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　　As a historian who’s always searching for the text or the image that makes us re-evaluate the past, I’ve become preoccupied with looking for photographs that show our Victorian ancestors smiling (what better way to shatter the image of 19th-century prudery?). I’ve found quite a few, and — since I started posting them on Twitter — they have been causing quite a stir. People have been surprised to see evidence that Victorians had fun and could, and did, laugh. They are noting that the Victorians suddenly seem to become more human as the hundred-or-so years that separate us fade away through our common experience of laughter.

　　Of course, I need to concede that my collection of ‘Smiling Victorians’ makes up only a tiny percentage of the vast catalogue of photographic portraiture created between 1840 and 1900, the majority of which show sitters posing miserably and stiffly in front of painted backdrops, or staring absently into the middle distance. How do we explain this trend?

　　During the 1840s and 1850s, in the early days of photography, exposure times were notoriously long: the daguerreotype photographic method (producing an image on a silvered copper plate) could take several minutes to complete, resulting in blurred images as sitters shifted position or adjusted their limbs. The thought of holding a fixed grin as the camera performed its magical duties was too much to contemplate, and so a non-committal blank stare became the norm.

　　But exposure times were much quicker by the 1880s, and the introduction of the Box Brownie and other portable cameras meant that, though slow by today’s digital standards, the exposure was almost instantaneous. Spontaneous smiles were relatively easy to capture by the 1890s, so we must look elsewhere for an explanation of why Victorians still hesitated to smile.

　　One explanation might be the loss of dignity displayed through a cheesy grin. “Nature gave us lips to conceal our teeth,” ran one popular Victorian saying, alluding to the fact that before the birth of proper dentistry, mouths were often in a shocking state of hygiene. A flashing set of healthy and clean, regular ‘pearly whites’ was a rare sight in Victorian society, the preserve of the super-rich (and even then, dental hygiene was not guaranteed).

　　A toothy grin (especially when there were gaps or blackened teeth) lacked class: drunks, tramps, and music hall performers might gurn and grin with a smile as wide as Lewis Carroll’s gum-exposing Cheshire Cat, but it was not a becoming look for properly bred persons. Even Mark Twain, a man who enjoyed a hearty laugh, said that when it came to photographic portraits there could be “nothing more damning than a silly, foolish smile fixed forever”.

　　31. According to Paragraph 1, the author’s posts on Twitter

　　A. changed people’s impression of the Victorians.

　　B. highlighted social media’s role in Victorian studies.

　　C. re-evaluated the Victorians’ notion of public image.

　　D. illustrated the development of Victorian photography.

　　32. What does author say about the Victorian portraits he has collected?

　　A. They are in popular use among historians.

　　B. They are rare among photographs of that age.

　　C. They mirror 19th-century social conventions.

　　D. They show effects of different exposure times.

　　33. What might have kept the Victorians from smiling for pictures in the 1890s?

　　A. Their inherent social sensitiveness.

　　B. Their tension before the camera.

　　C. Their distrust of new inventions.

　　D. Their unhealthy dental condition.

　　34. Mark Twain is quoted to show that the disapproval of smiles in pictures was

　　A. a deep-root belief.

　　B. a misguided attitude.

　　C. a controversial view.

　　D. a thought-provoking idea.

　　35. Which of the following questions does the text answer?

　　A. Why did most Victorians look stern in photographs?

　　B. Why did the Victorians start to view photographs?

　　C. What made photography develop slowly in the Victorian period?

　　D. How did smiling in photographs become a post-Victorian norm?

　　【正确答案】31.A 32.B 33.D 34.A 35.A

　　【解析】

　　31.本题的关键词Paragraph 1和posts on Twitter，因为本题可以利用的关键词不多，所以定位的范围比较大，主要是第一段的第2-4句。因第一段的倒数第二句话表示：人们惊讶地发现，维多利亚时代的人玩得很开心，而且能够笑。这和选项A的意思一致，尤其是“惊讶地”一词，显示出了差异化。所以A是正确答案。B选项中的“social media”在定位句中并未体现。C选项在第一段的第一句，不在定位句，故为错误，可排除。D选项表明的是拍照技术的发展，而原文未体现发展这个信息。

　　32.该题的关键词为Victorian portraits和collected，由这些关键词可以定位到第2段的第一句话。定位句显示：收集的“微笑的维多利亚人”只占大量摄影肖像画册的一小部分，这和B选项的意思一致即“这些照片在那个时代比较稀有”。故选项B为正确答案。A 选项中的“popular”并未在原文中体现。C选项中可能有些生词，导致对它的意思理解偏，原文中显示的是只有一小部分，所以没办法影射出19C的传统。C选项否定不一致，故错误。D选项的不同时期的影响在定位句中未体现，在第三段的第一句中出现了，不在定位句，故错误。

　　33. 本题的关键词为kept the Victorians from smiling for pictures in the 1890s，根据这些内容可以找到第4段结尾，本题问的在19世纪90年代，什么使得维多利亚时代的人拍照时不笑。但4段末尾虽然能和题干对应，未给出对象。可以从第5段中找。第5段的第一句给出了答案，但是，生词量太多，看不太明白，根据后面例子里的话可以得知：人们拍照时很自然地合嘴隐藏牙齿。故该题答案为D。只有D选项和牙齿相关。ABC选项中的内容，原文中并未显示。

　　34. 本题的关键词Mark Twain和 disapproval of smiles in pictures可以定位到最后一段，根据马克吐温的话可知：永远不变的微笑是可恶的。这显示了维多利亚时代的大众对笑的态度是根深蒂固的厌恶。故该题的答案是A，意思为根深蒂固的信念。B选项的意思是一个误导的态度，和定位句无关。C选项的意思是由争议的观点，原文没有说有人不赞成马克吐温的话，D选项的意思是发人深省的想法，原文没有说引导别人的意思。故BCD选项都为错误选项。

　　35. 该题为主旨题，问的是本篇文章主要是围绕着哪个问题写的。从ABCD四个选项可以看出，本篇文章和维多利亚时代的人有关系。由第一段的问句可以得出，该篇结构是开头疑问句引出全文主旨的，第一段的后两句话都表明这篇文章讲的是维多利亚时代的人不笑。对应的答案是A，照片中的维多利亚时代的人比较严肃。而B C两个选项不包含“笑”这个主题词，而D选项虽然有笑，但是，文字并未讲笑成为后维多利亚时代的常态。

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