5．The Enigma（謎）of Beauty
The search for beauty spans centuries and continents．Paintings of Egyptians dating back over 4，000years 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．
47．People's ideas about beautyA．
A．have existed since ancient times
B．can be easily described
C．have little influence on a person's success
D．a(chǎn)re based upon strict criteria
48．In Paragraph 3，the babies in the studyD．
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
49．The underlined word"traits"in Paragraph 4probably meansA．
A．qualities B．measurements C．judgments D．standards
50．We can learn from the passage thatD．
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．
分析 本文屬于說明文閱讀，作者通過這篇文章主要向我們描述了美麗的力量，美麗就是力量，它能為人增加更多的吸引力，然而對于美的判斷標(biāo)準(zhǔn)是不固定的，不同的文化可能會有不同的對于美的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)．
解答 47．A．推理判斷題．根據(jù)第一段，人們對美麗的追尋跨越了時間和地域（"The search forbeauty spans centuries and continents…Today，people continue to…"）．因此人們對于美的理解，始于從古代并一直存在（"have existedsince ancient times"）；故選A．
48．D．細(xì)節(jié)理解題．根據(jù)第三段，嬰兒觀看迷人臉孔的時間比非迷人臉孔的時間長（"the babiesspent more time looking at the attractive faces than the unattractive ones"）．嬰兒可以區(qū)分迷人和非迷人臉孔（"were able totell attractive faces from unattractive ones"）；故選D．
49．A．詞義猜測題．根據(jù)第四段，大腦無意識告訴男人、女人這些特征--豐滿的嘴唇、光滑的皮膚、強壯的肩膀（"the mindunconsciously tells men and women that these traits-the full lips，clear skin，strongshoulders"）．"traits"在這里的意思是"特征"（"qualities"）；故選A．
50．D．推理判斷題．根據(jù)第五段，所有期待值都會改變我們的固有看法--絕大多數(shù)是有關(guān)文化的（"Ourhardwiredness can be changed by all sorts of expectations-mostly cultural，"）．對美的理解依附于文化背景（"theunderstanding of beauty depends on cultural backgrounds"）；故選D．
點評 考察學(xué)生的細(xì)節(jié)理解和推理判斷能力，做細(xì)節(jié)理解題時一定要找到文章中的原句，和題干進(jìn)行比較，再做出正確的選擇．在做推理判斷題不要以個人的主觀想象代替文章的事實，要根據(jù)文章事實進(jìn)行合乎邏輯的推理判斷．
