Question

Beauty has always been regarded as something praiseworthy. Almost everyone thinks attractive(漂亮的) people are happier and healthier, have better marriages and have more respectable jobs. Personal advisors give them better advice for finding jobs. Even judges are softer on attractive defendants (被告). But in the executive (行政的,管理的) circle, beauty can become a liability.

While attractiveness is a positive factor for a man on his way up the executive ladder, it is harmful to a woman. Handsome male executives were considered as having more honesty than plain(平常的，不漂亮的) men; effort and ability were thought to lead to their success. Attractive female executives were considered to have less honesty than unattractive ones; their success was connected not with ability but with factors such as luck. All unattractive women executives were thought to have more honesty and to be more capable than the attractive female executives. Interestingly, though, the rise of the unattractive overnight successes was connected more to personal relationships and less to ability than that of the attractive overnight successes.

Why are attractive women not thought to be able? An attractive woman is considered to be more feminine and an attractive man more manly than the less attractive ones. Thus, an attractive woman has an advantage in traditionally female jobs, but an attractive woman in a traditionally manly position appears to lack the "manly" qualities required.

This is true even in politics. "When the only clue is how he or she looks, people treat men and women differently," says Anne Bowman, who recently published a study on the effects of attractiveness on political candidates. She asked 125 undergraduate students to rank two groups of photographs, one of men and one of women, of attractiveness. The students were told the photographs were of candidates for political offices. They were asked to rank them again, in the order they would vote for them.

The results showed that attractive males completely defeated unattractive men, but the women who had ranked most attractive unchangeably received the fewest votes.

1.The word "liability" most probably means __________.

A. disadvantage B. advantage

C. misfortune D. trouble

2.In traditionally female jobs, attractiveness ________.

A. makes women look more honest and capable

B. strengthens the qualifies required

C. is of no importance to women

D. often enables women to succeed quickly

3.Bowman's experiment shows that when it comes to politics, attractiveness _______.

A. turns out to be a disadvantage to men

B. is more of a disadvantage than an advantage to women

C. affects men and women alike

D. has as little effect on men as on women

4.It can be inferred from the passage that people's views on beauty are often _____.

A. practical B. supportive

C. old-fashioned D. one-sided

5.The author writes this passage to __________.

A. give advice to job-seekers who are attractive

B. discuss the disadvantages of women being attractive

C. demand equal rights for women

D. state the importance of appearance

Answer 1

1.A

2.D

3.B

4.D

5.B

【解析】

試題分析：文章主要談論的是漂亮可能是女性的一個不利條件。美向來被看做是值得稱贊的事物。幾乎每個人都認為漂亮的人更開心、更健康。但是在政界，美有可能會變成一個不利條件。

1.Beauty has always been regarded as something praiseworthy.”和下面三句可知，漂亮是一種優勢，but表示轉折，說明在行政界，漂亮可能會成為不利條件，故選A。

2.Attractive female executives were considered to have less honesty than unattractive ones”排除A；根據第三段“but an attractive woman in a traditionally manly position appears to lack the "manly" qualities required”排除B；根據第二段“Attractive female executives... their success was connected not with ability but with factors such as luck”可知，漂亮的女性行政人員的成功與運氣等因素有關，而不是與能力有關，故選D。

3.attractive males completely defeated unattractive men, but the women who had ranked most attractive unchangeably received the fewest votes”可知，漂亮的男性完勝相貌平平的男性，而最漂亮的女性得到的票數卻是最少的，說明在政界，漂亮的女性不占優勢，故選B。

4.An attractive woman is considered to be more feminine...but an attractive woman in a traditionally manly position appears to lack the "manly" qualities required”和第四段“When the only clue is how he or she looks, people treat men and women differently”可知，漂亮的女性被認為不能勝任需要男性品質的職務，如果僅憑外貌來判斷，人們常用不同的方法來對待男性和女性，說明人們對美的看法是片面的，故選D。

5.But in the executive (行政的,管理的) circle, beauty can become a liability.”和第二段“it is harmful to a woman”與第三段“Why are attractive women not thought to be able?”及第四段“This is true even in politics.”可知，文章主要講的是漂亮對女性來說是一個不利條件，故選B。

考點：社會類短文閱讀