Photos that you might have found down the back of your sofa are now big business! In 2005, the American artist Richard Prince's photograph of a photograph, Untitled (Cowboy), was sold for $ 1, 248, 000. Prince is certainly not the only contemporary artist to have worked with so-called "found photographs"--a loose term given to everything from discarded prints discovered in a junk shop to old advertisements or amateur photographs from a stranger's family album. The German artist Joachim Schmid, who believes "basically everything is worth looking at", has gathered discarded photographs, postcards and newspaper images since 1982. In his on-going project, Archiv, he groups photographs of family life according to themes: people with dogs; teams; new cars; dinner with the family; and so on. Like Schmid, the editors of several self-published art magazines also champion found photographs. One of _ , called simply Found, was born one snowy night in Chicago, when Davy Rothbard returned to his car to find under his wiper an angry note intended for some else: "Why's your car HERE at HER place?" The note became the starting point for Rothbard's addictive publication, which features found photographs sent in by readers, such a poster discovered in our drawer. The whole found-photograph phenomenon has raised some questions. Perhaps one of the most difficult is: can these images really be considered as art? And if so, whose art? Yet found photographs produced by artists, such Richard Prince, may riding his horse hurriedly to meet someone? Or how did Prince create this photograph? It's anyone's guess. In addition, as we imagine the back-story to the people in the found photographs artists, like Schmid, have collated , we also turn toward our own photographic albums. Why is memory so important to us? Why do we all seek to freeze in time the faces of our children, our parents, our lovers, and ourselves? Will they mean anything to anyone after we've gone? In the absence of established facts, the vast collections of found... By asking a series of questions in Para 5, the author mainly intends to indicate that _ . A) memory of the past is very important to people B) found photographs allow people to think freely C) the back-story of found photographs is puzzling D) the real value of found photographs is questionable
B
A few years ago, I had the opportunity to play the character of Ronald McDonald for the McDonald's Corporation. One day each month,we visited hospitals bringing a little happiness to the children there. But there were two rules placed on me during a visit. First, I could not go anywhere in the hospital without permission. And second, I could not physically touch anyone within the hospital. They did not want me to carry germs from one patient to another. Breaking either of these rules, I was told, I could lose my job. One day, as I was heading down a hallway and on my way home, I heard a little voice coming through a halfopened door,"Ronald,Ronald." I stepped in and saw a boy,about five years old, lying in his dad's arms, Mom with a nurse on the other side. I knew by the feeling in the room that the situation was _ . I asked his name. He told me it was Billy and that I did a few simple magic tricks for him. As I stepped back to say goodbye, he asked me "Ronald, would you hold me?" At such a simple request, my heart was screaming, "Yes!"But my mind was screaming louder. "No!You are going to lose your job!" "Hold me" was such a simple request, and yet I searched for any reasonable excuses that allowed me to leave, but none. It took me a moment to realize that in this situation, losing my job may not be the disaster I feared. Then, I picked up this little boy. He was so weak and so scared. We laughed and cried for 45 minutes. With tears in my eyes, I left them. Less than 48 hours later, I received a phone call from Billy's mom that Billy had passed away. She and her husband simply wanted to thank me for making a difference in their little boy's life. Billy's mom told me shortly after I left the room. Billy looked at her and said, "Momma, I don't care any more if I see Santa this year because I was held by Ronald McDonald." For the record, McDonald's Corporation did find it out, but, given the situation,permitted me to go on with my job. I continued as Ronald for another year before leaving the corporation to... We learn from the story that _ . A) the author left the corporation because he broke the rules B) the author left the corporation because he didn't like the rules C) the boy was quite happy with the experience with the author D) the boy was quite happy with Santa at Christmas
C
(Question)
Australia's koalas could die out within 30 years unless immediate action is taken to stop the losing in population, according to researchers. They say development, climate change and bushfires have all combined to reduce the number of wild koalas sharply. The Australian Koala Foundation said a recent survey showed the population could have dropped by more than half in the past six years. The number of koalas was once estimated to be more than 100,000, but now is as few as 43,000. The foundation collected field data from 1,800 sites and 80,000 trees to calculate the numbers. In one area in northern Queensland estimated to have 20,000 koalas a decade ago, a team of eight people could not find a single animal in four days of searching. The foundation said besides problems caused by cutting down forests, hotter and drier conditions because of global warming had reduced the nutritional value of their main food, eucalyptus leaves, leading to poor nutrition for them. Koalas, which live in the forests in Australia's east and south, are very picky about what types of the leaves they eat. Foundation chief Deborah Tabart said: "The koalas are missing everywhere we look. It's really no tree, no me. If you keep cutting down trees you don't have any koalas."She is hoping the new figures will persuade the government's Threatened Species Steering Committee (TSSC) to list the koala as threatened. But committee chairman Bob Beeton said a decision was not likely recently and the koala's status as one of the country's favorite animals would not be a factor. "There's a number of species which are attractive and people have special feelings towards them. We don't consider that," Mr Beeton said. According to Bob Beeton, _ . A) the koala is one of his favorite animals B) a decision will be made to protect koalas in the future C) they needn't pay special attention to koalas D) koalas needn't be protected at all
(Answer)
C