The Enigma (謎）of Beauty

The search for beauty spans centuries and continents．Paintings of Egyptians dating back over 4，000 years show both men and women painting their nails and wearing makeup．In 18th-century France，wealthy noblemen wore large wigs (假發(fā)）of long，white hair to make themselves attractive．Today，people continue to devote a lot of time and money to their appearance.

There is at least one good reason for the desire to be attractive：beauty is power．Studies suggest that good-looking people make more money，get called on more often in class，and are regarded as friendlier.

But what exactly is beauty? It's difficult to describe it clearly，and yet we know it when we see it．And our awareness of it may start at a very early age．In one set of studies，six-month-old babies were shown a series of photographs．The faces on the pictures had been rated for attractiveness by a group of college students．In the studies，the babies spent more time looking at the attractive faces than the unattractive ones.

The idea that even babies can judge appearance makes perfect sense to many researchers．In studies by psychologists，men consistently showed a preference for women with larger eyes，fuller lips，and a smaller nose and chin while women prefer men with large shoulders and a narrow waist．According to scientists，the mind unconsciously tells men and women that these traits —the full lips，clear skin，strong shoulders —equal health and genetic well-being.

Not everyone thinks the same way，however．" Our hardwiredness can be changed by all sorts of expectations —mostly cultural，" says C． Loring Brace，an anthropologist at the University of Michigan．What is considered attractive in one culture might not be in another．Look at most Western fashion magazines：the women on the pages are thin．But is this "perfect" body type for women worldwide? Scientists' answer is no; what is considered beautiful is subjective and varies around the worlD． They found native peoples in southeast Peru preferred shapes regarded overweight in Western cultures.

For better or worse，beauty plays a role in our lives．But it is extremely difficult to describe exactly what makes one person attractive to another．Although there do seem to be certain physical traits considered universally appealing，it is also true that beauty does not always keep to a single，uniform standarD． Beauty really is，as the saying goes，in the eye of the beholder.

1.People's ideas about beauty ________.

A． have existed since ancient times

B． can be easily described

C． have little influence on a person's success

D． are based upon strict criteria

2.In Paragraph 3，the babies in the study ________.

A． were rated for their appearance

B． were entered in a beauty contest

C． were shown photos of a group of college students

D． were able to tell attractive faces from unattractive ones

3.The underlined word “traits” in Paragraph 4 probably means ________.

A． qualities

B． measurements

C． judgments

D． standards

4.We can learn from the passage that ________.

A． the ideas of beauty vary as people grow up

B． the search for beauty is rooted in lack of confidence

C． the standards for beauty are based on scientific researches

D． the understanding of beauty depends on cultural backgrounds

練習(xí)冊(cè)系列答案
相關(guān)習(xí)題

科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來源：2016屆江西師范大學(xué)附屬中學(xué)高三上學(xué)期第一次月考英語(yǔ)試卷（解析版） 題型：語(yǔ)法填空

閱讀下面材料，在空白處填入適當(dāng)?shù)膬?nèi)容(1個(gè)單詞)或括號(hào)內(nèi)單詞的的正確形式。

Night after night, she came to tuck me in (蓋被子), even long after my childhood years．1. (follow) her longstanding custom, she’d lean down and push my long hair out of the way, then kiss my forehead.

I don’t remember 2. it first started annoying me — her hands pushing my hair that way．Finally, one night, I shouted out at her, “Don’t do that anymore — your hands are too rough!” She didn’t say 3. in reply．But never again4. my mother close out (結(jié)束) my day 5. that familiar expression of her love.

Time after time, with the passing years, my 6. (think) returned to that night．By then I missed my mother’s hands, — missed her goodnight kiss on my foreheaD．

Now those hands I once thought to be so rough were still doing things for me and my family．I 7. (frequent) recalled the night my young voice complaineD． One night, catching Mom’s hand in hand, I blurted out how sorry I was for that night．I thought she’d remember as I diD． But Mom didn’t know what I 8. (talk) about．She had forgotten — and forgiven — long ago.

That night, I fell asleep with a new 9. (appreciate) for my gentle mother and 10. caring hands．And the guilt that I had carried around for so long was nowhere to be found.

