They can change the viewer's sensibilities．(它们能改变观赏者的易受刺激的情感。)文中没有提到。故应选[D]。
单选题 The author mentions the work of Harold Edgerton in order to provide an example of
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[注释] 逻辑结构题。本题问：作者提到Harold Edgerton的作品是为了提供一个什么例子?第3段第3句写道：“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．”(随着照相机威力的不断增大已有可能拍出许多信息非凡的、富有想象力的外观漂亮的照片，如Harold Edgerton所拍摄的关于子弹击中目标或网球抽打时产生漩涡的快速照片。)从上面的表述中我们可以看到，作者提到Harold Edgerton的作品是为了提供一个摄影艺术的独创性和技术发展之间关系的例子。故应选[A]。
单选题 The author is primarily concerned with
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[注释] 全文主旨题。本题问：本文作者主要讨论什么?本文第1段提出对摄影术的两种不同观念。第2段分别阐述了这两种观念的由来及摄影师对这两种观念中任何一种的兴趣是反复交替的。第3段指出，这两种观念共存的结果是经常发生对摄影手段的不同看法。最后一段认为，这种对摄影手段的矛盾心理决定审美品位的发展趋向。综上所述，本文作者主要分析了两种摄影观念对照相术的影响。故应选[C]。 注意：本文语言难度较大，可作为英译汉练习之用。现提供参考译文如下：照相是一种既反映客观世界，又表达非凡自我的艺术。照片描绘已经存在的许多客观现实，尽管只有照相机才能揭示这些客观现实。照片描绘一个摄影者的气质，这种气质是通过照相机从现实中取材而表现出来的。那就是说，摄影包含两个直接对立的观念：第一，摄影是反映世界的，摄影者只不过是一个无足轻重的观察者；但是，第二，摄影是探索主观性的无畏工具，摄影者决定一切。这两个相互冲突的观念源自摄影者和摄影鉴赏者对“照”相过程中的闯劲所表现出来的不安心情。这样一来，把摄影者看做是观察者的观念是具有吸引力的，因为这种想法间接地否认了照相是一种咄咄逼人的行为。当然，问题并不如此清晰。摄影者的所作所为不能简单地定性为掠夺式的行为，也不能简单地定性为实质上是友好的行善行为。因此，关于照相的这种观念或那种观念总是被重新发现并受到支持的。 这两种观念共存的一个重要的结果是：经常发生对待摄影手段的矛盾心理。不论摄影可能成为一种同绘画一样的个性表现的论断正确与否，摄影的独创性总是同照相机的机械能力密切相连的。随着照相机能力的持续发展，有可能创造出许多具有非凡信息含量并富有想象力的漂亮的照片。例如哈罗德·埃杰顿所拍摄的关于子弹击中目标或网球抽打时产生漩涡的快速照片。但是当照相机变得越来越高级，越来越自动化时，有些摄影者很想不用这种照相机，或者暗示实际上不用这种照相机，而宁愿用现代化以前的照相技术。因为粗制的、较差的照相机械被认为能得到更有趣、更动人的效果，给创造活动留有更大的余地。例如许多摄影师包括韦克欧·埃文斯和卡蒂埃·布雷桑拒绝使用现代装备，实际上是为了维护他们的面子。这些摄影师开始怀疑照相机作为“快看”工具的价值。卡蒂埃·布雷桑事实上断言：现代照相机可能看得太快了。 这种对待摄影手段的矛盾心理决定审美的趋向。对未来(看得越来越快)的狂热崇拜不时同希望回复到更纯正的过去(那时的形象具有手工业特征)交替发生。这种对某些早期摄影业的怀旧情绪目前正广泛流行。这就是目前热衷于银板照相法和被遗忘的19世纪省城摄影师的作品的原因。看来，摄影师和摄影鉴赏者需要周期性地抵制他们自己已经具有的知识。