Question

    Can you be too beautiful? It is hardly a problem that most of us have to bother—as much as we might like to dream that it were the case.

Yet the blessings and curses of beauty have been a long-standing interest in psychology. Do those blessed with shiny faces and an attractive body live in a cloud of appreciation—or does it sometimes pay to be ordinary?

Combing through decades of findings, social psychologists Lisa Slattery Walker and Tonya Frevert at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte have reviewed all the evidence to date and their conclusions are not what you might expect.

At the most basic level, beauty might be thought to carry a kind of halo(光环) around it; we see that someone has one good quality, and by association, our deep mind may assume that they have other good ones too.

Even in the courts, a pleasing appearance can work its magic. Attractive criminals are likely to get less strict sentences, or to escape punishment entirely; attractive plaintiffs, meanwhile, are more likely to win their case and get bigger financial settlements. “It’s an effect seen everywhere,” says Walker.

But if beauty pays in most circumstances, there are still situations where it can have opposite results. While attractive men may be considered better leaders, for instance, hidden sexist prejudices can work against attractive women, making them less likely to be hired for high-level jobs that require power. And as you might expect, good-looking people of both sexes run into envy—one study found that if you are interviewed by someone of the same sex, they may be less likely to employ you if they judge that you are more attractive than they are.

More worryingly, being beautiful or handsome could harm your medical care. We tend to link good looks to health, meaning that illnesses are often taken less seriously when they affect the good-looking. When treating people for pain, for instance, doctors tend to take less care over the more attractive people.

And the bubble of beauty can be a somewhat lonely place. One study in 1975, for instance, found that people tend to move further away from a beautiful woman on the pathway — perhaps as a mark of respect, but still making interaction more distant. “Attractiveness can convey more power over visible space—but that in turn can make others feel they can’t approach that person,” says Frevert. Interestingly, the online dating website OKCupid recently reported that people with the most beautiful pictures are less likely to find dates than those with less perfect pictures.

Ultimately, Frevert points out that focusing too much on your appearance can itself be harmful if it creates stress and anxiety — even for those already blessed with good looks. “If you are crazy about attractiveness, it may affect your experience and interactions,” she says. It’s an outdated saying, but no amount of beauty can make up for a bad personality. As the writer Dorothy Parker put it so elegantly: “Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes clean to the bone.”

1.From paragraph 1, we can learn that _______.

A.some may be bothered by their unattractive appearance

B.most people are not afraid of being too beautiful

C.we might always dream about being bothered by others

D.being too beautiful can be a problem bothering everyone

2.Which is the benefit for beautiful people?

A.Good-looking people are often regarded as having many good qualities.

B.Beautiful criminals are more likely to persuade the judge and win the case.

C.An attractive plaintiff has more chances to get away with punishment.

D.Women with pleasing appearance will always be considered as better leaders.

3.The writer mentioned the underlined sentence in the last paragraph to _______.

A.persuade us to pay more attention to our looks from now on

B.suggest that beauty can help make a better personality

C.encourage us to focus more on improving our personality

D.ask ugly people to have more confidence in their personality

4.What might be the best title for the passage?

A.Real Beauty B.Sexist Prejudice

C.Blessed with Beauty D.Beauty, a Blessing?

Answer

1.B

2.A

3.C

4.D

【解析】

本文是一篇议论文, 文章主要讲述了虽然美丽有一些优点，但是也带给人们的许多不利的方面，因为美貌只是肤浅的，丑陋却能深入骨髓，所以作者鼓励人们提高自己本身的内在品质。

1.推理判断题。根据第一段Can you be too beautiful? It is hardly a problem that most of us have to bother—as much as we might like to dream that it were the case. (你会过于漂亮吗？这几乎不是我们大多数人会烦恼的问题——尽管我们可能会梦想被这个问题所困扰。) 可推断出，大部分人都梦想自己很漂亮。B. most people are not afraid of being too beautiful (大部分的人都不害怕太漂亮) 符合题意。故选B项。

2.细节理解题。根据第四段At the most basic level, beauty might be thought to carry a kind of halo(光环) around it; we see that someone has one good quality, and by association, our deep mind may assume that they have other good ones too. (在最基本的层面上,美可能被认为携带一种光环环绕在其身边；我们看到一个人有一种好的品质，通过联想，我们的大脑会认为他们也有其他好的品质。) 可知，长得美有光环效应，所以人们会联想到他们还会有其他好的品质。A. Good-looking people are often regarded as having many good qualities. (长得好看的人通常被认为有许多优点。) 符合题意。故项A项。

3.推理判断题。根据最后一段中As the writer Dorothy Parker put it so elegantly: “Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes clean to the bone.” (正如作家Dorothy Parker所说：“美貌只是肤浅的，丑陋却能深入骨髓。”) 可推测出，作者认为再美丽的外表也弥补不了不好的品德，所以提醒人们应该注意提升自己的内在品质。C. encourage us to focus more on improving our personality (鼓励我们更专注于改善我们的品质) 符合题意。故选C项。

4.主旨大意题。通读全文可知，文章前部分展现了长得美的好处，但文章的后半部分侧重讲长得美的不好的方面。在根据最后一段中Ultimately, Frevert points out that focusing too much on your appearance can itself be harmful if it creates stress and anxiety — even for those already blessed with good looks. (最后，Frevert指出，如果过多地关注自己的外表会产生压力和焦虑，这本身就是有害的——即使对那些已经拥有美貌的人来说也是如此。) 可归纳出长得美，不一定全是优点。D. Beauty, a Blessing? (美，真是一种恩赐吗？) 符合题意。故选D项。