1 . STREET PHOTOGRAPHY

Even if you are not familiar with the work of Elliott Erwitt, you may perhaps have seen some of his iconic work from around the globe. He has had one of the longest careers of any living photographers, spanning over 50 years.

What I most appreciate about Elliott Erwitt is his wry (冷嘲式的) sense of humour when looking at the world - as well as his straightforward philosophies about photography. In this article, I share some of his thoughts and advice.

DONT’T PLAN TOO MUCH - WANDER AROUND

I think that as a street photographer, sometimes I fall into trap of planning too much. I generally try to focus my attention on projects (having a pre-conceived project in mind when shooting in the streets) but I often find it also takes away from the shooting experience. One of the best things about street photography is to be a flaneur — someone who wanders around without specific destination in mind.

ERWITY: I don’t start out with any specific interests, I just react to what I see.

Takeaway point: Let your curiosity lead you. Just go out and shoot whatever you find interesting. Go down rads that may seem a bit foreign, and you might be lucky enough to stumble upon great street photography shots.

FOCUS ON CONTENT OVER FORM

Great photos are a combination of content (what is happening in the frame) as well as form (composition). But what is more important? Content or form?

ERWITT: My wish for the future of photograph is that it might continue to have some relevance to the human condition and might represent work that evokes knowledge and emotions. That photograph has content rather than just form. And I hope that there will be enough produced to balance out the visual garbage that we see in our current life.

Takeaway point: We often find fascinating characters in the street and take photos of them, but the compositions may not be so good. On the other hand, we might take well-composed photos of a street scene, but there is nothing going on in the photo-it is boring and without soul.

I agree with Erwitt that we should, as street photographers, put more emphasis on content over form. I feel that photos that evoke emotions and the human condition are far more powerful and meaningful than just photos with good composition.

DEVELOP YOUR SKILLS OF OBSERVATION

Erwitt was inspired to go out and take pictures when he saw a photograph by master photographer Henri Cartier Bresson. He realized it was an act of observation which made the photo great and that he could do something similar.

ERWITT: The picture seemed evocative and emotional. Also, a simple observation was all that it took to produce it. I thought, if one could make a living out of doing such pictures that would be desirable.

Takeaway point: One of the most beautiful things about street photography is that it doesn’t rely on having an expensive camera or exotic lenses. Rather, it comes down to having an observant and curious eye for people and the world around you. Therefore cultivate your vision and way of seeing the world. I recommend that you always carry a camera with you, because you never know when the best street photo opportunities will present themselves to you.

A fun exercise: Pretend that you are an alien from another planet and you have come to the planet Earth for the first time. Imagine how strange human beings would seem - and the urban environment they have built for themselves. As an alien, what would you find fascinating, amusing or ridiculous?

Always keep that mindset to be amazed by what you see around you.

1. Why shouldn’t street photographs plan much?

A．Planning is too time-consuming.

B．Things always turn out better than planned.

C．Planning much makes others less curious about their work.

D．Wandering around without planning may result in excellent shots.

2. What do you think Elliott Erwitt means by visual garbage ?

A．Photos that one can see in the trash bin.

B．Photos that value form over content.

C．Photos that emphasize content over form.

D．Photos that combine content with form.

3. What does the writer mean when he talks about keeping an alien attitude?

A．Aliens have better skills in photography.

B．Aliens have different outlooks on beautiful thing in life.

C．Photographers should be curious and observant.

D．Photographers should be emotional and imaginative.

2 . With the pandemic under control, China’s film industry is thriving. And it’s doing so without any help from Hollywood.

The country’s box office _________ $775 million over the lasts Lunar New Year weekend - its most ever for a single weekend. Much of that was due to Detective Chinatown 3, a heist comedy made in China, which grossed $424 million _________. That was the biggest opening of all time for a film in a _________ market. Avengers: Endgame only made $357 million during its opening weekend in the US in April 2019.

These massive figures prove the movie business in China is well on its way to _________. Since China began allowing foreign films into the country in 1994, films produced outside of China routinely accounted for more than 40% of the _________ of the Chinese box office. Hollywood is _________ for about a third of the highest-grossing films in China of all time.

But, even before the Covid-19 pandemic, China’s homegrown film industry was growing and depending less and less on Hollywood movies.

As recently as 2017, films produced outside China _________ 46% of the country’s box office revenue. In 2020, with Hollywood all but shutdown, foreign films accounted for just 16% of Chinese box office revenue.

The first few months of 2021 suggest that _________ could continue. Most big-budget Hollywood films have been _________ until later this year - and yet China’s theaters clearly don’t need any of them to have their own success. China’s huge weekend at the box office came even though most of its theaters are still operating at 75% _________. Its impressive totals, _________, may have been helped by the country’s travel restrictions, which kept consumers at home over the holiday.

China first accepted Hollywood films into its country to boost its own film ambitions, hoping the rising _________ created by the US film industry’s funding and expertise could lift all boats. Chinese consumers responded in kind, turning out in droves for films from blockbuster Hollywood franchises like Fast & Furious.

