Question

【題目】Directions: Read the following passage. Fill in each blank with a proper sentence given in the box. Each sentence can be used only once. Note that there are two more sentences than you need.

According to a new study just published in Psychological Science, any one person seen in a group just seems better looking than when viewed alone. The reason: human eyes average things out, and when it comes to faces, average is usually good.

【1】 Facial analysis studies show the symmetry(對稱) is almost always regarded as prettier than asymmetry and the most beautiful faces are the ones on which eyes are no more or less than a certain distance apart, and the forehead, chin, cheeks and other features take up no more than a certain share of the whole. It’s the reason that models may be gorgeous but can prove awfully difficult to tell apart.

“Perhaps,” says psychological scientist Drew Walker of the University of California, San Diego, in a statement that accompanied the release of the study, “beautiful people are all alike, but every unattractive person is unattractive in their own ways.”

To test how that plays out in a group setting, Walker and his UCSD collaborator, psychological scientist Edward Vul, recruited 130 undergraduate students and showed them pictures of 100 different men and women. 【2】 Other times they were cut out to show just one face at a time. Still other times, the faces were taken out of context and arranged on a simple grid (網(wǎng)格) of either four, nine or 16 faces.

Consistently, the researchers found, the sole shots were regarded as less attractive than the faces viewed in a group—whether in a real setting or on the grid. This was true regardless of the gender of the subjects and regardless of whether they would broadly be described as following most definitions of attractiveness or unattractiveness. 【3】

The explanation for the phenomenon, they believe, is the averaging effect and how it works. 【4】 “Individuals with complementary features—one person with narrow eyes and one person with wide eyes—would enjoy a greater boost in attractiveness when seen together, as compared to groups composed of individuals who have similar features,” Walker and Vul write.

A. Both the gorgeous and non- gorgeous improved by being with other people.

B. Sometimes the subjects in the pictures were shown as part of a three-person group.

C. It turns out that people don’t even need to be in an actual group to look more attractive.

D. It’s no secret that our definition of beauty is defined by a very clear set of physical norms.

AB. A big nose in the company of a small nose does not look bigger still; rather, both noses move closer to the average.

AC. While being average-looking might seem like a bad thing, the research suggests that’s not necessarily the case for attractiveness.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】D

【2】B

【3】A

【4】AB

【解析】

這是一篇說明文。研究發(fā)現(xiàn)：任何一個人在一群人中出現(xiàn)時，看起來都比單獨出現(xiàn)時好看。原因是：人類的眼睛會將事物平均化，而當(dāng)涉及到臉部時，平均化通常是好的。文章對這個研究以及研究結(jié)果進行了具體的介紹。

【1】本句為本段主題句。結(jié)合下文Facial analysis studies show the symmetry is almost always regarded as prettier than asymmetry and the most beautiful faces are the ones on which eyes are no more or less than a certain distance apart,（面部分析研究表明，對稱幾乎總是被認(rèn)為比不對稱更漂亮，最漂亮的臉是那些眼睛之間距離不超過或少于一定距離的臉）以及通讀本段可知本段主要說明人類定義美麗時所依據(jù)的生理標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，故D選項“眾所周知，我們對美的定義是由一套非常清晰的物理規(guī)范定義的�！狈�合語境。故選D。

【2】結(jié)合后文Other times they were cut out to show just one face at a time. Still other times, the faces were taken out of context and arranged on a simple grid of either four, nine or 16 faces.（其他時候，他們被剪下來一次只露出一張臉。還有一些時候，這些臉被斷章取法地排列在一個簡單的網(wǎng)格上，由4張、9張或16張臉組成。）中Other times與Still other times 可對應(yīng)到B選項中Sometimes，表示“有時，照片中的受試者作為三人小組的一部分被展示�！背薪由舷挛�。故選B。

【3】該空前文This was true regardless of the gender of the subjects and regardless of whether they would broadly be described as following most definitions of attractiveness or unattractiveness.（不管研究對象的性別如何，也不管他們是否被廣泛地描述為符合大多數(shù)關(guān)于吸引力或無吸引力的定義，這都是正確的。）可知研究人員一致認(rèn)為，無論是在真實環(huán)境中還是在網(wǎng)格中，單獨的照片都不如在一組照片中看到的面孔有吸引力。不管研究對象的性別如何，也不管他們是否被廣泛地描述為符合大多數(shù)關(guān)于吸引力或無吸引力的定義，這一點都是正確的。該空承接上文，A選項“華麗的人和不華麗的人都是通過和別人在一起而提高的”和上文最銜接。故選A。

【4】上一句The explanation for the phenomenon, they believe, is the averaging effect and how it works.提到：他們認(rèn)為，對這種現(xiàn)象的解釋是平均效應(yīng)及其工作原理。下一句提到：沃克和沃爾在研究報告中寫道:“與具有相似特征的個體組成的群體相比，具有互補特征的個體——個窄眼睛的人和一個寬眼睛的人—在一起看的時候更有吸引力�！�。該空承上啟下，應(yīng)該提到和平均效應(yīng)以及互補特征相關(guān)的話題，AB選項“在小鼻子的陪伴下，大鼻子并不顯得更大;更確切地說，兩只鼻子都向平均值靠近。”最符合語境。故選AB。