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Street photographers working with disposable cameras in the
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25 Sep 2026, 23:34
25 Sep 2026, 23:34
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Question Stats:
71% (02:07) correct
28% (01:06) wrong based on 7 sessions
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Street photographers working with disposable cameras in the 1990s often described a peculiar freedom: because the equipment itself was cheap and expected to be thrown away, the medium stopped feeling like something requiring reverence and became, almost overnight, a space for genuine play. What made the shift possible was less the camera's technical limitations than photographers' collective decision to abandon the assumption that a photograph's value depended on treating the process as ________.
| Blank (i) |
|---|
| A. hallowed |
| B. evanescent |
| C. tractable | D. egalitarian | E. inviolate |
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Re: Street photographers working with disposable cameras in the
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03 Oct 2026, 11:34
03 Oct 2026, 11:34
Expert Reply
Correct Answer: A. hallowed
Full Explanation
Sentence Structure & Logic
The sentence describes a shift in attitude toward photography:
Before (with disposable cameras): The medium felt like something "requiring reverence" - a serious, almost sacred process.
After: It became "a space for genuine play" - casual, free, and irreverent.
The blank explains what photographers abandoned. They stopped assuming that a photograph's value depended on treating the process as something sacred or revered.
The clue is "requiring reverence" - the blank must mean holy, sacred, or deeply respected.
Hallowed = made holy or sacred; greatly revered or respected. "Hallowed ground" is the classic collocation.
This perfectly captures the old attitude: photographers once treated the process as something hallowed, and the shift to disposable cameras let them abandon that reverence.
Why the Other Options Are Incorrect
B. evanescent = fleeting, temporary. The passage is about reverence, not duration.
C. tractable = easily managed or controlled. Irrelevant to the idea of reverence.
D. egalitarian = relating to equality. While disposable cameras democratized photography, the sentence is specifically about whether the process was treated as sacred, not about equal access.
E. inviolate = free from violation; untouched. This is a tempting near-synonym, but inviolate emphasizes being unbroken or unharmed rather than being revered. The clue is "reverence" and the contrast with "play," which points directly to hallowed.
Full Explanation
Sentence Structure & Logic
The sentence describes a shift in attitude toward photography:
Before (with disposable cameras): The medium felt like something "requiring reverence" - a serious, almost sacred process.
After: It became "a space for genuine play" - casual, free, and irreverent.
The blank explains what photographers abandoned. They stopped assuming that a photograph's value depended on treating the process as something sacred or revered.
The clue is "requiring reverence" - the blank must mean holy, sacred, or deeply respected.
Hallowed = made holy or sacred; greatly revered or respected. "Hallowed ground" is the classic collocation.
This perfectly captures the old attitude: photographers once treated the process as something hallowed, and the shift to disposable cameras let them abandon that reverence.
Why the Other Options Are Incorrect
B. evanescent = fleeting, temporary. The passage is about reverence, not duration.
C. tractable = easily managed or controlled. Irrelevant to the idea of reverence.
D. egalitarian = relating to equality. While disposable cameras democratized photography, the sentence is specifically about whether the process was treated as sacred, not about equal access.
E. inviolate = free from violation; untouched. This is a tempting near-synonym, but inviolate emphasizes being unbroken or unharmed rather than being revered. The clue is "reverence" and the contrast with "play," which points directly to hallowed.
gmatclubot
Re: Street photographers working with disposable cameras in the [#permalink]
03 Oct 2026, 11:34
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