2014年5月17日托福阅读真题P2+题目+答案：The Use of the Camera Obscura

2014年5月17日托福阅读真题P2+题目+答案：The Use of the Camera Obscura

The precursor of the modern camera, the camera obscura is a darkened enclosure into which light is admitted through a lens in a small hole. The image of the illuminated area outside the enclosure is thrown upside down as if by magic onto a surface in the darkened enclosure. This technique was known as long ago as the fifth century B.C., and Leonardo da Vinci described it in his notebooks in 1490. In 1558 Giovanni Battista Della Porta wrote in his twenty-volume work Magia naturalis (meaning “natural magic”) instructions for adding a convex lens to improve the quality of the image thrown against a canvas or panel in the darkened area where its outlines could be traced. Later, portable camera obscures were developed, with interior mirrors and drawing tablets on which the artist could trace the image. For the artist, this technique allows forms and linear perspective to be drawn precisely as they would be seen from a single viewpoint. Mirrors were also used to reverse the projected images to their originalpositions.

1. What can be inferred from paragraph 1 about Giovanni Battista Della Porta’s contribution to the camera obscura?

A.He translated a Chinese description of the use of the camera obscura and made the technique available to artists.

B.His convex lens made the projected image easier to trace.

C.His version of the camera obscura allowed for the later addition of a mirror.

D.His improvements relied heavily on design changes proposed earlier by Leonardo da Vinci.

2. The word “portable” in the passage is closet in meaning to

A.valuable

B.practical

C.moveable

D.popular

3. The word “projected” in the passage is closet in meaning to

A.whole

B.corrected

C.enlarged

D.shown

Did some of the great masters of painting, then, trace their images using a camera obscura? Some art historians are now looking for clues of artists’ use of such devices. One of the artists whose paintings are being analyzed from this point of view is the great Dutch master, Jan Vermeer, who lived from 1632 to 1675 during the flowering of art and science in the Netherlands, including the science of optics. Vermeer produced only about 30 known paintings, including his famous The Art of Painting. The room shown in it closely resembles the room in other Vermeer paintings, with lighting coming from a window on the left, the same roof beams, and similar floor tiles, suggesting that the room was fitted with a camera obscura on the side in the foreground. The map hung on the opposite wall was a real map in Vermeer’s possession, reproduced in such faithful detail that some kind of tracery is suspected. When one of Vermeer’s paintings was X-rayed, it did not have any preliminary sketches on the canvas beneath the paint, but rather the complete image drawn in black and white without any trial sketches. Vermeer did not have any students, did not keep any records, and did not encourage anyone to visit his studio, facts that can be interpreted as protecting his secret use of a camera obscura.

4. Paragraph 2 answers which of the following questions about paintings by Vermeer?

A.What characteristics of Vermeer’s paintings suggest that he may have used a camera obscura?

B.Why did Vermeer produce only about 30 paintings?

C.Do Vermeer’s paintings in general suggest that he was unable to paint accurately without using a camera obscura?

D.Why did Vermeer need to draw an image on the canvas of the painting that was X-rayed if he was using a camera obscura?

5. 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:

A.One artist with a particularly interesting point of view about the use of the camera obscura in painting was Jan Vermeer, who lived in the Netherlands from 1632 to 1675.

B.Historical analyses suggest that Dutch masters were interested in the science of optics, so they may have used the camera obscura to trace images.

C.The use of the camera obscura is being analyzed in the paintings of Jan Vermeer, who lived in the Netherlands when art and science were flourishing there.

D.One view held by historians is that most Dutch masters were as interested in art as they were in science, and that provides clues about the techniques used in their paintings.

6. What does paragraph 2 indicate about Vermeer’s The Art of Painting?

A.It is the first in a series of about 30 paintings that he created.

B.It may have been painted by one of his students.

C.It was in his possession until his death in 1675.

D.It has the same setting as several other works of his.

7. The word “faithful” in the passage is closet in meaning to

A.unusual

B.extensive

C.exact

D.historical

8. Why does the author provide the information on that “When one of Vermeer’s paintings was X-rayed, it did not have any preliminary sketches on the canvas beneath the paint, but rather the complete image drawn in black and white without any trial sketches”?

A.To provide an example of a way to learn about the practices of artists who did not keep good records

B.To emphasize Vermeer’s confidence and skill as an artist

C.To provide evidence that Vermeer may have traced the image using a camera obscura

D.To argue that Vermeer did his preliminary sketching on paper, rather than on canvas

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