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來源：2015-2016學(xué)年遼寧實(shí)驗(yàn)中學(xué)分校高二12月月考英語(yǔ)試卷（解析版） 題型：閱讀理解

Larry was on another of his underwater expeditions(探險(xiǎn))but this time, it was different. He decided to take his daughter along with him. She was only ten years old. This would be her first trip with her father on what he had always been famous for.

Larry first began diving when he was his daughter’s age. Similarly, his father had taken him along on one of his expeditions. Since then, he had never looked back. Larry started out by renting diving suits from the small diving shop just along the shore. He had hated them. They were either too big or too small. Then, there was the instructor. He gave him a short lesson before allowing him into the water with his father. He had made an exception. Larry would never have been able to go down without at least five hours of theory and another similar number of hours on practical lessons with a guide. Children his age were not even allowed to dive.

After the first expedition, Larry’s later diving adventures only got better and better. There was never a dull moment. In his black and blue suit and with an oxygen tank fastened on his back, Larry dived from boats into the middle of the ocean. Dangerous areas did not prevent him from continuing his search. Sometimes, he was limited to a cage underwater but that did not bother him. At least, he was still able to take photographs of the underwater creatures

Larry’s first expedition without his father was in the Cayman Islands. There were numerous diving spots in the area and Larry was determined to visit all of them. Fortunately for him, a man offered to take him around the different spots for free. Larry did not even know what the time was, how many spots he dived into or how many photographs he had taken. The diving spots afforded such a wide array of fish and sea creatures that Larry saw more than thirty varieties of creatures.

Larry looked at his daughter. She looked as excited as he had been when he was her age. He hoped she would be able to continue the family tradition. Already, she looked like she was much braver than Larry had been then. This was the key to a successful underwater expedition.

1.In what way was this expedition different for Larry?

A. His daughter had grown up.

B. He had become a famous diver.

C. His father would dive with him.

D. His daughter would dive with him.

2.What can be inferred from Paragraph 2?

A. Larry had some privileges.

B. Larry liked the rented diving suits.

C. Divers had to buy diving equipment.

D. Ten-year-old children were permitted to dive.

3.Why did Larry have to stay in a cage underwater sometimes?

A.To protect himself from danger.

B.To dive into the deep water.

C.To admire the underwater view.

D.To take photos more conveniently.

4.What did Larry expect his daughter to do?

A.Become a successful diver.

B.Make a good diving guide.

C.Take a lot of photos underwater.

D.Have longer hours of training.

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來源：2016屆安徽廬江縣六校聯(lián)盟高三第四次聯(lián)考英語(yǔ)試卷（解析版） 題型：書面表達(dá)

書面表達(dá)

你在網(wǎng)絡(luò)上讀到一篇關(guān)于“九零后”的英語(yǔ)文章，你打算以“Post-90’s Generation”為題，用第一人稱給《二十一世紀(jì)英文報(bào)》寫一篇文章，內(nèi)容包括：

“九零后”的缺點(diǎn)：

1. 依賴性強(qiáng)；2．自私；3．貪圖過舒適的生活等

“九零后”的優(yōu)點(diǎn)

1. 渴望了解周圍的世界；2．思想獨(dú)立；3．有很多新觀念等 你自己的感受……

注意：

1. 必須包括表格中的所有內(nèi)容；2. 為了使文章通順完整，可以適當(dāng)增加內(nèi)容；3. 詞數(shù)：120左右。

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來源：2016屆山西省高三上學(xué)期期中考前檢測(cè)英語(yǔ)試卷（解析版） 題型：語(yǔ)法填空

閱讀下面材料，在空白處填入適當(dāng)?shù)膬?nèi)容(1個(gè)單詞)或括號(hào)內(nèi)單詞的正確形式。

On June 2，2012，Meghan Vogel won the state championship in the 1500-meter race．1. ，it was her last-place finish in the 3200 meters that won her worldwide attention．

Only a few minutes2. the 3000-meter run，Meghan entered the tough 3200-meter final．Three laps in to the eight-lap race，Vogel was falling off the pace．It could easily be seen that she didn’t have the energy to compete for another title．20 feet from the finish line，she was in last place but still had3. chance of passing a runner from another schoo1—Arden McMath，4. was faltering(蹣跚)．

