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 havereviewed all the evidence to dateand 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(原告), 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(偏见) 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.”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 |
Which is the benefit for beautiful people?
| A．An attractive plaintiff has more chances to get away with punishment. |
| B．Women with pleasing appearance will always be considered as better leaders. |
| C．Good-looking people are often regarded as having many good qualities. |
| D．Beautiful criminals are more likely to persuade the judge and win the case. |
What can be inferred from OKCupid’s finding?
| A．People with perfect pictures will find dates sooner or later. |
| B．Less attractive women are lonely because of their appearances. |
| C．We may feel more excited to approach those with attractive appearances. |
| D．Don’t use perfect pictures when trying to find dates online. |
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 |
What might be the best title for the passage?
| A．Negative Sides of Beauty | B．Sexist Prejudice |
| C．Blessed with Beauty | D．Beauty vs Ugliness |
Years ago, there lived a wealthy man named Mr. Cooper who, with his dearest young son John, loved art collecting. Together they traveled around the world, collecting the finest art treasures.
One winter, war came to the nation, and John left to serve his country. After only a few short weeks, his father received a telegram reading that John had died while saving a fellow soldier. Filled with sadness, the old man cried. On the coming Christmas morning, a soldier called on him and gave him a picture of John.
The following spring, the old man became ill and passed away. According to his will, all of his works of art would be auctioned (拍卖) on Christmas Day, when he had received the greatest gift of his life. The day soon arrived and art collectors from around the world gathered to buy some of the world’s greatest paintings. The auction began with a painting of the old man’s son. “Who will open the bidding (出价) with $100?” the auctioneer (拍卖人) asked. Minutes passed, but no one spoke. Finally, a neighbor of the old man’s spoke. “Can I take the painting for ten dollars? It is all I have, and he is a good man.”
“Will anyone go higher?” called the auctioneer. After more silence, the auctioneer said, “Going once, going twice, gone.” The gavel（槌）fell. “Now we can get on to the real treasures,” someone shouted angrily. But the auctioneer said that the auction was over. Someone asked, “It’s over? We didn’t come here for a picture of some old guy’s son. There are millions of dollars worth of art here!” The auctioneer replied, “It’s very simple. According to the will of the father, whoever takes the son ... gets all.” The underlined words “the greatest gift” in Paragraph 3 refer to _______.
| A．a picture of John |
| B．the painting John collected |
| C．the finest work of art |
| D．the telegram about his son |
It can be inferred from the passage that______.
| A．the old man and the auctioneer were good friends |
| B．no art collectors wanted to buy Mr. Cooper’s collection of art |
| C．John was a successful art collector and an excellent artist |
| D．the old man, Mr. Cooper, loved his son very much |
About ten men in every hundred suffer from color blindness in some way. Women are luckier; only about one in two hundred is affected in this matter. Perhaps, after all, it is safer to be driven by a woman!
There are different forms of color blindness. In some cases a man may not be able to see deep red. He may think that red, orange and yellow are all shadows of green. Sometimes a person cannot tell the difference between blue and green. In rare cases an unlucky man may see everything in shades of green--a strange world indeed.
Color blindness in human beings is a strange thing to explain. In a single eye there are millions of very small things called “cones”. These help us to see in a bright light and to tell difference between colors. There are also millions of “rods”, but these are used for seeing when it is near dark. They show us shape but no color.
Some insects have favorite colors. Mosquitoes prefer blue to yellow. A red light will not attract insects, but a blue lamp will. In a similar way human beings also have favorite colors. Yet we are lucky. With the aid of the cones in our eyes we can see many beautiful colors by day, and with the aid of the rods we can see shapes at night. One day we may even learn more about the invisible colors around us.The passage is mainly about _____________.
| A．color and its surprising effects. |
| B．women being luckier than men |
| C．danger caused by color blindness |
| D．color blindness |
According to the passage, with the help of the “cones”, we can____________.
| A．tell different shapes |
| B．see in a weak light |
| C．kill mosquitoes |
| D．tell orange from yellow |
Why do some people say it is safer to be driven by women?
| A．Women are more careful. |
| B．There are fewer color-blind women |
| C．Women are fonder of driving than men. |
| D．Women are weaker but quicker in thinking. |
Which of the statements about the color- blind is true?
| A．Not all of them have the same problem in recognizing color. |
| B．None of them can see deep red. |
| C．None of them can tell the difference between blue and green. |
| D．All of them see everything in shades of green. |
We can attract and kill mosquitoes by using a __________.
| A．red light | B．yellow light |
| C．blue light | D．green light |
“Cool” is a word with many meanings. Its old meaning is used to express a temperature that is a little bit cold. As the world has changed, the word has had many different meanings.
