Question

Doomed beauties such as Cleopatra and Manilyn Monroe were far from alone in their misery. Very attractive people tend to form partnerships that are less stable and satisfying than those enjoyed by plain Janes.

According to research by Dr John Blaine of the University of Southern California, relationships between people whose professions largely depend on their appearances, such as models or actors, tend to end much faster than those between lawyers, doctors or students.

Blaine said the beautiful felt different from childhood. They are treated as special, which may create both arrogance(傲慢) and insecurity. All too often, beauty can be used as an alternative to education. Often they are pushed out of their class or town, told to go off and make their fortune in Hollywood or London and, when the majority fail, they have few talents(才能) to make a living.

Blaine added that beautiful people score poorly on the “big five” — the key factors American experts consider when helping distressed couples. These are neuroticism(神经过敏), including anger and anxiety; extroversion(性格外向); openness to new experiences; agreeableness; and conscientiousness, or sticking by agreements they have made. Attractive people often see no reason to try to change until their looks start to fade.

Krista Sutherland, of the University of California Los Angeles, said partnerships that appeared to be perfect from the outside, such as the former “dream teams” of Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise or Hugh Grant and Elizabeth Hurley, where backgrounds and aspirations(抱负) are often shared, did not necessarily lead to happiness.

What does the underlined sentence “Doomed beauties such as Cleopatra and Manilyn Monroe were far from alone in their misery. ” means?

A. Beautiful women always felt lonely.

B. Beautiful women always were alone.

C. Many beautiful women didn’t end up with a happy life.

D. Beautiful women always lived a happy life. 

The underlined phrase “plain Janes” in the passage refer to ________.

A. ordinary-looking women         B. women called Jane

C. common people                      D. attractive women 

We can infer in the passage that ________.

A. Hugh Grant and Elizabeth Hurley were a couple

B. Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise were very satisfied with their life

C. When they fail in Hollywood, the beautiful have little trouble in making a living

D. The marriage of the beautiful often last long  

Which of the following is the best title?

A. Five key factors affecting the partnership       B. Beauties are doomed to fail in love

C. Beauties or common?                            D. The beautiful are different.

Answer 1

【小题1】C

【小题2】A

【小题3】A

【小题4】B

解析:

本文为议论文，作者论证了这样一个观点：美女婚姻并非美满。

【小题1】句意理解题。这句话的意思是“像克莱奥帕特拉和玛丽莲·梦露般美丽的女人却命运悲惨，而且这种情况并不罕见。”故选C。

【小题2】猜测词义题。Jane在英语当中是一个非常普通常见的女性名词，在此用复数形式指代相貌一般的女性。

【小题3】推测判断题。partnerships一般指的是伙伴或伴侣关系，再结合短文主题可知 partnerships that appeared to be perfect from the outside 中的 partnerships 在此表示肯定是“伴侣关系”。文章后面马上列举了 Hugh Grant and Elizabeth Hurley的例子，来说明作者“在外人看来完美无缺的伴侣关系却未必带来幸福快乐”的观点。故 Hugh Grant 和 Elizabeth Hurley 是夫妻关系。

【小题4】主旨大意题。短文第一段的最后一句Very attractive people tend to form partnerships that are less stable and satisfying than those enjoyed by plain Janes. 是全文的主题句。这句话的意思是：美艳绝伦的女人比起容貌一般的女人更易遭受既不称心又不稳定的情侣关系。故B项(美貌女人注定要情场失意)为最佳标题。