EigoPro 2級読解 — The History of Photography

The History of Photography Most of us now carry a camera everywhere, take pictures without a second thought, and share them in seconds. It is easy to forget that, for almost all of human history, there was no way to capture an image of the real world at all. The story of how we learned to do so is only about two hundred years old. The first photographs, made in the early nineteenth century, were nothing like the images we know today. The very first successful photograph required the camera to sit still for many hours, so it could only show buildings and streets, never people. Early portraits, taken a little later, still needed people to hold completely still for several minutes — which is one reason why people in old photographs so rarely smile. The equipment was heavy, expensive, and difficult to use, so photography remained the work of a few specialists. Everything changed when photography became simpler and cheaper. In the late nineteenth century, a company began to sell a small, easy camera together with a service that developed the pictures for the customer. Suddenly, ordinary families could record holidays, weddings, and everyday moments. For the first time in history, people could keep an accurate picture of how they and their loved ones really looked. Today, the change has gone even further. Most photographs are no longer printed at all, but stored on phones and shared online, and billions are taken every single day. This has brought wonderful freedom, but also new questions about privacy and about what is real, since images can now be changed easily. Yet the basic wish behind photography has not changed in two centuries: the simple, human desire to hold on to a moment before it slips away.

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この単元の問題を3問、解説つきで公開しています

2級 · 読解 · 全5問

問 1

What is the main idea of the passage?

Photography has never changed since it was invented.
Photography is only about 200 years old and has changed greatly from difficult to easy.
People have been able to take photographs for thousands of years.
Taking a photograph has always been quick and easy.

Phrase

for almost all of human history, there was no way to capture an image

人類史のほぼ全期間、像を捉える術はなかった

2級読解技術史主旨

⚡ひとことで

記事の主旨は「今や誰もが手軽に撮るが、写真の歴史は約200年と浅く、困難な初期から手軽な現代へ大きく変化した」。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「Photography is only about 200 years old and has changed greatly from difficult to easy.」

正解

第1段落 "for almost all of human history, there was no way to capture an image ... only about two hundred years old" が主旨。記事は初期の困難 → 普及 → 現代と展開。capture an image = 「像を捉える」、without a second thought = 「何も考えず」。

「People have been able to take photographs for several thousands of years now.」
= 数千年前から撮影できた ━ 本文 "only about two hundred years old" と矛盾。
「Photography has never changed at all since the day that it was first invented.」
= 発明以来変わっていない ━ 本文 "Everything changed" と矛盾。
「Taking a photograph has always been quick and easy for any ordinary person.」
= 撮影は常に速く簡単だった ━ 本文 "required ... many hours" と矛盾。

▦Collocation

パターン	意味	例
capture an image	像を捉える	capture an image
without a second thought	何も考えず	without a second thought
carry a camera	カメラを持ち歩く	carry a camera everywhere
learn to V	〜できるようになる	how we learned to do so
it is easy to forget ~	〜を忘れがち	easy to forget that

❝例文

Photography is only about 200 years old.
写真の歴史は約200年だ。
Once there was no way to capture an image.
かつて像を捉える術はなかった。
It changed from difficult to easy.
困難から手軽へ変わった。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

主旨設問の鉄則 ―― "only about two hundred years old" + 全体の変遷が主旨。誤答は本文と矛盾 (数千年前 / 不変 / 常に簡単) で誘導。歴史の浅さ + 困難→手軽の変化を含む選択肢が正解。

問 2

What were early photographs like?

Early photography was cheap and easy for everyone.
The first photograph clearly showed smiling people.
Early cameras could capture fast movement perfectly.
Early photos needed long exposures, so subjects had to stay still and rarely smiled.

