Question

    There is a giant mirror in my hometown, covering one side of a building that I had to walk past to get to school. When I was a teenager, I learned to take a different route. The mirror was clean and shiny, and I saw myself in reflection, plodding (沉重地走) down the hill without grace or charm. Suddenly, I could see the truth so plainly: however long I spent applying makeup or adjusting my outfit or preparing myself to go out, I couldn’t see the “beautiful” me I had imagined.

When I was a teenager, the widespread message that “everyone is beautiful” was deeply rooted in my mind. I admired beauty so much because I often felt awkward as a teenager and beauty seemed to be the most important goal. To be beautiful was to have power over others. It was much more difficult to make a beautiful girl seem foolish than it was an average looking one, I thought.

Eventually I grew up, and my obsession (迷恋), seemingly, faded. Much worse things than not being beautiful happened to me. I was ashamed that at the age of 28, I had to move back home and live with my parents for a whole month because I was too broke to pay the rent. Yet, the embarrassment I felt as a teenager about not fitting some ideal of beauty never went away. The returning awareness of my physical shortcomings, the mirror’s sharp reminder, kept telling me whatever else I am, I would never be that.

After years of trying to be beautiful, now, for the first time, I’m coming to realize that I don’t have to be. I’m increasingly convinced the idea that “everyone is beautiful” isn’t only less important than we might like to believe, but also quite harmful. Wouldn’t it be liberating (使得到释放的) to admit that most people are not beautiful? I wonder what it would be like to grow up in a world where being beautiful is not seen as a necessity, but instead a nice thing some people are born with and some people aren’t, like a talent for swimming, or playing the piano. Some people have other talents.

It has seemed to take up so much of my life, being desperate to not only be acceptable to look at, but also stunning (极美的), exceptional (非凡的) and enchanting (迷人的). What might I have experienced if I had not been trying to achieve “beauty”? What would it have been like to pass that mirror in my hometown, and to see myself — on the way to the library, or a party with friends — and simply felt glad that I was able to do those things with a body that allowed me to?

Everybody is beautiful, we’re told. But why should we have to be?

1.What does the underlined word “outfit” in the first paragraph mean?

A.Attitude. B.Lifestyle.

C.Costume. D.Voice.

2.What can we learn about the author from Paragraph 3?

A.Her obsession with a beautiful appearance was gone as she grew up.

B.She stopped worrying about her appearance because she turned pretty.

C.She still felt embarrassed every time she passed the giant mirror.

D.Her financial trouble kept her from caring about her looks anymore.

3.What’s the purpose of the author in writing this article?

A.To entertain readers with her mirror-related life story.

B.To teach readers that everyone can be beautiful.

C.To criticize those who overrate (高估) their appearances.

D.To convince readers appearances are not a necessity.

Answer

1.C

2.C

3.D

【解析】

本文是一篇议论文。文章首先介绍了小时候作者一直被灌输的“每一个人都是漂亮的”的思想，作者也痴迷于让自己变得漂亮，但是最后作者意识到，漂亮并没有那么重要。

1.词义猜测题。根据第一段中however long I spent applying makeup or adjusting my outfit or preparing myself to go out, I couldn’t see the “beautiful” me I had imagined.（无论我花多长时间化妆或整理着装，或为出门而让自己准备充分，我都无法放自己看起来如我想象的那样漂亮）一句可知作者为了让自己看起来漂亮，在出门前作者会花大量的时间化妆，或者整理着装。化妆和衣着是让自己看起来漂亮的两个主要方面，因此此处outfit意为“着装”。A. Attitude.态度；B. Lifestyle.生活风格；C. Costume.服装；D. Voice.声音。因此，选项Costume与outfit意义相近。故选C。

2.推理判断题。根据第三段中Yet, the embarrassment I felt as a teenager about not fitting some ideal of beauty never went away.以及the mirror’s sharp reminder, kept telling me whatever else I am, I would never be that.一句可知作者对于自己达不到漂亮的标准而感到尴尬，而且镜子的提醒依然存在。由此可知作者每次经过大镜子的时候仍然感到尴尬。故选C。

3.推理判断题。通览全文特别是最后一段的内容Everybody is beautiful, we’re told. But why should we have to be?(我们被告知每个人都很漂亮。但为什么我们必须漂亮？)作者介绍了一直被灌输的“每一个人都是漂亮的”的思想，以及作者也曾痴迷于让自己变得漂亮，但是最后作者意识到，漂亮并没有那么主要，可知作者是想通过本文让大家相信外表并不是必需的。故选D。