Then suddenly Arden McMath5. (fall)to the track．Vogel never had a moment of doubt about6. to do next．Rather than run past her fallen competitor to avoid the last-place finish，Vogel stopped to help Arden to her feet and7. support) her step by step towards the finish line．The crowd cheered for Vogel’s action and the cheers grew8. (loud) as the two girls finished the race with Vogel purposely9. (make)sure that Arden crossed the finish line ahead of her．

Last place on the track；first place in sportsmanship(體育精神)．Vogel was truly the10. (win) of the 3,200-meter race·

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來源：2016屆山東省臨沂市高三上學(xué)期期中考試英語(yǔ)試卷（解析版） 題型：閱讀理解

Nearing the age of 101 has not slowed down one Japanese woman．In fact，in the swimming pool—she is only getting faster．

Recently，a 100-year-old Japanese woman became the world’s first centenarian to complete a 1，500-meter freestyle swimming competition in a 25-meter poo1．

Her name is Mieko Nagaoka．Ms．Nagaoka set a world record for her age group at a recent Japan Masters Swimming Association event in the western city of Matsuyama．She swam the race in 1hour，15 minutes and 54 seconds．

By comparison，the overall female world record holder completed the same distance in just under 15 and a half minutes．But that swimmer，Katie Ledecky，is only 17 years old．And Ms．Nagao．ka was not competing against her．In fact，Ms．Nagaoka was the only competitor in the 100-104 year old category．Her race was not a race of speed but of endurance，or not giving up．

Breaking swimming records is nothing new to Ms．Nagaoka．So far she has broken 25 records．But she began competing when she was much younger—at 88.

Ms．Nagaoka sufferred a knee injury in her 80s，so she began swimming to help her body recover．Since her first international swimming competition，she hasn’t looked back，except maybe to see if her competition is catching up．

In 2002．a(chǎn)t a masters swim meet in New Zealand，Ms．Nagaoka took the bronze medal in the 50-meter backstroke．In 2004，she won three silver medals at an Italian swim meet.

Masters swimming is a special class of competitive swimming to promote health and friendship among participants．Swimmers compete within age groups of five years.

Japan has a large number of people who live beyond 100 years old．Until she passed away this month，the oldest person in the world was also from Japan．Misao Okawa was born in 1 898．She said her secrets for longevity，or long life，were good genes，regular sleep，sushi and exercise.

1.The underlined word“centenarian”refers to someone who is____．

A．from Japan B．100 or older

C．a(chǎn)n old competitor D.a new swimmer

2.Which is possibly the age category of the masters swimming competition?

A．82 to 87 years old． B．93 to 97 years old.

C．95 to 99 years old． D．106 to 110 years old.

3.It can be inferred from the passage that_____．

A．some people are born with longevity genes

B．people who like swimming live longer

C．the Japanese are interested in swimming

D．woman usually live much longer than men

4.Which can best explain the spirit of Ms．Nagaoka?

A．Not to advance is to go back．

B．After a storm comes a calm.

C．The early bird catches the worm．

D．Keep on going，never give up.

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來源：2015-2016學(xué)年吉林長(zhǎng)春市高一上學(xué)期第三次月考英語(yǔ)試卷（解析版） 題型：閱讀理解

Like human beings, dogs may catch cold because of cold weather, wet conditions or can also get it from other sick dogs. If a dog has a running nose and watery eyes, coughs or sneezes(打噴嚏）, then it is quite probable that the dog has caught cold.

A dog's cold can get over after a few days without treatment but it totally depends upon the owner to treat it with medications or improve its immune power（免疫力）to get rid of the cold naturally. Following are some of the things you can do if your dog gets a cold.

You can improve its immune power by giving it proper nutrient diet. Healthy food can really do wonders. Try to give it food which is either suggested by the vet（獸醫(yī)）or is healthy for your pet. Increase the intake of food which is rich in vitamins A, C and E.

Keep your dog warm. The best place for your dog in winter is inside your house. Do not keep your dog outside when it is cold and wet. At home you can also keep the dog warm with the help of carpets. This will make him comfortable and help him to recover fast.

