DIRECTIONS: Chооse the best аnswer fоr eаch question. My Journey in Photogrаphsby Annie Griffiths [A] I got my first real job at age 12, as a waitress. I am convinced that I learned more as a waitress than I ever did in a classroom. When I went on to college, it also paid for tuition and housing and - eventually - a camera. But best of all, being a waitress taught me to quickly assess and understand all kinds of people. I learned how to make small talk and how to quickly put people at ease - great training for a journalist. Waiting tables also taught me teamwork and service and humor. [B] From the moment I picked up a camera, I was hooked. I lost interest in other studies, and all I wanted to do was take pictures for the university newspaper, the Minnesota Daily. In six months, I was able to get a lot of great experience. The week I finished college, I was contacted by the Worthington Daily Globe, a regional daily newspaper in southern Minnesota with a history of excellence in photography. By some miracle I was hired, and the two-year experience that followed was like a master class in photojournalism. [C] Jim Vance was the top-notch publisher of the Globe. He had very high expectations of all the staff. With little or no instruction from him, writers and photographers were expected to fill the paper with stories that were important to our readers. I didn't know it at the time, but this independent reporting was perfect training for my future career. [D] Among the most important things I learned at the Globe was that if you can make friends with a shy Norwegian farmer and be invited to his kitchen table, you can probably do well in any culture on Earth. I worked with a wonderful writer named Paul Gruchow. Together we would search the farming communities for stories. Paul had grown up on a farm himself and lived through personal tragedy, so he was able to project warmth and understanding to anyone he met. Farmers would invite us into their homes and willingly share their personal thoughts with us. From Paul I learned how to be a patient listener, as well as the importance of giving each subject time and sincere attention. [E] It was while I was working at the Globe that I happened to answer the phone one morning. A man's voice asked, "You a photographer?" When I replied that indeed I was, the voice responded, "This is Bob Gilka. National Geographic. I need a hail 1 damage picture. You guys get a big hailstorm last night?" I overcame my nervousness and said, "Yes, sir." When he asked if I could take the picture for him, I again said, "Yes, sir." [F] My little picture of hail damage in southern Minnesota was well received, and a year later, I was working for Bob - National Geographic's legendary director of photography. Thus began one of the most important relationships of my life. Lessons on the Road[G] I was the youngest photographer working for National Geographic when I arrived in 1978, and I spent at least a decade just trying not to make mistakes. With each new assignment came the fear that this was going to be the one where they figured out that I couldn't do the job. [H] On many assignments, the most challenging part turned out to be the transportation. Over the years, I traveled by horse, car, train, truck, and all sorts of old vehicles. I traveled by mule 2 in Mexico, by ship along the Indian Ocean, by fishing boat in the Sea of Galilee, by moped 3 in Bermuda, by sailboat in Sydney. I flew in helicopters chasing bears in the Arctic. Twice, while flying in light planes, pilots have had to make emergency landings far from any airport. But there were also wonderful experiences. In Africa I traveled by balloon, ultralight aircraft, and elephant. In a rubber raft off the west coast of Mexico, I was suddenly lifted out of the water on the back of a friendly whale. [I] Wherever I traveled in the world, taking beautiful pictures was always my goal. However, later in my career, I also wanted my pictures to make a real difference in people's lives. That is why each spring I tour two or three developing countries, shooting portraits of people whose lives are better because of the dedicated workers who care about them. The photos are used in a variety of fund-raising products. The other issue that stole my heart was the environment. With support from the National Geographic Expeditions Council, I have traveled all over the United States to photograph the last one percent of wilderness left here. [J] I am deeply grateful for my life in photography and the amazing lessons it has taught me. I have learned that women really do hold up half the sky; that language isn't always necessary, but touch usually is; that all people are not alike, but they do mostly have the same hopes and fears; that judging others does great harm, but listening to them enriches; and that it is impossible to hate a group of people once you get to know one of them as an individual. 1 Hail is small balls of ice that fall from the sky like rain. 2 A mule is a hybrid between a horse and a donkey. 3 A moped is a type of lightweight motorcycle. In the third sentence of paragraph A, what does it refer to?
