A journalist and well-respected art critic of nineteenth-century Britain, Lady Elizabeth Rigby Eastlake did not hesitate to
publish reviews that went against popular opinion. One of her most divisive works was an essay questioning the idea of
photography as an emerging medium for ﬁne art: in the essay, Eastlake ______ that the value of photographs was
informational rather than creative.
exposed
asserted
discovered
doubted
Choice B is the best answer. "Asserted" means "stated conﬁdently." Eastlake "did not hesitate to publish reviews going
against popular opinion," so we can assume that she was conﬁdent in sharing her opinions.
Choice A is incorrect. "Exposed" means "made visible by uncovering" and, when talking about ideas, tends to be used in
relation to uncovering the truth. Eastlake was sharing an opinion, not uncovering a truth. Choice C is incorrect. "Discovered"
means "found," but Eastlake was writing an opinion essay. She was writing her own opinion, not "discovering" a new universal
truth. Choice D is incorrect. "Doubted" means "didn’t believe in." We’re told that Eastlake "questioned" the idea that
photography could be ﬁne art. Placing "doubted" in the blank would actually suggest that Eastlake argued that photos were
valuable for creativity and not for information, which is the opposite of what we were told she believes.