Increase the fluid（流質(zhì)）intake as it helps a lot. Water can be the best choice but you can also add broth（肉湯）in water which will give your dog strength. Warm water will make your dog more comfortable and will also keep the dog away from the respiratory infections（呼吸道感染）.

Steam treatment is considered to be effective in getting rid of cold. It makes the nasal（鼻的）passage wet, which helps proper breathing. Just fill your bathroom with steam and leave your dog inside the bathroom for 15 minutes. Do it nearly 2 to 3 times a day and you will see your dog recovering.

These are some of the things you can do to help your dog recover from cold. However, if you are not able to find any improvement in its health, then turn to the vet for help immediately. Take your dog for regular checkups so as to avoid complications（并發(fā)癥）.

1.From the first paragraph we know about __________.

A．the difficulty in keeping a dog as a pet

B．characteristics(特征) of sick dogs

C．the similarities between dogs and human beings

D．causes and symptoms（癥狀）of cold in dogs

2.When your dog catches cold, you should feed it on _______.

A．its favorite food B．the suggested food by the vet

C．some meat and water D．food rich in vitamin B

3.When a dog catches cold, it is wrong to ________.

A．keep it inside during cold and wet weather

B．leave it inside the bathroom full of steam

C．let it eat too much solid（固體）food

D．keep it sleeping on carpets at home

4.It can be learnt from the text that _________.

A．a(chǎn) dog’s cold can always disappear naturally

B．it’s quite easy to make a sick dog recover from cold

C．treating a dog’s cold sometimes needs a vet’s help

D．cold in dogs won’t spread between each other.

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來源：2015-2016學(xué)年湖南益陽(yáng)市高一12月月考英語(yǔ)試卷（解析版） 題型：短文改錯(cuò)

短文改錯(cuò)

假定英語(yǔ)課上老師要求同桌之間交換修改作文, 請(qǐng)你修改你同桌寫的以下作文。文中共有10處語(yǔ)言錯(cuò)誤, 每句中最多有兩處。每處錯(cuò)誤僅涉及一個(gè)單詞的增加、刪除或修改。

增加: 把缺詞處加一個(gè)漏字符號(hào)(∧), 并在其下面寫出該加的詞。

刪除: 把多余的詞用斜線(\)畫掉。

修改: 在錯(cuò)的詞下畫一橫線, 并在該詞下面寫出修改后的詞。

注意: 1. 每處錯(cuò)誤及其修改均僅限一詞;

2. 只允許修改10處, 多者(從第11處起)不計(jì)分。

When I was at middle school, I have a nice classmate, which was the first foreigner I had ever met. She was friendly and very pretty. She was good in three languages, so she was born in China. It was interesting that her father was a Frenchman while her mother came from England. All of them were teaching at a university at that time. She was crazy about collect stamps, listening to pop music, as well as playing the football. Her dream was to be a engineer, so she usually studied harder to achieve it. She often told funny stories in English to make us laughing. We all liked her.

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來源：2016屆云南玉溪市高三第四次月考英語(yǔ)試卷（解析版） 題型：語(yǔ)法填空

閱讀下面材料，在空白處填入適當(dāng)?shù)膬?nèi)容（不多于3個(gè)單詞）或括號(hào)內(nèi)單詞的正確形式。

Almost everyone has some kind of hobby. 1. may be anything from collecting stamps to making model planes. Some hobbies are very expensive, but 2. are valuable only to their owners. I know a man who has a coin collection worth several thousand dollars. A short time ago he bought a seldom 3. (see) fifty-cent piece worth $250! He was very happy about what he bought and thought the price was 4. (reason). 5. the other hand my youngest brother collects match boxes. He has almost 600 of them but I doubt 6. they are worth any money. However, to my brother they are very valuable. Nothing makes him 7. (happy) than to find a new match box for his collection. That’s8. a hobby means, I guess. It is something we like to do in our spare time simply 9. the fun of it. The value in dollars is not important, but the 10. (pleased) it gives is.

查看答案和解析>>

同步練習(xí)冊(cè)答案