『新东方在线托福阅读』为托福考生准备了ETS托福TPO/Official 44 Passage 2阅读练习：The word “diminish” in the passage is closest in meaning to真题题目及答案解析，TPO/Official 44 Passage 2阅读原文范文音频翻译

托福TPO/Official 44 Passage 2阅读原文The word “diminish” in the passage is closest in meaning to题目答案及解析-新东方托福官方网校手机版

现代相机的前身是暗箱，它是一个暗黑的密封箱子，通过一个小孔中的镜头可以使光线进入其中。

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.

箱子外部的照明区域的图像被倒过来，就好像是魔术般地投射到了变暗的外壳的表面上。

The image of the illuminated area outside the enclosure is thrown upside down as if by magic onto a surface in the darkened enclosure.

这项技术早在公元前五世纪就已在中国广为人知。

This technique was known as long ago as the fifth century B.C.in China.

亚里斯多德（Aristotle）也在公元前四世纪进行了实验，莱昂纳多·达·芬奇（Leonardo da Vinci）于1490年在他的笔记本中对其进行了描述。

Aristotle also experimented with it in the fourth century B.C., and Leonardo da Vinci described it in his notebooks in 1490.

1558年，乔瓦尼·巴蒂斯塔·德拉·波塔（Giovanni Battista Della Porta）在他的长达二十卷的著作《Magia naturalis》（意思是“自然魔术”）中写道：增加凸透镜以改善在深色区域（可以勾勒出轮廓）上的画布或面板上投射的图像的质量。

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.

后来，便携式暗箱被开发出来，带有内置镜子和绘图板，让艺术家可以捕捉图像。

Later, portable camera obscuras were developed, with interior mirrors and drawing tables on which the artist could trace the image.

对于艺术家来说，这种技术可以精确地绘制外形和线性透视图，就像从一个单一视角看到的那样。

For the artist, this technique allows forms and linear perspective to be drawn precisely as they would be seen from a single viewpoint.

镜子还用于将投影图像反转到其正常位置。

Mirrors were also used to reverse the projected images to their original positions.

那么，一些绘画大师是否曾使用暗箱摄像机描摹了他们的图像？

Did some of the great masters of painting, then, trace their images using a camera obscura?

一些艺术史学家现在正在寻找艺术家使用此类设备的线索。

Some art historians are now looking for clues of artists’ use of such devices.

从这个角度分析绘画的艺术家之一是伟大的荷兰大师扬·维米尔（Jan Vermeer），在他的1632年至1675年间正值荷兰的艺术和科学（包括光）兴盛时期。

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.

维米尔（Vermeer）仅创作了约30幅知名画作，包括他著名的《绘画艺术》。

Vermeer produced only about 30 known paintings, including his famous The Art of Painting.

画中展示的房间与其他维米尔（Vermeer）绘画中的房间非常相似，左侧窗户的光线，相同的屋顶梁和类似的地砖发出的光线，表明该房间的前景侧面装有摄像机暗箱。

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.

悬挂在对面墙上的地图是维米尔（Vermeer）拥有的物品中的真实地图，其还原的细节如此真实，以至于让人怀疑是不是描摹出来的。

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.

对维米尔（Vermeer）的一幅画作X射线检查时，画漆下方的画布上没有任何初步的草图迹象，而是在没有任何试验草图的情况下以黑白线条绘制的完整图像。

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.

维米尔（Vermeer）没有学生，没有任何记录，也没有邀约任何人参观他的工作室，这一事实可以解释为他在保护暗中使用暗箱的秘密。

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.

最近，英国艺术家大卫·霍克尼（David Hockney）发表了他对暗箱摄影机秘密使用的调查报告，声称在长达400年的时间里，许多西方艺术大师都使用这种装置在绘画中产生了几乎摄影般真实的细节。

In recent times the British artist David Hockney has published his investigations into the secret use of the camera obscura, claiming that for up to 400 years, many of Western art’s great masters probably used the device to produce almost photographically realistic details in their paintings.

