Check what is genuine
Read for meaning first. Select a highlighted word if you want a closer look.
For an invented photography exhibition, the student curator wanted an authentic contact sheet made by the photographer, not a modern reproduction passed off as original. A bona fide lender supplied it with records connecting the sheet to her family's collection. At the preview, a guest adopted an affected manner, using grand phrases he did not use in ordinary conversation. The curator distinguished the origin of an object from the impression a person deliberately created through behavior.
The authentic contact sheet still had ordinary marks and uneven edges; looking worn did not make it less genuine. The curator treated the lender as a bona fide participant because her role and materials were real, not because she sounded impressive. The guest's affected elegance could not establish expertise or ownership. When he asked a useful question in his normal voice, the discussion became easier to follow and returned to what the photographs actually showed.
Before you move on
Look away from the passage. Can you explain each focus word in your own words?
Original fictional passages for vocabulary practice.