12.Recently,Pew Research Center announced that over a quarter of Americans have shared a selfie online.Unsurprisingly,the practice of photographing oneself and sharing that image via social media has (51)A among all age groups.Evidence of its mainstream nature is seen in other aspects of our culture too.Last year,"selfie"was not only added to the Oxford English Dictionary,but also named Word of the Year.
Yet,despite the huge number of people practicing it,(52)B is also surrounding selfie.An assumption that sharing selfies is embarrassing runs throughout the journalistic and scholarly coverage on the topic.Negative words like"self-centered"and"(53)C"have inevitably become a part of any conversation about selfies among scholars.
But,over a quarter of all Americans are relying on it.Why?The usual reasons given by scholars-self-center and fame-seeking-seem too (54)D to explain such a crowd acting.There is always more to a social cultural practice than what (55)A.
Simply put,physical and digital technology make it possible.The idea that technology (56)C the social world and our lives has been recognized by people.To some extent,world is shaped by technological revolutions.The selfie is not a(n) (57)B form of expression.Artists have created self-portraits for centuries,from cave to oil paintings,to early photography and modern art.People are (58)D their feelings and thoughts through certain media.What's original about today's selfie is its public popularity.Technological advancement (59)A the self-portrait used to be restricted to the art world and gave it to the masses.Those digital front-facing cameras,social media platforms,and wireless communications conveniently available make selfie a job (60)B any time anywhere.
Besides,We are not (61)A beings living by ourselves.We are social beings who live in social communities,and as such,our lives are fundamentally formed by social relations with other people.As photos meant to be (62)B,selfies are not individual acts; they are social gestures.Selfies,as well as our presence on social media generally,are a part of"identity work"--the work that we do on a daily basis to (63)C that we are seen by others as we wish to be seen.In fact,the crafting and display of identity has long been understood as a social process.The selfies we take and show are to present a (64)D image of us so as to become a part of our identity formation and(65)D.
51.A.flowered | B.returned | C.imposed | D.functioned |
52.A.negotiation | B.criticism | C.regret | D.punishment |
53.A.self-contained | B.self-evident | C.self-absorbed | D.self-financed |
54.A.necessary | B.smart | C.certain | D.shallow |
55.A.meets the eye | B.takes the lead | C.raises the alarm | D.makes the point |
56.A.operates | B.produces | C.structures | D.ruins |
57.A.a(chǎn)dvanced | B.new | C.intelligent | D.a(chǎn)vailable |
58.A.offering | B.revising | C.inspiring | D.conveying |
59.A.liberated | B.tagged | C.honoured | D.maintained |
60.A.a(chǎn)t length | B.with ease | C.a(chǎn)t large | D.with regards |
61.A.isolated | B.courageous | C.traditional | D.civilized |
62.A.saved | B.shared | C.updated | D.deleted |
63.A.claim | B.suppose | C.ensure | D.signal |
64.A.fashionable | B.skillful | C.mysterious | D.particular |
65.A.summary | B.evaluation | C.monitoring | D.exhibition |