这些大师包括卡拉瓦乔，汉斯·霍尔拜因，莱昂纳多·达·芬奇，迭戈·维拉兹克斯，让·奥古斯特·多米尼克·英格雷斯，阿格诺·布隆奇诺和扬·范·埃克。

He includes in this group Caravaggio, Hans Holbein, Leonardo da Vinci, Diego Velázquez, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Agnolo Bronzino, and Jan van Eyck.

从艺术家的角度来看，霍克尼观察到暗箱将三维场景的复杂形式压缩为可以轻松追踪的二维形状，并且还增加了明暗之间的对比度，从而形成了明暗对比艺术术语。 这些画作中很多都可以看到明暗效果之间的对比。

From an artist’s point of view, Hockney observed that a camera obscura compresses the complicated forms of a three-dimensional scene into two-dimensional shapes that can easily be traced and also increases the contrast between light and dark, leading to the chiaroscuroartistic term for a contrast between light and dark effect seen in many of these paintings.

在扬·范·埃克（Jan van Eyck）的《乔凡尼·阿诺尔菲尼（Giovanni Arnolfini）和乔万娜·塞纳米（Giovanna Cenami）的婚姻》中，一种复杂的透视方法使艺术形象得以表现，使它似乎在枝形吊灯中在空间中显得退后，而新娘服装中错综复杂的细节正是霍克尼认为使用暗箱的线索。

In Jan van Eyck’s The Marriage of Giovanni Arnolfini and Giovanna Cenami, the complicated foreshorteninga technique for representing an image in art that makes it appear to recede in space in the chandelier and the intricate detail in the bride’s garments are among the clues that Hockney thinks point to the use of the camera obscura.

如果这些艺术家确实使用了暗箱，那是否会有损他们的名声？

If these artists did use a camera obscura, does that diminish their stature?

霍克尼（Hockney）认为，暗箱的使用并不能取代绘画方面的艺术技巧。

Hockney argues that the camera obscura does not replace artistic skill in drawing and painting.

在试验中，他发现实际上暗箱很难用于绘画，并且他推测艺术家可能将他们对生活的观察与使用暗箱捕获的图像结合了在一起。

In experimenting with it, he found that it is actually quite difficult to use for drawing, and he speculates that the artists probably combined their observations from life with tracing of shapes.

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

The word “projected” in the passage is closest in meaning to

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.

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

Why does the author provide the information 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.”?

According to paragraph 3, Hockney believes that all of the following indicate use of a camera obscura EXCEPT

The word “intricate” in the passage is closest in meaning to

The word “diminish” in the passage is closest in meaning to

Look at the four squares  that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage. All these developments helped artists to create accurate images of objects, people, and scenes.  Where would the sentence best fit? Click on a square  to add the sentence to the passage.

Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some sentences do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points.

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. in China. Aristotle also experimented with it in the fourth 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 obscuras were developed, with interior mirrors and drawing tables 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 original positions.  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. In recent times the British artist David Hockney has published his investigations into the secret use of the camera obscura, claiming that for up to 400 years, many of Western art’s great masters probably used the device to produce almost photographically realistic details in their paintings. He includes in this group Caravaggio, Hans Holbein, Leonardo da Vinci, Diego Velázquez, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Agnolo Bronzino, and Jan van Eyck. From an artist’s point of view, Hockney observed that a camera obscura compresses the complicated forms of a three-dimensional scene into two-dimensional shapes that can easily be traced and also increases the contrast between light and dark, leading to the chiaroscuroartistic term for a contrast between light and dark effect seen in many of these paintings. In Jan van Eyck’s The Marriage of Giovanni Arnolfini and Giovanna Cenami, the complicated foreshortening (a technique for representing an image in art that makes it appear to recede in space) in the chandelier and the intricate detail in the bride’s garments are among the clues that Hockney thinks point to the use of the camera obscura. So what are we to conclude? If these artists did use a camera obscura, does that diminish their stature? Hockney argues that the camera obscura does not replace artistic skill in drawing and painting. In experimenting with it, he found that it is actually quite difficult to use for drawing, and he speculates that the artists probably combined their observations from life with tracing of shapes.