In 2012, China expanded the quota of foreign films allowed into the country to 34 per year. That agreement expired in 2017, and still hasn’t been renewed. With relations between the US and China _________ - and China improving its own ability to produce blockbuster films - China is in no rush to codify a new pact.

If the recent box-office returns are any _________, Chinese audiences are increasingly becoming accustomed to a movie selection that is entirely Chinese. That China’s box office recovered from the pandemic is a _________ sign for the US when its theaters return to some semblance of normal operation later this year. But that China’s box office did this without Hollywood’s assistance is a far more ominous sign for the long term future of the US film industry.

1.

A．generated

B．boosted

C．guaranteed

D．posted

2.

A．for its sake

B．on its own

C．on the increase

D．to some extent

3.

A．single

B．free

C．depressed

D．overseas

4.

A．recovery

B．explosion

C．self-reliance

D．globalization

5.

A．variation

B．allowance

C．making

D．share

6.

A．obligatory

B．rational

C．compulsory

D．responsible

7.

A．consisted of

B．composed of

C．made up

D．piled up

8.

A．fashion

B．trend

C．practice

D．prohibition

9.

A．postponed

B．ceased

C．prescribed

D．disposed

10.

A．capability

B．competence

C．capacity

D．volume

11.

A．however

B．therefore

C．likewise

D．furthermore

12.

A．tribe

B．expectation

C．tide

D．demand

13.

A．on edge

B．in short supply

C．out of service

D．on the margins

14.

A．demonstration

B．contribution

C．indication

D．composition

15.

A．distinct

B．external

C．disturbing

D．promising

3 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passages coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

Shawnea Rosser earned upwards of $29 an hour when she worked for General Motors in Dayton, Ohio. But in 2008 the factory closed. Years later the building was bought by Fuyao Group, a Chinese multinational company     1     makes glass. The new American managers promised that the “historic” project would “give people jobs, and give a future to your kids and my kids.” Sounds great.     2     Ms Rosser’s new job paid just $12.84.

The plight of Ms Rosser and her co-workers     3     (capture) in “American Factory”, a documentary released on August 21st by Netflix that explores the tensions that arise from the factory’s foreign ownership. There is discontent among American workers, but the source is unclear. Could it simply reflect the post-crisis reality of American manufacturing work? Or are the different Chinese employment practices     4     (blame)?

A new study offers part of an answer,     5     asking who benefits when foreign investors open up shop. On average, foreign companies in fact pay workers around 25% more than American     6    . But that could be     7     they employ relatively skilled workers. Bradley Setzler and Felix Tintelnot of the University of Chicago match anonymised employee and company tax records to estimate the true wage premium.

The economists look to see     8     happens when American workers move between companies. They find that when someone hops     9     two American-owned companies, their wages barely budge. But when they skip from a domestically     10     (own) one to a foreign one, their wages go up by around 7%. And when they jump from a foreign-owned firm to a domestic one, their wages drop.

4 . Criticism is judgment. A critic is a judge. A judge must study and think about the material presented to him, accept it, correct it or reject it after thinking over what he has read, watched or heard.

Another word for criticism is appreciation. When I criticize or appreciate some object or another, I look for its good points and bad points. In reading any printed or written matter, I always have a pencil in hand and put any comments in the book or on a separate paper. In other words, I always talk back to the writer.

That sort of critical reading might well be called creative reading because I am thinking along with the author, asking him questions, seeing whether he answers the questions and how well he answers them. I mark the good passages to store them in my memory and ask myself about every other part and about the complete piece of writing; where, how and why could or should I improve upon it?

You might think that doing what I suggested is work. Yes, it is, but the work is a pleasure because I can feel my brain expanding, my emotion reacting and my way of living change.

Reading exercises is a great influence on a person. If pictures, still or moving, accompany the reading, the memory will retain the material for a long time.

Just as evil books can corrupt, so also can good books gradually work a change on a corrupt person.

Let's get back to the beneficial effects of thinking while reading. It helps us to enlarge our minds. We understand more about the universe, its people and many of its wonders. We learn to think and observe in new ways. We certainly do get a feeling for the language we are reading. All good writers in any language have been readers who read critically and continuously.

1. According to the writer, creative reading is ________.

A．raising questions and answering them for the author

B．reading and giving comments on the materials one has read

C．thinking in the same line with the author

D．storing up facts in one's memory

2. The writer says a critic ________.

A．asks what he does not understand

B．talks back to the author

C．understand the background on which the works are based

D．looks for the good and bad points of the material he has read

3. By the phrase “thinking along with” in the third paragraph, the writer means________.

A．following one's thought closely	B．accepting
C．considering	D．agreeing

4. We can learn from the passage that all good readers ________.

A．understand more about their surrounding than others.

B．have a thorough insight to the problem in life.

C．have the feeling of the language they read.

D．have read extensively(广泛地) and critically

5 . As a group of young African immigrants struggle to adapt to life in the United States, an after-school drama program at White Oak Middle school aims to make their lives easier by first making them a little harder.

Project X is a program that uses drama, dance, poetry and other creative outlets to help students discuss the tough and sometimes painful problems they face as preteen immigrants with significant language barriers. A final unveiling of their creation will be performed for friends and family at the end of the year at Imagination Stage.

