Early Cinema
The cinema did not emerge as a form of mass consumption until its technology evolved from the initial "peepshow" format to the point where images were projected on a screen in a darkened theater. In the peepshow format, a film was viewed through a small opening in a machine that was created for that purpose. Thomas Edison's peepshow device, the Kinetoscope, was introduced to the public in 1894. It was designed for use in Kinetoscope parlors, or arcades, which contained only a few individual machines and permitted only one customer to view a short, 50-foot film at any one time. The first Kinetoscope parlors contained five machines. For the price of 25 cents (or 5 cents per machine), customers moved from machine to machine to watch five different films (or, in the case of famous prizefights, successive rounds of a single fight).
These Kinetoscope arcades were modeled on phonograph parlors, which had proven successful for Edison several years earlier. In the phonograph parlors, customers listened to recordings through individual ear tubes, moving from one machine to the next to hear different recorded speeches or pieces of music. The Kinetoscope parlors functioned in a similar way. Edison was more interested in the sale of Kinetoscopes (for roughly $1,000 apiece) to these parlors than in the films that would be run in them (which cost approximately $10 to $15 each). He refused to develop projection technology, reasoning that if he made and sold projectors, then exhibitors would purchase only one machine-a projector-from him instead of several.
Exhibitors, however, wanted to maximize their profits, which they could do more readily by projecting a handful of films to hundreds of customers at a time (rather than one at a time) and by charging 25 to 50 cents admission. About a year after the opening of the first Kinetoscope parlor in 1894, showmen such as Louis and Auguste Lumiere, Thomas Armat and Charles Francis Jenkins, and Orville and Woodville Latham (with the assistance of Edison's former assistant, William Dickson) perfected projection devices. These early projection devices were used in vaudeville theaters, legitimate theaters, local town halls, makeshift storefront theaters, fairgrounds, and amusement parks to show films to a mass audience.
With the advent of projection in 1895-1896, motion pictures became the ultimate form of mass consumption. Previously, large audiences had viewed spectacles at the theater, where vaudeville, popular dramas, musical and minstrel shows, classical plays, lectures, and slide-and-lantern shows had been presented to several hundred spectators at a time. But the movies differed significantly from these other forms of entertainment, which depended on either live performance or (in the case of the slide-and-lantern shows) the active involvement of a master of ceremonies who assembled the final program.
Although early exhibitors regularly accompanied movies with live acts, the substance of the movies themselves is mass-produced, prerecorded material that can easily be reproduced by theaters with little or no active participation by the exhibitor. Even though early exhibitors shaped their film programs by mixing films and other entertainments together in whichever way they thought would be most attractive to audiences or by accompanying them with lectures, their creative control remained limited. What audiences came to see was the technological marvel of the movies; the lifelike reproduction of the commonplace motion of trains, of waves striking the shore, and of people walking in the street; and the magic made possible by trick photography and the manipulation of the camera.
With the advent of projection, the viewer's relationship with the image was no longer private, as it had been with earlier peepshow devices such as the Kinetoscope and the Mutoscope, which was a similar machine that reproduced motion by means of successive images on individual photographic cards instead of on strips of celluloid. It suddenly became public-an experience that the viewer shared with dozens, scores, and even hundreds of others. At the same time, the image that the spectator looked at expanded from the minuscule peepshow dimensions of 1 or 2 inches (in height) to the life-size proportions of 6 or 9 feet.
Paragraph 1: The cinema did not emerge as a form of mass consumption until its technology evolved from the initial "peepshow" format to the point where images were projected on a screen in a darkened theater. In the peepshow format, a film was viewed through a small opening in a machine that was created for that purpose. Thomas Edison's peepshow device, the Kinetoscope, was introduced to the public in 1894. It was designed for use in Kinetoscope parlors, or arcades, which contained only a few individual machines and permitted only one customer to view a short, 50-foot film at any one time. The first Kinetoscope parlors contained five machines. For the price of 25 cents (or 5 cents per machine), customers moved from machine to machine to watch five different films (or, in the case of famous prizefights, successive rounds of a single fight).
1. According to paragraph 1, all of the following were true of viewing films in Kinetoscope parlors EXCEPT:
One individual at a time viewed a film.
Customers could view one film after another.
Prizefights were the most popular subjects for films.
Each film was short.
Paragraph 2: These Kinetoscope arcades were modeled on phonograph parlors, which had proven successful for Edison several years earlier. In the phonograph parlors, customers listened to recordings through individual ear tubes, moving from one machine to the next to hear different recorded speeches or pieces of music. The Kinetoscope parlors functioned in a similar way. Edison was more interested in the sale of Kinetoscopes (for roughly $1,000 apiece) to these parlors than in the films that would be run in them (which cost approximately $10 to $15 each). He refused to develop projection technology, reasoning that if he made and sold projectors, then exhibitors would purchase only one machine-a projector-from him instead of several.
