Early Photography in the United States
When photography first appeared in 1839 with the introduction of the daguerreotype, it was celebrated for revealing the truth of nature without the distortions of human intervention. Very soon after its introduction, photography led to a virtual industry of new patents and technologies. Some of these innovations were designed to improve the quality of the image, while others focused instead on photography’s commercial applications. In the countryside, traveling artists converted from painting portraits to making photographs and were joined by other craftspeople, such as blacksmiths and shoemakers, who wished to take advantage of the new technology. These rural image-makers tended to work individually, moving from door to door and town to town to create and sell daguerreotypes of varying quality. In the cities, to the contrary, daguerreotypists sought to appeal to a more cultured clientele. They advertised themselves as professionals, touted the aesthetic quality of their work, and set up shops that employed assistants. Daguerreotypes became so popular that by the early 1850s there were “daguerreotype factories” across the urban centers of the United States. Each offered low prices, standardized packages (poses, mats, and cases), familiar props, and speedy delivery.
By the end of the 1850s, the daguerreotype had given way to a new photographic technology, the wet-plate process. Unlike daguerreotypes, which produced a single, nonreproducible image on a plate coated with reflective silver(there was no negative), the wet-plate photograph allowed unlimited paper prints to be made from a single exposure. By allowing for multiple prints, it helped answer the almost insatiable demand among all classes for photographs of family and friends.
If photography satisfied the need of the Victorian family for images of itself, it also answered a larger social anxiety. Photography provided a society undergoing rapid urbanization with a way to affirm the importance of character. Photographers advertised their ability to bring out the truth of their models: a person’s captured essence in a single image, revealing not just an enduring likeness but a true expression of the sitter’s personality.
As cultural historians Alan Trachtenberg and Karen Halttunen have pointed out, urban America before 1860 suffered from a “crisis of social confidence.”As cities swelled in size, people feared their inability to “read” the true motives and designs of the strangers they encountered. Photographers seized on this anxiety by creating a visual product that allowed the viewer to “discern inner character from outer appearance.” Photographers created a standardized set of poses and expressions designed to reveal the “inner character” of their models. This process helped reassure a middle class concerned about modernization that they were still able to discern truth from falsity, good from bad. In this regard, photography performed a cultural role similar to that of genre painting (paintings of scenes from everyday life, of ordinary people at work or recreation). Both media provided people with a vocabulary of familiar characters and types that allowed them to navigate their daily lives with confidence.
Nowhere was the appeal of the truth-telling characteristics of the daguerreotype more evident than in the emergence of photographic galleries devoted to images of public figures. Mathew Brady (1823-1896)， known today primarily for his daguerreotypes of the American Civil War (1860-1865)， was famous among his contemporaries for an exhibition space in New York filled with photographic portraits of celebrated citizens and civic leaders. Begun originally as a portrait studio in 1844, the gallery moved many times as it grew more popular, relocating always to a more fashionable address. Brady saw himself as a chronicler of public history.
Brady invited the notable figures of his day to pose for him. Their photographic portraits were then displayed in the gallery as both a public service and a keen method of self- promotion. Brady referred to his collection as his Gallery of Famous Americans. He published engravings of his daguerreotypes in book form and in popular magazines of the day, and drew a steady flow of visitors to his gallery by highlighting its civic appeal. Visitors were urged to study the likenesses of public figures to discover their inner character, the sources of their greatness. Such discoveries were thought to lead not only to appreciation but to inspiration, prompting citizens to model themselves after the great leaders of the time.
1
When photography first appeared in 1839 with the introduction of the daguerreotype, it was celebrated for revealing the truth of nature without the distortions of human intervention. Very soon after its introduction, photography led to a virtual industry of new patents and technologies. Some of these innovations were designed to improve the quality of the image, while others focused instead on photography’s commercial applications. In the countryside, traveling artists converted from painting portraits to making photographs and were joined by other craftspeople, such as blacksmiths and shoemakers, who wished to take advantage of the new technology. These rural image-makers tended to work individually, moving from door to door and town to town to create and sell daguerreotypes of varying quality. In the cities, to the contrary, daguerreotypists sought to appeal to a more cultured clientele. They advertised themselves as professionals, touted the aesthetic quality of their work, and set up shops that employed assistants. Daguerreotypes became so popular that by the early 1850s there were “daguerreotype factories” across the urban centers of the United States. Each offered low prices, standardized packages (poses, mats, and cases), familiar props, and speedy delivery.
According to paragraph 1, why was photography praised when it was first invented?