Wanjiru, Kamau, coordinator of White Oak’s African Club said it’s important to give troubles to group members to help them find their place at the school. “It comforts those who are uncomfortable, and it discomforts those who are comfortable,” Kamau said of Project X.

Kamau teamed up with Imagination Stage after she noticed that many African students seemed uncomfortable talking problems, such as being laughed at by their fellow students about how they look and talk. When most of the kids join the club, they speak little no English, Kamau said. Each week, the club typically draws five to ten students who are originally from Africa for discussion sessions and the Project X program.

“We are going to express ourselves through our words and our actions, and that’s powerful,” said teaching artist Meg Green as she introduced fill-in-the-blank poems the students wrote about their identities.

One students, Frank Ketchouang, 13, wrote, “I am from the world; I am love,” which drew oohs and aahs from the group. Ketchouang has been in the United States for less than a year, said Program Coordinator Chad Dike. When Ketchou and started attending Project X, he had been in the United States for two months and spoke no English. Now he’s one of the group’s most outgoing members and helps translate instructions from English to Creole for the group’s newest member, who is from Haiti.

Many people will give up when there’s a language barrier, “but these students prove them wrong.” Kamau said. “You do have something to give. You are important. When TV, media, ete. are bringing them down, this program is bringing them up.”

1. Project X is intended for helping the young African immigrants to ________.

A．get over language barriers	B．overcome tough problems
C．enrich after-school life	D．become more creative

2. How well the members learn in the Project X program is shown by ________.

A．their annual creative performances	B．their annual scores gained at school
C．the comments of friends and family members	D．the comments of program teachers

3. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Project X was designed by some African immigrants.

B．At first, the School had a disagreement with the Club.

C．African Children need an outlet for expression of their hatred and misery.

D．TV and media may have a harmful influence upon children.

4. The passage is written mainly to ________.

A．call for more attention to immigrants	B．inspire immigrants never to give up
C．advertise for White Oak’s African Club	D．introduce the Project X program

6 . 在这次文化交流项目中，这位杰出的教授给大家介绍了几个相关话题，其中包含西方艺术和东方文明。（involve）（汉译英）

7 . 无论身在何处，中国人心中有一个根深蒂固的想法：春节是阖家团聚的日子。（root）（汉译英）

8 . Directions: Fill in each blank with a proper word chosen from the box. Each word can be used only once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. rival   B. contributed   C. benefiting   D. witnessed   E. accounts F. uneasy   G. enrolment   H. intentionally I. delays     J. declined   K. unconsciously

Put off by US, Chinese students eye other universities

Caught in the US-China trade war, Chinese students are looking for alternative study destinations.

China     1     for nearly a third of foreign students on US campuses who pour billions of dollars into the economy, but since March, the number has     2     for the first time in a decade. Visa     3    , concerns over being shut out of research projects and safety fears have turned off Chinese students.

    4     education powerhouses such as Britain, Australia and Canada are the biggest countries     5     from the shift, a survey by New Oriental China’s biggest private education provider said. Japan and South Korea and parts of Europe, especially Germany and Scandinavian countries with strong engineering programmes, have also     6     a rise in applications, the survey found.

The chilling effect which makes students and their parents     7     started 2 years ago, after President Donald Trump’s administration     8     decreased the visa duration of students in science and technology fields from five years to one in some cases.

Chinese students     9     $13 billion to the US economy last year, a figure that includes tuition fees and living expenses, according to NAFSA: Association of International Educators. Top US universities including Yale and Stanford have complained that the trade war has affected campus     10    .

9 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

The trick that makes you overspend

When you buy a cup of coffee, you might have noticed that of the three size choices — small, medium and large — the medium-sized serving often costs almost as much as the large.     1     (get) a good buy, have you ever chosen the biggest and most expensive? If so, you have been tricked by the “decoy effect”, in which the deliberate presentation of an additional, slightly     2     (attractive) choice-in this case, the relatively expensive medium-sized coffee pushes you to pay out more money than you would have sensibly chosen.

The decoy effect shows us just     3     easily our judgement is influenced by the context     4     the facts are presented with additional irrelevant information.

However,     5     you have learned about the decoy effect, you may become less influenced unconsciously. You may even discover ways to put it to your own use     6     a tool for persuasion. If you     7     (discuss) travel plans with friends, for instance, and haven't decided yet where to go, you might present two choices (可供选择的安排) at your city, but one with a slightly more expensive hotel.     8     your friends might have otherwise selected a different location, the comparison might just lead them to choose the one you like.

Just don’t be a victim of decoy effect yourself. whether you are buying headphones or deciding on a retirement plan, ask     9     whether you are buying the one you really need or whether you are distracted by a seemingly attractive selling point. Like an expert sniper (狙击手) trained to avoid being targeted, you     10     find that your judgement suddenly becomes a lot more sensible.

10 . The pace ______ comfortable, so I decided to stay where I was, with Mimno just ahead of me.

A．was felt

B．felt

C．was feeling

D．had felt