DIRECTIONS: Reаd eаch sentence, pаying attentiоn tо the underlined wоrds. Decide if the use of the word in each sentence makes the statement True (T) or False (F). A photograph of a tall mountain is an example of a portrait.
DIRECTIONS: Chооse the best аnswer fоr eаch question. An Interview with Michаel Yamashita Q: Is it true that before becoming a photographer, you were an English teacher?[A] Yeah, I spent four years in Japan in the early '70s, and two of those years I was teaching. There was a huge demand in Japan for English. The Japanese studied English at school, but didn't speak much English, so as a native speaker I could help out. It was a great job. [B] I was in Japan at the time to get in touch with my roots, trying to see how Japanese I might be. Growing up in the States with a Japanese name and face, I really never felt 100 percent American because I didn't look like the American majority. We were the only Asian family in the town where I lived. So, after studying history in the States, I decided to go to Japan and have the experience of living there. Q: Did you know any Japanese before you went there? [C] No. I learned the hard way, which was ... working in a company where nobody spoke English. In the beginning, it was tough. The only things I knew were the names of food, since I grew up with Japanese food. Q: And it was in Japan that you bought your first camera. Is that right? [D] I did. Like every amateur, I bought a camera to essentially record what I was seeing and doing, to send pictures back to family and friends. I spent some time learning about it, and I just got really obsessed by the whole process. [E] The more I got into photography, the more I loved it. Every few months I left Japan to renew my visa, and so I went to a different country each time, taking pictures just to show friends and family. As my pictures got better, people told me I should show them to other photographers. Eventually, I met an agent and decided I wanted to be a professional. Q: As a professional photographer, what would you say makes a good photograph?[F] In the case of National Geographic magazine, I like to call them "page stoppers." They are pictures with such great visual impact that the viewer has to stop turning the pages. You're arrested by the framing, the light, the color, or the subject, and you stare at it. Then you're likely to read the captions 2 and be drawn into reading the whole story. For me, that is an ideal picture. Q: For photographing a project like Basho's Trail, how much planning is involved? [G] I prepare as much as I can. I read about six different translations of Basho's book, Narrow Road to the Deep North. I thought about what happened on each section of the route: where he talks about the banana leaf, and where on the Mogami River he wrote a poem about swift 1 water. [H] So, certain things I was looking for, but others were not so place-specific. Basho mentions the moon many times, so I knew I had to do a moon picture, which sounds easy. But the moon is only full once a month, and the sky may be cloudy. Or, if the moon is rising too early, or too late, I wouldn't be able to see it. But I try my best to be in the right place to get the right subject at the right time. Q: Were there other important moments you remember while doing that article?[I] Well, there's that frog photo. It was in summer the first week I was there. I was shooting some banana leaves under the roof of a Japanese temple. It was pouring rain, and it was beautiful. As I was walking back to the car, I looked down into this little pond and saw a frog sitting on a leaf. So, my job was to get a good picture of it. [J] I started out shooting from the land, but the shot wasn't quite right. Then I got into the water. I was up to my waist in this smelly temple pond, early in the morning, concentrating on a frog and thinking "Thank God the caretakers 3 of the temple haven't arrived yet!" I managed to anticipate the moment just before it was ready to jump, and that's when I took the photo. You'll see that the frog is just about to turn to its right, and in the next picture, it was flying. Q: Finally, what do you think it takes to become a great photographer?[K] Well, there is not that much economic motivation, considering the difficulty of selling pictures and getting in the door. What it takes is basically passion; you have to be really obsessed by your craft. Especially today, with the competition being what it is, to be a success you really have to eat and drink photography. It's passion that drives you forward. 1 If something is swift, it is quick and rapid. 2 A caption is an explanation written next to a photo. 3 A caretaker is a person who takes care of some property. What kind of information do you need to look for to answer this question: What did Michael read to prepare for Basho's Trail ?
DIRECTIONS: Reаd eаch sentence, pаying attentiоn tо the underlined wоrds. Decide if the use of the word in each sentence makes the statement True (T) or False (F). Sincere is another word for dishonest.