Question

    One of the most successful, influential and beloved women in American history, Eleanor Roosevelt once said that she had one regret: she wished she had been prettier. Who hasn’t felt the same way? We are all too aware of our physical imperfections. To overcome them, we spend billions upon billions every year. Why do we care so much about how we look? Because it matters. Because beauty is powerful. Because even we learn to value people mostly for being kind and wise and funny, we are still moved by beauty.

Aristotle said, “Beauty is a greater recommendation than any letter of introduction”. It’s not fair, but it’s true. We simply treat beautiful people better than we do others. Attach a photograph of a beautiful author to an essay, and people will think that it is more creative and more intelligently written than exactly the same essay accompanied by the photo of a homely author. As children, beautiful people are more likely to become favorites with parents and teachers. Later, they are more likely to get good jobs. Attractive people in need are more likely to receive help from strangers.

These days, women and men both rely on advanced technology to improve their beauty. Wrinkles can be stretched away with a face lift. Special injections can make lips look young and plump (丰满的). Besides being a sign of youth, good skin also means that the person is likely to be healthy. Still, it is possible to go too far. At the end of the 19^th century, some women even had their ribs (肋骨) removed so they’d have that perfect narrow waist.

Our sensitivity to physical beauty is not something we can control at will. We are born with it. Experiments showed that even small infants prefer to look at attractive faces. Before they have met a single supermodel, before they have watched a single TV show, before they have opened up a single fashion magazine, they are drawn to the same faces which adults have judged to be attractive.

There are more important things in life than beauty. But as Nancy Etcoff says, “We have to understand beauty, or we will always be enslaved by it.” If you aim to be wise and kind and funny, it doesn’t mean that you can't also try your best to look beautiful. There’s no reason to feel guilty about being moved by beauty’s power. It moves us all.

1.Which of the following proverbs has the opposite meaning of Aristotle’s sentence in Paragraph 2?

A.Never judge a book by its cover. B.Act on second thoughts.

C.Leave your luck while winning. D.Great minds think alike.

2.The underlined word “homely” in Paragraph 2 can be replaced by ____.

A.attractive B.plain C.beautiful D.handsome

3.According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?

A.People are all slaves to beauty.

B.Beauty can ensure good jobs.

C.Advanced technology helps improve beauty.

D.People value beauty over other virtues.

4.What’s the best title of this passage?

A.The Power of Beauty B.Huge Costs of Beauty

C.Bad Effects of Beauty D.Various Ways to Beauty

Answer

1.A

2.B

3.C

4.A

【解析】

本文是说明文。文章讲述了美丽可以给人带来很多好处，例如：漂亮的人更有可能成为父母和老师的最爱、更有可能找到好工作、更有可能从陌生人那里得到帮助。但生活中有比美更重要的东西，被美的力量感动，并不需要有罪恶感，因为所有的人都受它感动。

1.词句猜测题。根据第二段中的“Beauty is a greater recommendation than any letter of introduction.”可知，亚里士多德说：“美是比任何介绍信都要有用的推荐函”。A.不要以貌取人；B.三思而后行；C.了解事物成熟的时机，并善加利用；D.英雄所见略同。因此A项与亚里士多德所说的相反。故选A。

2.词句猜测题。根据第二段中的“We simply treat beautiful people better than we do others.”可知，我们就是会对美丽的人比较好。划线词所在的句子是在为这个观点举例子，划线词所在句子中的than表示二者的比较，其中的一个是 a beautiful author(漂亮的作者)，则另一个是长相一般的作者。A. attractive吸引人的；B. plain平常的，朴素的；C. beautiful美丽的；D. handsome帅气的。故选B。

3.细节理解题。根据第三段中的“These days, women and men both rely on advanced technology to improve their beauty.”可知，如今，男人和女人都依靠先进的技术来改善自己的美丽。即C项（高科技有助于改善美丽）正确。故选C。

4.主旨大意题。通读全文可知，文章讲述了美丽可以给人带来很多好处，例如：漂亮的人更有可能成为父母和老师的最爱、更有可能找到好工作、更有可能从陌生人那里得到帮助。但生活中有比美更重要的东西，被美的力量感动，并不需要有罪恶感，因为所有的人都受它感动。因此A项The Power of Beauty(美丽的力量)符合文章内容，可以作为标题。故选A。