Phrase

camera had to sit still for many hours; people had to hold still for minutes

カメラを何時間も静止、人も数分静止が必要

2級読解技術史詳細 (初期の困難)

⚡ひとことで

最初の写真は今と全く違った。最初の成功写真はカメラを何時間も静止させる必要があり建物や通りしか写せず人は写せなかった。少し後の初期の肖像でも人が数分間完全に静止する必要があり、古い写真で人がめったに笑っていない一因。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「Early photos needed long exposures, so subjects had to stay still and rarely smiled.」

正解

第2段落 "required the camera to sit still for many hours, so it could only show buildings and streets, never people ... still needed people to hold completely still for several minutes — which is one reason why people in old photographs so rarely smile" より、初期の困難 = 長い露光のため静止が必要、だから人はめったに笑わない。sit still = 「じっとしている」、hold still = 「静止する」。

「Early cameras could capture fast movement perfectly in a single moment.」
= 初期カメラは速い動きを完璧に捉えた ━ 本文 "sit still for many hours" と矛盾。
「The very first photograph clearly showed a group of people who were smiling.」
= 最初の写真は笑う人を鮮明に写した ━ 本文 "never people" "rarely smile" と矛盾。
「Early photography was cheap and easy enough for everyone to do at home.」
= 初期の写真は安く誰にも簡単 ━ 本文 "heavy, expensive, and difficult" と矛盾。

▦Collocation

パターン	意味	例
sit still	じっとしている	sit still for many hours
hold still	静止する	hold completely still
rarely smile	めったに笑わない	so rarely smile
the work of specialists	専門家の仕事	the work of a few specialists
difficult to use	使いにくい	difficult to use

❝例文

Early cameras needed many hours to take a photo.
初期カメラは撮影に何時間も要した。
People had to hold still for minutes.
人は数分静止せねばならなかった。
That is why they rarely smiled.
だからめったに笑わなかった。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

初期の困難設問の鉄則 ―― "nothing like the images we know today" 以下 (long exposure → still → rarely smile) を拾う。誤答は本文を逆転 (速い動きを捉える / 笑う人 / 安く簡単) で誘導。

問 3

How did photography become popular with ordinary families?

Cameras stayed expensive, so only specialists could use them.
Photography became more difficult and less popular.
A simple, cheap camera and developing service let ordinary families record their lives.
Families had to develop all the pictures themselves.

Phrase

a small, easy camera with a developing service; ordinary families could record moments

小型で簡単なカメラと現像サービス、一般家庭が瞬間を記録できた

2級読解技術史詳細 (普及の変化)

⚡ひとことで

写真が簡単で安くなり全てが変わった。19世紀後半、ある会社が小型で簡単なカメラと現像サービスを売り出した。突然、一般家庭が休暇・結婚式・日常の瞬間を記録でき、史上初めて自分や大切な人の本当の姿の正確な像を残せるようになった。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「A simple, cheap camera and developing service let ordinary families record their lives.」

正解

第3段落 "a company began to sell a small, easy camera together with a service that developed the pictures ... ordinary families could record holidays, weddings, and everyday moments ... keep an accurate picture of how they ... really looked" より、普及の変化 = 小型で簡単なカメラ+現像サービスで一般家庭が記録できた。develop pictures = 「写真を現像する」、for the first time = 「初めて」。

「Cameras stayed expensive, so only trained specialists were able to use them.」
= 高価なままで専門家だけ ━ 本文 "became simpler and cheaper" "ordinary families" と矛盾。
「Families had to develop all of their own pictures themselves in a dark room.」
= 家庭が全部自分で現像 ━ 本文 "a service that developed the pictures for the customer" と矛盾。
「Photography became far more difficult and much less popular as time passed.」
= より難しく不人気に ━ 本文は簡単で普及、逆。

▦Collocation

パターン	意味	例
become simpler and cheaper	より簡単で安くなる	became simpler and cheaper
develop pictures	写真を現像する	developed the pictures
record moments	瞬間を記録する	record ... everyday moments
for the first time	初めて	For the first time in history
an accurate picture	正確な像	an accurate picture

❝例文

A simple, cheap camera appeared.
簡単で安いカメラが登場した。
A service developed the pictures.
サービスが写真を現像した。
Ordinary families could record moments.
一般家庭が瞬間を記録できた。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

普及の変化設問の鉄則 ―― "Everything changed when photography became simpler and cheaper" 以下を拾う。誤答は本文を逆転 (高価なまま / 自分で現像 / 難しく不人気) で誘導。

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この単元の講義を見る 2級の単元一覧 2級の用語集

EigoPro 2級 読解 — The History of Photography

この単元の問題を3問、解説つきで公開しています

for almost all of human history, there was no way to capture an image

camera had to sit still for many hours; people had to hold still for minutes

a small, easy camera with a developing service; ordinary families could record moments

EigoPro 2級読解 — The History of Photography