“Cool”can be used to express feelings of interest in almost anything.
When you see a famous car in the street, maybe you will say, “It's cool. ”You may think, “He's so cool, ”when you see your favourite footballer.
We all maximize（扩大） the meaning of“cool”. You can use it instead of many words such as “new” or “surprising”. Here's an interesting story we can use to show the way the word is used. A teacher asked her students to write about the waterfall（瀑布）they had visited. On one student's paper was Just the one sentence, “It's so cool. Maybe he thought it was the best way to show what he saw and felt.
But the story also shows a scarcity（缺乏）of words. Without “cool”, some people have no words to show the same meaning. So it is quite important to keep some credibility（可信性）. Can you think of many other words that make your life as colourful as the word “cool”? I can. And I think they are also very cool.We know that the word "cool" has had________.
| A．only one meaning | B．no meanings |
| C．many different meanings | D．the same meaning |
In the passage, the word “express” means “________”.
| A．see | B．show | C．know | D．feel |
If you are _______ something, you may say, “It’s cool.”
| A．interested in | B．angry about |
| C．afraid of | D．unhappy with |
The writer takes an example to show he is ________ the way the word is used.
| A．pleased with | B．strange to |
| C．worried about | D．careful with |
In the passage, the writer suggests（暗示）that the word “cool”________.
| A．can be used instead of many words |
| B．usually means something interesting |
| C．can make your life colourful |
| D．may not be as cool as it seems |
阅读理解（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）
Dick lived in England. One day in January he said to his wife, "I'm going to fly to New York next week because I've got some work there." "Where are you going to stay there?" his wife asked. "I don't know yet." Dick answered. "Please send me your address from there in a telegram (电报)," his wife said. "All right," Dick answered.
He flew to New York on January 31st and found a nice hotel in the center of the city. He put his things in his room and then he sent his wife a telegram. He put the address of his hotel in it.
In the evening he didn't have any work, so he went to a cinema. He came out at nine o'clock and said, "Now I'm going back to my hotel and have a nice dinner."
He found a taxi (出租车) and the driver said, "Where do you want to go?" But Dick didn't remember the name and address of his hotel.
"Which hotel are my things in?" he said, "And what am I going to do tonight?" But the driver of the taxi did not know. So Dick got out and went into a post office. There he sent his wife another telegram, and in it he wrote, "Please send me my address at this post office."Dick flew to New York because_____.
| A．he went there for a holiday |
| B．he had work there |
| C．he went there for sightseeing (观光) |
| D．his home was there |
Why did his wife want a telegram from him?
| A．Because she didn't know his address yet |
| B．Because she wanted to go to New York, too |
| C．Because she might send him another telegram |
| D．Because she couldn't leave her husband by himself in New York |
Where did Dick stay in New York?
| A．In the center of the city. | B．In a hotel. |
| C．In a restaurant. | D．At his friend's house. |
Who would send him the name and address of his hotel?
| A．The manager (经理) of his hotel. |
| B．The police office. |
| C．The taxi driver. |
| D．His wife. |
Which of the following is not true?
| A．Dick stayed at a nice hotel in the center of the city. |
| B．Dick didn't work on the first night of his arrival. |
| C．Dick forgot to send his wife a telegram. |
| D．Dick wanted to go back to his hotel in a taxi. |
Scrooge looked around him angrily. It was Christmas and his only friend Jacob Marley, had been dead for seven years. What was there for him to celebrate? He listened with growing anger to the people calling out greetings in the street and growled at his nephew Bob Cratchit, who was just ready to go home. “Merry Christmas, uncle,” called Bob as he hurried out of the door.
Scrooge sighed. He might just as well go to bed. Aware that he should not waste his candle, he quickly undressed and climbed into bed. But no sooner had he done so than the ghost of Marley, covered in chains, appeared. “What’s the matter, Jacob?” he asked. “There are the chains I made in my life,” answered the ghost. “I’m forced to wander around with no rest and no peace. I have come here to warn you that if you do not change, this too will be your fate. You will be visited by three spirits. Expect the first one tomorrow when the clock strikes one. Expect the second and the third on the following nights at the same hour.” With that Marley vanished. “Nonsense!” he said and going back to bed, fell fast asleep.