2. The author discusses phonograph parlors in paragraph 2 in order to
Explain Edison's financial success
Describe the model used to design Kinetoscope parlors
Contrast their popularity to that of Kinetoscope parlors
Illustrate how much more technologically advanced Kinetoscope parlors were
3. Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence from the passage?
Incorrect answer choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.
Edison was more interested in developing a variety of machines than in developing a technology based on only one.
Edison refused to work on projection technology because he did not think exhibitors would replace their projectors with newer machines.
Edison did not want to develop projection technology because it limited the number of machines he could sell.
Edison would not develop projection technology unless exhibitors agreed to purchase more than one projector from him.
Paragraph 3: Exhibitors, however, wanted to maximize their profits, which they could do more readily by projecting a handful of films to hundreds of customers at a time (rather than one at a time) and by charging 25 to 50 cents admission. About a year after the opening of the first Kinetoscope parlor in 1894, showmen such as Louis and Auguste Lumiere, Thomas Armat and Charles Francis Jenkins, and Orville and Woodville Latham (with the assistance of Edison's former assistant, William Dickson) perfected projection devices. These early projection devices were used in vaudeville theaters, legitimate theaters, local town halls, makeshift storefront theaters, fairgrounds, and amusement parks to show films to a mass audience.
4. The word readily in the passage is closest in meaning to
Frequently
Easily
Intelligently
Obviously
5. The word assistance in the passage is closest in meaning to
Criticism
Leadership
Help
Approval
Paragraph 4: With the advent of projection in 1895-1 896, motion pictures became the ultimate form of mass consumption. Previously, large audiences had viewed spectacles at the theater, where vaudeville, popular dramas, musical and minstrel shows, classical plays, lectures, and slide-and-lantern shows had been presented to several hundred spectators at a time. But the movies differed significantly from these other forms of entertainment, which depended on either live performance or (in the case of the slide-and-lantern shows) the active involvement of a master of ceremonies who assembled the final program.
6. According to paragraph 4, how did the early movies differ from previous spectacles that were presented to large audiences?
They were a more expensive form of entertainment.
They were viewed by larger audiences.
They were more educational.
They did not require live entertainers.
Paragraph 5: Although early exhibitors regularly accompanied movies with live acts, the substance of the movies themselves is mass-produced, prerecorded material that can easily be reproduced by theaters with little or no active participation by the exhibitor. Even though early exhibitors shaped their film programs by mixing films and other entertainments together in whichever way they thought would be most attractive to audiences or by accompanying them with lectures* their creative control remained limited. What audiences came to see was the technological marvel of the movies; the lifelike reproduction of the commonplace motion of trains, of waves striking the shore, and of people walking in the street; and the magic made possible by trick photography and the manipulation of the camera.
7. According to paragraph 5, what role did early exhibitors play in the presentation of movies in theaters?
They decided how to combine various components of the film program.
They advised film-makers on appropriate movie content.
They often took part in the live-action performances.
They produced and prerecorded the material that was shown in the theaters.
Paragraph 6: With the advent of projection, the viewer's relationship with the image was no longer private, as it had been with earlier peepshow devices such as the Kinetoscope and the Mutoscope, which was a similar machine that reproduced motion by means of successive images on individual photographic cards instead of on strips of celluloid. It suddenly became public-an experience that the viewer shared with dozens, scores, and even hundreds of others. At the same time, the image that the spectator looked at expanded from the minuscule peepshow dimensions of 1 or 2 inches (in height) to the life-size proportions of 6 or 9 feet.
8. Which of the following is mentioned in paragraph 6 as one of the ways the Mutoscope differed from the Kinetoscope?
Sound and motion were simultaneously produced in the Mutoscope.
More than one person could view the images at the same time with the Mutoscope.
The Mutoscope was a less sophisticated earlier prototype of the Kinetoscope.
A different type of material was used to produce the images used in the Mutocope.
9. The word it in the passage refers to
The advent of projection
The viewer's relationship with the image
A similar machine
Celluloid
10. According to paragraph 6, the images seen by viewers in the earlier peepshows, compared to the images projected on the screen, were relatively
Small in size
Inexpensive to create
Unfocused
Limited in subject matter
11. The word expanded in the passage is closest in meaning to
Was enlarged
Was improved
Was varied
Was rejected
Paragraph 3: ■Exhibitors, however, wanted to maximize their profits, which they could do more readily by projecting a handful of films to hundreds of customers at a time (rather than one at a time) and by charging 25 to 50 cents admission. ■About a year after the opening of the first Kinetoscope parlor in 1894, showmen such as Louis and Auguste Lumiere, Thomas Armat and Charles Francis Jenkins, and Orville and Woodville Latham (with the assistance of Edison's former assistant, William Dickson) perfected projection devices. ■These early projection devices were used in vaudeville theaters, legitimate theaters, local town halls, makeshift storefront theaters, fairgrounds, and amusement parks to show films to a mass audience.■
12. Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence can be added to the passage.
