It could have been anywhere,my first intentionally photo-free journey,but it just happened to be Ethiopia.Photographic equipment can be a great physical burden.It may weigh anything from a few hundred grams to several kilos,depending on how seriously one approaches the business of picture-taking.Yet the real burden of photography is mental,not physical;it is the feeling of needing to take photographs,that because you have a camera you must use it.
In the first few days of camera-less travel,there are certainly moments of frustration at letting one great photograph after another go past,but having no camera,and thus being unable to take photographs,surprisingly soon stops the urge to do so.Very quickly,scenes become appreciated for what they are,rather than for the photographs they would have made.
Climbing up the western wall of the Great Rift Valley,on the way to the capital,Addis Ababa,the road emerges from a tunnel onto open,grassy plains -- a small piece of uncharacteristically undomesticated countryside,with an even more uncharacteristic population of wild animals.They looked magnificent in the tearing wind,and through binoculars(雙筒望遠(yuǎn)鏡)they could be absorbed at leisure -- theirs and mine.And thus unseen,I watched their play,free from concerns as to how close I could risk going with my camera without losing the very moment I sought to capture.
Exciting though stalking(跟蹤)wild creatures can be,the photographer must obviously stalk as much out of sight as possible,thus being denied any chance of actually watching them.The photographer's mind is effectively stopped from experiencing any more than the photographic possibilities of the scene.At eye level,the camera not only creates a physical barrier but also isolates the photographer from the joyful reality of the subject,and from everywhere else around them too.Then comes the climax,the press of the button,the pull of the trigger(快門),before more stalking,more photographs and,inevitably,the stalk too far which frightens the animals to flight.The difference between looking in order to photograph and actually seeing what is there is never more distinct than when taking pictures of animals,to the extent that the two become almost mutually exclusive.There is time only for deciding the best way to take the photograph,before addressing more practical technicalities -- how to keep the minibus's wheel out of the shot of lions,or get enough depth of field so all the flamingos(火烈鳥)on the lake are in focus at once.
(1)According to the first paragraph,what is the main problem that photographers face while travelling?
D
D
A.Moving their heavy equipment about
B.Locating places to purchase batteries.
C.Trying to get the best possible shots.
D.Being under pressure to take photographs.
(2)The writer suggests in the second paragraph that people who choose to leave their cameras at home
B
B
.
A.conclude that the decision was unrealistic
B.rapidly lose the desire to take any photographs
C.come to consider previous trips as unsatisfactory
D.a(chǎn)ppreciate the excellence of other people's photos
(3)What does the writer suggest about the animals he sees?
D
D
A.They were too far away to be usefully observed.
B.They were surprisingly unaffected by the closeness of humans.
C.They might have been enjoying the situation for more than he was.
D.They might have become alarmed by the presence of a photographer.
(4)The writer questions the value of stalking animals because a photograph
C
C
A.can cause the animals to behave aggressively towards people
B.may become too uncomfortable to take reasonable shots
C.may not be able to appreciate the situation fully
D.can easily become distracted from his task