When Scrooge awoke it was dark. The clock struck one. At the sound, light flashed into the room and there stood a young boy. “Who are you?” asked Scrooge in an unsteady voice. “I’m the spirit of Christmas past,” replied the spirit. “Come with me.” “Do you remember this?” he asked. Scrooge did. He heard the happy cries of people, and looking around he found himself, as he used to be, sitting on a chair and reading. It was a Christmas. Suddenly Scrooge watched his younger self joined in a band, dancing and laughing. “Strange,” said the spirit, “that such little things should make people so happy.” The ghost let him go and Scrooge sank down into a deep sleep.
When he awoke again the second night, the clock sounded one again. Before he doubted the second spirit already turned up. The fat and jolly spirit was smiling,“I’m the spirit of Christmas present.”Again Scrooge grasped the spirit’s hand and was transported to a small house filled with a number of children and their mother. “Why, it’s my nephew Bob’s house,” cried Scrooge in astonishment. His surprise increased when the door opened and in came Bob carrying a small, sick boy, Tiny Tim. “Sit down,” cried Bob to his family. “Let’s have the best Christmas dinner!” They all began to eat eagerly. Scrooge watched at the happiness and contentment of his poor nephew’s family. “A Merry Christmas to us all!” cried Bob. “God bless us everyone!” added Tiny Tim, who sat very close to his father and Bob held his thin hand tightly. “No, not for the uncle, but for you and the children. Nobody knows better than you how mean that man is.” exclaimed Bob’s wife. “Spirit,” cried Scrooge. “Will Tiny Tim live?” “If the future remains the same,” said the spirit, “there will be an empty chair next year.” Again the spirit moved Scrooge away, and he fell asleep as he fell back into his bed.
The third night he woke and waited for the hour and the third spirit. This time the spirit didn’t come in a flash of light but arrived quietly wearing a black cloth that covered its face and form. “I’m the spirit of Christmas that is to come.” The spirit pointed and led him to a large stone. It was at the foot of a grave(坟墓) that was clearly neglected. Scrooge looked closer with trembling fingers and with horror read his own name on the stone. “Oh, spirit, no, no!” The spirit’s finger remained steady pointing at the grave. “I will honour Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all the year,” cried Scrooge in terror. He reached out to hold the spirit’s hand, but it slipped away. Scrooge looked around him. he saw he was in his own bed with his own thing around him.
“I have learned from the past, present and the future,” he rushed to the window and shouted to the boys below: “What day is it today?” “Why, it’s Christmas Day,” they replied in amazement. “Wonderful,” cried Scrooge. He rushed to his office to wait for Bob. When he entered, Scrooge pretended to look angry. “Do you know what day it is, my boy?” he asked Bob. “I’m not going to stand for this any longer,” he continued, “and so I’m going to raise your salary.” Bob looked amazed. “A Merry Christmas, Bob,” cried Scrooge slapping him on the back. “I want to help you and your family. Let’s talk about it this very afternoon.”What do the underlined words “growled at” mean in the first paragraph?
| A．said happily to | B．said calmly to |
| C．said slowly to | D．said angrily to |
From the second paragraph, we can learn that ________.
| A．Scrooge was even mean to himself |
| B．Scrooge believed what his friend told him |
| C．Marley lived with chains before his death |
| D．Marley came to say “Merry Christmas” to Scrooge |
When did Scrooge meet three spirits?
| A．At Christmas Eve. |
| B．On the 3 different nights before Christmas. |
| C．On Christmas Day. |
| D．On the 3 different days before Christmas. |
Which is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Scrooge died the next year. |
| B．Bob’s son, Tiny Tim, died the next year. |
| C．There is more than one child in Bob’s family. |
| D．The third spirit showed Scrooge his well-cared-for grave. |
What do you think Scrooge would be in the following years?
| A．Kind and poor. | B．Kind and generous. |
| C．Happy and mean. | D．Miserable and mean. |
Which of the following saying best describes the passage?
| A．No pains, no gains. |
| B．Actions speak louder than words. |
| C．A friend in need is a friend indeed. |
| D．It will pay to be kind to others. |