Cambridge International AS Level English General Paper
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In those days, photography required long exposures, which made street scenes impossible to capture. Instead, Du Camp focused his camera on the area’s ancient relics. To give a sense of scale of the massive monuments, Du Camp included the figure of a man in many of his photos. Yet to modern eyes, however, it is outrageous to see someone carelessly clambering over ancient statues.
However, it’s worth remembering that both selfies and souvenirs are, in some ways, a distraction. Travel is not just about what you see and do in a destination; it’s about the impact the destination has on you. For ultimately, destinations work on us like Nietzsche’s abyss: even as we try to capture them with a camera, they are also capturing us.
Despite the lines of etiquette selfies tend to cross, there is another aspect of the travel selfie phenomenon that is often overlooked. One of the reasons that they have
Abridged and adapted from an article by Ute Junker on www.traveller.com.au, 3 September 2016
ARTICLE GLOSSARY
advent: the beginning of something
condemnation: very strong disapproval
Nietzsche’s abyss: refers to a quote by the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche: ‘He who fights with
monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.’
EXAM-STYLE QUESTIONS 3
Answer the reading comprehension questions 1–8.
1 Identify two reasons why the travel selfie should be deemed acceptable in today’s society, as mentioned in the article. [2]
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taken off, I think, is because other souvenirs have largely lost their lustre. We used to eagerly carry home exotic items from our travels: carved jade from China, camel hair caps from Morocco, carpets from Iran. In today’s globalised world, these hard-to-get items have lost their mystique. Chances are, the store down the road stocks something similar; if not, you can always order it over the internet. The glamour-backdrop selfie has taken over as the way to prove your status as an experienced traveller.
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Take Maxime Du Camp, the man behind what was probably the world’s first coffee table travel book. Accompanied by one of his friends – a thenunknown writer called Gustave Flaubert – Du Camp took a trip through Egypt and Syria in 1849. Du Camp recorded their travels using an early Calotype camera, and the photographs featured in a book that was published upon his return.
2 Identify two pieces of evidence the author uses to expose the drawbacks of mixing selfies and travel. [2] 3 Explain in your own words as far as possible: a Sue Badyari’s point of view regarding selfies as a part of travel, as stated in lines X-X. [3]
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b the similarities between selfies and souvenirs, as stated in lines X-X. [3]
4 What do you think is meant by: a Richard I’Anson’s term, ‘photography ethics’ (lines X-X) [3] b the line about Nietzsche’s abyss that ‘even as we try to capture them with a camera, they are also capturing us’ (line X)? [3]
5 What is the author’s purpose for including the information about Maxime Du Camp? Explain in your own words. [2] 6 Explain, using your own words, how the author’s perspective about the travel selfie changes from the beginning of the article to the end. Justify your response. [3] 7 Explain the meaning of the following phrases as they are used in the passage. You may write the answer in one word or a short phrase. [2] a rolling out the red carpet (line X) b to sound off on (line X)
8 Using context as a clue, determine the meaning of the following words as they are used in the passage. Use a single word for each. [2] a invective (line X) b aggravate (line X)
Original material © Cambridge University Press 2018
Total marks: 25
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