Lesson 4 The Winds of Change
Pictures Worth a Thousand Words
As quickly as a camera captures a scene, an image ____ grab hold of our emotions.
Through speech or written text, it can be difficult to ____ a complex message quickly.
Yet photographs can change people’s hearts and minds in an ____.
And when the magic of photography sparks an emotional reaction in a great number of people, it can change ____.
The ____ River That Started a Movement
In the 1880s, industry began to grow rapidly ____ the Cuyahoga River in the city of Cleveland.
This industrial growth provided steady jobs to people in the ____.
Meanwhile, ____ mills and factories started dumping large amounts of waste into the river.
Although the river became ____, most people simply regarded this as a sign of the area’s economic success.
In June 1969, the polluted ____ caught fire.
The ____ cause was a burning flare falling from a train, which set fire to oil-soaked waste beneath a bridge.
At that time, few ____ in Cleveland cared.
This was because fires had been recorded on the Cuyahoga more than ten ____ before, and some of them had been much worse.
However, it wasn’t long before the 1969 ____ became famous.
This was ____ to an article published in Time magazine that year.
The article featured a shocking photograph of flames and smoke ____ from the river.
But this was not a ____ of the 1969 fire, which was put out so quickly that nobody took a picture of it.
In fact, it was a picture of a much worse fire that had occurred on the ____ several years earlier.
____, the image had a great impact on people.
Around that time, the attitudes of Americans toward environmental problems were starting to ____.
More and more people were becoming aware of the need to protect the environment, and the shocking image of the burning river sparked public anger about ____ pollution.
As a ____, the Cuyahoga River fire of 1969 became a symbol of pollution.
A national environmental awareness ____ was held on April 22, 1970, which later became known as the first Earth Day.
And in 1972, national ____ quality standards were established with the passage of the Clean Water Act.
Exposing the Harsh Reality of Child Labor
In the 19th century, the Industrial Revolution led to a dramatic increase in factory production in the United ____.
The demand for workers ____, and many new positions were filled by children.
By 1900, about twenty ____ of all children in the United States were employed, and some of those working in factories were only four years old.
The work was difficult and dangerous, leaving many child laborers with ____ problems.
____ owners turned to child labor for several reasons.
For ____, children could be paid less than adult workers.
They were also ____ likely to go on strike.
Lewis ____, a teacher and photographer, wanted to reveal how cruel this system was.
So he quit his ____ job and started to work for the National Child Labor Committee as an investigative photographer.
He gained access to factories by pretending to have different jobs like insurance agent or ____ inspector.
Once inside, he would photograph the children ____ there.
He would also ask their names and ages and record information about their ____ and working conditions.
From 1908 to 1912, he secretly gathered ____ and took photographs to expose factory owners who were taking advantage of helpless children.
Hine’s photographs ____ young children doing all sorts of jobs.
These included picking ____, weaving baskets, and even handling dangerous equipment.
What is more, the children’s faces showed the ____ impact of hard labor.
When people saw the children’s joyless expressions, they could not ____ but feel heartbroken.
The pictures were later shown in ____, lectures, magazine articles, and so on.
As a result, the public ____ just how serious the situation was.
Soon, many states passed stronger laws to ban the employment of ____.
In 1938, the United States Congress passed an act that made it illegal for children under sixteen to work in factories during school ____.
These examples show that photographs ____ bring meaningful change to society.
They prove that, ____, a picture truly is worth a thousand words.