Factual Information Questions事实信息题
AIt represented an important technological breakthrough.
BIt offered a quick and relatively inexpensive way to obtain images of family members.
CIt was accessible not only to wealthy city dwellers but also to people living in small towns.
DIt was thought to reveal the real nature of subjects being photographed.
2
When photography first appeared in 1839 with the introduction of the daguerreotype, it was celebrated for revealing the truth of nature without the distortions of human intervention. Very soon after its introduction, photography led to a virtual industry of new patents and technologies. Some of these innovations were designed to improve the quality of the image, while others focused instead on photography’s commercial applications. In the countryside, traveling artists converted from painting portraits to making photographs and were joined by other craftspeople, such as blacksmiths and shoemakers, who wished to take advantage of the new technology. These rural image-makers tended to work individually, moving from door to door and town to town to create and sell daguerreotypes of varying quality. In the cities, to the contrary, daguerreotypists sought to appeal to a more cultured clientele. They advertised themselves as professionals, touted the aesthetic quality of their work, and set up shops that employed assistants. Daguerreotypes became so popular that by the early 1850s there were “daguerreotype factories” across the urban centers of the United States. Each offered low prices, standardized packages (poses, mats, and cases), familiar props, and speedy delivery.
According to paragraph 1, all of the following resulted from the introduction of photography EXCEPT
Negative Factual Information Questions否定事实信息题
Athe rejection by rural populations of traditional paintings and crafts
Bthe adoption of new technology by artists and craftspeople
Cthe door-to-door selling of daguerreotypes in rural areas
Dthe establishment of daguerreotype shops in the cities
3
If photography satisfied the need of the Victorian family for images of itself, it also answered a larger social anxiety. Photography provided a society undergoing rapid urbanization with a way to affirm the importance of character. Photographers advertised their ability to bring out the truth of their models: a person’s captured essence in a single image, revealing not just an enduring likeness but a true expression of the sitter’s personality.
The word “anxiety” in the passage is closest in meaning to
Vocabulary Questions词汇题
Aquestion
Bproblem
Cneed
Dworry
4
If photography satisfied the need of the Victorian family for images of itself, it also answered a larger social anxiety. Photography provided a society undergoing rapid urbanization with a way to affirm the importance of character. Photographers advertised their ability to bring out the truth of their models: a person’s captured essence in a single image, revealing not just an enduring likeness but a true expression of the sitter’s personality.
Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.
Sentence Simplification Questions句子简化题
APhotographers advertised that they could produce images of sitters that were not only accurate but also enduring.
BPhotographers advertised their ability to encourage models to reveal in their facial expressions the essence of their personalities.
CPhotographers advertised their ability to reveal their models’ real personality.not just capture their outer appearance.
DPhotographers advertised that photographs could capture the models’ appearance and personality more accurately than other artistic representations could.
5
As cultural historians Alan Trachtenberg and Karen Halttunen have pointed out, urban America before 1860 suffered from a “crisis of social confidence.”As cities swelled in size, people feared their inability to “read” the true motives and designs of the strangers they encountered. Photographers seized on this anxiety by creating a visual product that allowed the viewer to “discern inner character from outer appearance.” Photographers created a standardized set of poses and expressions designed to reveal the “inner character” of their models. This process helped reassure a middle class concerned about modernization that they were still able to discern truth from falsity, good from bad. In this regard, photography performed a cultural role similar to that of genre painting (paintings of scenes from everyday life, of ordinary people at work or recreation). Both media provided people with a vocabulary of familiar characters and types that allowed them to navigate their daily lives with confidence.
Why does the author present the information that “urban America before 1860 suffered from a “crisis of social confidence”?
Rhetorical Purpose Questions修辞目的题
ATo introduce an important contribution made by taro cultural historians
BTo help explain an important cultural role played by photography
CTo argue that modernization was not beneficial to all social groups in America
DTo support the view that people had more self-confidence when they lived in rural areas
6
As cultural historians Alan Trachtenberg and Karen Halttunen have pointed out, urban America before 1860 suffered from a “crisis of social confidence.”As cities swelled in size, people feared their inability to “read” the true motives and designs of the strangers they encountered. Photographers seized on this anxiety by creating a visual product that allowed the viewer to “discern inner character from outer appearance.” Photographers created a standardized set of poses and expressions designed to reveal the “inner character” of their models. This process helped reassure a middle class concerned about modernization that they were still able to discern truth from falsity, good from bad. In this regard, photography performed a cultural role similar to that of genre painting (paintings of scenes from everyday life, of ordinary people at work or recreation). Both media provided people with a vocabulary of familiar characters and types that allowed them to navigate their daily lives with confidence.
