Beauty has always been regarded as something admirable. Almost everyone thinks attractive people are happier and healthier, have better marriages and have more respectable jobs. Personal consultants (顾问) give them better advice for finding jobs. Even judges are softer on attractive persons. But in the executive circle (政界), beauty can become a liability.
While attractiveness is a positive thing for a man’s rise, it is harmful to a woman. Handsome male executives were considered as having more honesty than plainer men; effort and ability were thought to be the reasons for their success. Attractive female executives were considered to have less honesty than unattractive ones; their success was attributed not to ability but to factors such as luck. All unattractive women executives were thought to have more honesty and to be more capable than the attractive female executives.
Why are attractive woman not thought to be able? An attractive woman is thought to be more feminine (女性的) and an attractive man more masculine (男性的) than the less attractive ones. 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.
This is true even in politics. Anne Bowman recently published a study on the effects of attractiveness on political candidates (候选人). She asked 125 undergraduate students to rank two groups of photographs, one of men and one of women in order of attractiveness. The students were told the photographs were of candidates for political offices. They were asked lo rank them again, in the order they would vote for them.
The results showed that attractive males completely defeated unattractive men, but the woman who had been ranked most attractive always received the fewest votes.
小题1:In traditionally female jobs, attractiveness _____.
A．strengthens the feminine qualities required
B．makes women look more honest and capable
C．is of great importance to women
D．often enables women to succeed quickly小题2:Bowman’s experiment shows that when it comes to politics, attractiveness _____.
A．turns out to be an obstacle to men
B．affects men and women alike
C．has as little effect on men as on women
D．is more of an obstacle than a benefit to women小题3:It can be inferred from the passage that people's views on beauty are often _____.
A．practical
B．old-fashioned
C．prejudiced (偏见的)
D．serious小题4:The author writes this passage to _____.
A．discuss the negative aspects of being attractive
B．give advice to job-seekers who are attractive
C．demand equal rights for women
D．emphasize the importance of appearance
小题1:A
小题2:D
小题3:C
小题4:A
小题1:推断题。由文章第三段可知，人们觉得有魅力的女人比不那么有魅力的女人要更有女人特质。因此，在传统上女人所从事的工作中，有魅力的女人具有一定的优势。但在传统上男人所从事的工作中，有魅力的女人看起来缺乏所需的男性特质。由此可推出，在传统上女人所从事的工作中，魅力加强了所需的女人特质。A项符合题意。
小题2:推断题。由文章最后一段可知，有魅力的男性彻底击败了缺乏魅力的男性。而那些被认为最有魅力的女性常常得到最少的选票。由此可推出，在政界中，对于女性来说，魅力是一个障碍，而不是益处。
小题3:推断题。由文章第—段可知，几乎每个入都认为有魅力的人比别人更幸福健康。他们的婚姻更美满，并且拥有更令人尊敬的职业。在找工作方面，私人顾问给他们更好的建议。甚至法官对于有魅力的被告都手下留情。由此可推出，人们对美的看法往往是带偏见的，而没有事实的依据。
小题4:主旨题。本文虽然也讲述了魅力的许多积极方面，但那不是文章的主要方面。文章主要叙述了魅力给行政部门和政界中的女性所造成的不利因素。由此可见，作者写这篇文章是要讨论有魅力的消极方面。