In 1826, a Frenchman named Niepce needed pictures for his business. But he was not a good artist, so he invented a very simple camera.  He put it in a window of his house and took a picture of his garden. That was the first photo.

The next important date in the history of photography （摄影）was in 1837. That year, Daguerre, another Frenchman, took a picture of his reading room. He used a new kind of camera in a different way. In his picture you could see everything very clearly, even the smallest thing. This kind of photo was called Daguerreotype.

Soon, other people began to use Daguerre’s way. Travelers brought back wonderful photos from all around the world. People took pictures of famous buildings, cities and mountains.

In about 1840, photography was developed. Then photographers could take pictures of people and moving things. That was not simple. The photographers had to carry a lot of film and other machines. But this did not stop them, for example, some in the United States worked so hard. Mathew Brady was a famous American photographer. He took many pictures of great people. The pictures were unusual because they were very lifelike （栩栩如生的）.

Photography also became a kind of art by the end of the 19th century. Some photos were not just copies of the real world. They showed ideas and feelings, like other art forms.

Answer the following questions according to what you read.

1．Who took the first photo?

2．The Daguerreotype was a kind of photo, wasn’t it?

3．If a photographer wanted to take pictures of moving things in 1840, what did he have to do?

4．Why was Mathew Brady famous?

5．When did photography become a kind of art?

In less than two weeks, Junior 3 students around the country will take the senior high school entrance exam．They are studying hard for this big challenge． Do they have time to do something to celebrate their middle school years? Many do．

Leng Jingze, 14, from Tianjin said that in her class students are already writing goodbye messages for each other．They are also swapping（交换）photos．

Even the head teacher has a project, said Leng．

"She plans to put all our class photos and the Chinese compositions we have written onto a CD mad give each student one，"said Leng" She will also write something for each student．"

Wang Zeyu，15，in Changchun，Jilin said his classmates are making。"lucky stars" as graduation gifts．They are making the cheerful stars from colored paper．

"Before making a ‘lucky star’．you write some words for the person on the paper，"said Wang．"He or she can read the words when they unfold （拆开）the star"

Who does Wang want to make a lucky star for? He said he wanted to make one for his head teacher．

"I’ll write: ‘Dear teacher, you always look so serious," said Wang．"But we know you have a warm heart．Smile more!"

In Xiao Xia’s school in Beijing, each Junior 3 student will get a yearbook, in which the graduating classes will put their photos and self-introductions．

"Most classes have written an article as the self-introduction," said Xiao, 14．"We have written a poem in the ancient style!"

The poem records the big events of the class’s history and is in the shape of the number 9．

"Nine is our class number," said Xiao, who felt very proud of the idea．

"Our class may he not the one with the best school grade but it must he the most creative one," said Xiao．"I feel lucky to study in such a class!"

1．What are the students in the picture doing?

2．What are the students in Leng jingze’s doing for their graduation ?

3．Where does the head teacher plan to put the students’ photos and compositions ?

4．What are the cheerful lucky stars made from ?

5．Why is the poem in the shape of the number of 9 ?

In 1826, a Frenchman named Niepce needed pictures for his business. But he was not a good artist, so he invented a very simple camera. He put it in a window of his house and took a picture of his garden. That was the first photo.

The next important date in the history of photography (摄影) was in 1837. That year, Daguerre, another Frenchman, took a picture of his reading room. He used a new kind of camera in a different way. In his picture you could see everything very clearly, even the smallest thing. This kind of photo was called Daguerreotype.

Soon, other people began to use Daguerre’s way. Travelers brought back wonderful photos from all around the world. People took pictures of famous buildings, cities and mountains.

In about 1840, photography was developed. Then photographers could take pictures of people and moving things. That was not simple. The photographers had to carry a lot of film and other machines. But this did not stop them, for example, some in the United States worked so hard. Mathew Brady was a famous American photographer. He took many pictures of great people. The pictures were unusual because they were very lifelike (栩栩如生的).

Photography also became a kind of art by the end of the 19th century. Some photos were not just copies of the real world. They showed ideas and feelings, like other art forms.

Answer the following questions according to what you read.

6. Who took the first photo?

7. The Daguerreotype was a kind of photo, wasn’t it?

8. If a photographer wanted to take pictures of moving things in 1840, what did he have to do?

9. Why was Mathew Brady famous?

10. When did photography become a kind of art?