Question

【题目】Beauty has always been regarded as something praiseworthy. Almost everyone thinks attractive 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. But in the executive(主管) 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 plainer 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 success was connected more to personal relationships and less to ability than that of the attractive overnight success.

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, in order of attractiveness. Then 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 underlined word "liability" most probably means _________.

A. trouble B. advantage

C. misfortune D. disadvantage

【2】In traditionally female jobs, attractiveness _________.

A. is of great importance to women

B. often enables women to succeed quickly

C. strengthens the feminine qualities required

D. makes women look more honest and capable

【3】Bowman's experiment shows that when it comes to politics, attractiveness _________.

A. affects men and women alike

B. turns out to be a disadvantage to men

C. has as little effect on men as on women

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

【4】The author writes this passage to _________.

A. demand equal rights for women

B. state the importance of appearance

C. give advice to job-seekers who are attractive

D. discuss the disadvantages of being attractive

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】D

【2】C

【3】D

【4】D

【解析】文章讨论的是美丽，漂亮的消极一面。

【1】D

猜测词义题。根据. Even judges are softer on attractive defendants(被告)．But in the executive circle，beauty can become a liability.中的But，表示转折说明美丽有时候会成为缺点，尤其对女性。故选D。

【2】C

细节题。根据第六段第2句话An attractive woman is thought to be more feminine可知C项正确。

【3】D

细节理解题。根据文章倒数第三段最后两行Thus，an attractive woman has an advantage in traditionally female jobs，but an attractive woman in a traditionally masculine position appears to lack the “masculine” qualities required.以及倒数第二段第一行This is true even in politics.可知在政治方面，漂亮有时候会成为障碍，而不是优势。故D正确。

【4】D

主旨大意题。文章讨论的是美丽，漂亮的消极一面。故选D。