Paragraph 4 suggests that photography helped people gain confidence in their daily lives by
Inference Questions推理题
Ahelping them see their own true inner character
Bmaking unfamiliar people seem more familiar
Cshowing that modernization had a positive influence in urban life
Dguiding them to understand their own cultural roles in society
7
Nowhere was the appeal of the truth-telling characteristics of the daguerreotype more evident than in the emergence of photographic galleries devoted to images of public figures. Mathew Brady (1823-1896)， known today primarily for his daguerreotypes of the American Civil War (1860-1865)， was famous among his contemporaries for an exhibition space in New York filled with photographic portraits of celebrated citizens and civic leaders. Begun originally as a portrait studio in 1844, the gallery moved many times as it grew more popular, relocating always to a more fashionable address. Brady saw himself as a chronicler of public history.
In paragraph 5, the author brings up the popularity of Mathew Brady’s photographic gallery in order to
Rhetorical Purpose Questions修辞目的题
Aimply that photography was the main way that most people of the period learned about historical events and figures
Bsuggest that people had little interest in portraits of public figures before the spread of photography
Cshow the strength of photography’s appeal as a medium that seemed capable of revealing the truth about people
Dargue that photographers could become more successful by producing portraits of public figures rather than portraits of private citizens
8
Brady invited the notable figures of his day to pose for him. Their photographic portraits were then displayed in the gallery as both a public service and a keen method of self- promotion. Brady referred to his collection as his Gallery of Famous Americans. He published engravings of his daguerreotypes in book form and in popular magazines of the day, and drew a steady flow of visitors to his gallery by highlighting its civic appeal. Visitors were urged to study the likenesses of public figures to discover their inner character, the sources of their greatness. Such discoveries were thought to lead not only to appreciation but to inspiration, prompting citizens to model themselves after the great leaders of the time.
According to paragraph 6. what is one important reason why many people visited Brady’s photographic portrait gallery?
Factual Information Questions事实信息题
AHe made a point of inviting notable public figures to appear in the gallery.
BThey believed studying the portraits could help them develop the same qualities as great leaders.
CThe engravings of his daguerreotypes that Brady published in books and magazines were inferior in quality to the originals shown in the gallery
DIt was one of the few ways that members of the general public could learn what their leaders looked like.
9
When photography first appeared in 1839 with the introduction of the daguerreotype, it was celebrated for revealing the truth of nature without the distortions of human intervention. [■] Very soon after its introduction, photography led to a virtual industry of new patents and technologies. [■] Some of these innovations were designed to improve the quality of the image, while others focused instead on photography’s commercial applications. In the countryside, traveling artists converted from painting portraits to making photographs and were joined by other craftspeople, such as blacksmiths and shoemakers, who wished to take advantage of the new technology. [■] These rural image-makers tended to work individually, moving from door to door and town to town to create and sell daguerreotypes of varying quality. [■] In the cities, to the contrary, daguerreotypists sought to appeal to a more cultured clientele. They advertised themselves as professionals, touted the aesthetic quality of their work, and set up shops that employed assistants. Daguerreotypes became so popular that by the early 1850s there were “daguerreotype factories” across the urban centers of the United States. Each offered low prices, standardized packages (poses, mats, and cases), familiar props, and speedy delivery.
Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage
The absence of an artists touch, such as a painter’s brush strokes or an engraver’s marks, was thought to guarantee the objectivity of the image.Insert Text Questions句子插入题
Where would the sentence best fit？Click on a square sentence to the passage.
10
The introduction of the daguerreotype led to further technological innovation and the development of photography as a profession.
Prose Summary Questions概要小结题
Select 3 answers
AThe quality of daguerreotypes in the countryside varied according to whether there were craftspeople in the area who had the ability to take advantage of the new technologies.
BThe wet-plate process improved on the daguerreotype by allowing for multiple prints, which helped meet the ever-growing demand for photographs of family and friends.
CThe cultural importance of genre painting declined after the introduction of photography, because people were unconvinced that paintings were able to reveal a person’s inner character.
DBecause the daguerreotype produced only a single, nonreproducible image, this early photographic technique never achieved wide popularity, even among an urban clientele.
EThe idea that photographs revealed a person’s true character strengthened the confidence of people living in rapidly changing cities that they could understand the new people they met.
FThe success of Brady’s gallery,which specialized in portraits of public figures, shows the impact of the widespread belief that photography revealed the truth about people.
答案：