When this widespread use of projection technology began to hurt his Kinetoscope business, Edison acquired a projector developed by Armat and introduced it as “Edison’s latest marvel, the Vitascope."
Where would the sentence best fit?
13. 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 answer choices 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 technology for modern cinema evolved at the end of the nineteenth century.
●
●
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Answer Choices
1. Kinetoscope parlors for viewing films were modeled on phonograph parlors.
2. Thomas Edison's design of the Kinetoscope inspired the development of large screen projection.
3. Early cinema allowed individuals to use special machines to view films privately.
4. Slide-and-lantern shows had been presented to audiences of hundreds of spectators.
5. The development of projection technology made it possible to project images on a large screen.
6. Once film images could be projected, the cinema became form of mass consumption.#p#副标题#e#
参考答案：
1. 3
2. 2
3. 3
4. 2
5. 3
6. 4
7. 1
8. 4
9. 2
10. 1
11. 1
12. 4
13.3 5 6
参考翻译：
电影院的播放技术从最初的西洋镜形式演变为将影像投影到幽暗的影院屏幕，这一转变使得电影院大众化消费成为可能。在通过西洋镜播放电影的年代里，人们只能通过播放仪器的一个专门设置的小窗口来看电影。到了1894 年，托马斯?爱迪生发明的活动电影放映机公布于众，这种放映机仅适用于活动电影放映室或电影娱乐城。它里面仅包含少量的独立播放器，每次仅允许一个顾客观看一部50 张胶卷的小短片。第一个电影放映厅的放映机中有五台播放器。价格是25 美分/次，(每台播放器观看价格是5 美分)。观众们从一个播放器换到下一个播放器依次观看不同的影片(就像有名的职业拳击赛，每场都要连续进行好几轮比赛)。
这些电影播放厅是仿照留声机播放厅设计的，这也证明了爱迪生前几年的设计非常成功。在留声机播放厅中，顾客们通过独立的耳管听取已经录制好的声音，从一台机器换到另一台听取不同演讲或音乐的录音。电影放映室的功能与之类似。相比之下，爱迪生对这些电影放映机(每台一千美元)的销售更感兴趣，而不是那些需要放映的电影(每部10-15 美元)。他不愿研究投影技术，因为他认为如果研发并且销售投影机，电影放映者就只会买一台投影机而不是几台。
然而，电影放映者们期望将自己的收益最大化，他们希望能更简易地将少量电影同时放映给几百个顾客(而不是每次为一个顾客播放一次电影)，每次收费25到50 美分。在1894 年电影放映机公布的一年之后，摄影师如Louis 和Auguste Lumiere，Thomas Armat 和Charles Francis Jenkins，Orville 和WoodvilleLatham 以及爱迪生先前的助手William Dickson 将投影设备变得更加完善。这些早期的投影机在众多场合为大众观众播放电影，如：杂技剧团、正当的影院、当地镇上的礼堂、临时的影院店面、露天游乐场和游乐园等。
随着1895-1896 年间投影机的到来，电影成为了大众消费的最终形式。在此之前，一群观众坐在剧场里观看表演，在那里几百个观众可以同时观看轻歌舞剧、流行戏剧、音乐剧、歌唱表演、古典演奏、演讲和胶片演示等。电影与这些娱乐形式明显的不同点是，电影无需依赖现场表演，也不需要串联全场节目的主持人的积极参与(例如胶片演示)。
尽管早期的电影放映者通常在电影放映时伴有现场表演，但是电影本身的内容是影院事先大量录制下来的，这些材料能在没有表演者或者表演者较少参与的情况在电影院中轻松地再现。即便这样，早期的电影放映者还是将电影和其它娱乐节目或者演讲结合在一起，他们认为用这样的方法能最大限度的吸引观众，他们管理的创造力还是非常有限的。观众们在这里可以看到的电影技术的进步;生活琐事的重现，如火车的运动，海浪拍击海岸，人们在街上行走等;以及由摄影特技和相机操控做出来的特效。
伴随投影机的到来，电影不在属于个别人的消费品。就像之前西洋镜时代的播放设备，如活动电影播放机和早期电影播放机，早期电影播放机播放的都是一系列独立的图像而不是胶片，把单个摄影卡上的图片串联起来形成影像。投影技术使得电影变得更加大众化了，观众能够和十二个、二十个、甚至是上百个人共同观看一部电影。与此同时，观众所看到的图像大小也从狭小的1 英寸或2 英寸西洋镜高度扩展到与实物状的6 英尺或9 英尺。
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