On the high-speed train Avignon to Paris, my husband and I landed in the only remaining seats on the train, in the middle of a car, directly opposite a Frenchwoman of middle years. It was an extremely uncomfortable arrangement to be looking straight into the eyes of a stranger. My husband and I pulled out books. The woman produced a large makeup case and made up her face. Except for a lunch break, she continued this activity for the entire three-hour trip. Every once in a while she surveyed the car with a bright-eyed glance, but never once did she catch my eye. My husband and I could have been a blanket wall.
I was amused, but some people would have felt uncomfortable , even repulsed(厌恶的）.there is something about making up in public that calls up strong emotional reactions. Partly it’s a question of hygiene. And it’s a matter of degree. Making up --- a private act--- has a way of neglecting the presence of others. I was once seated at a party with a model-actress who immediately waved a silly brush and began dusting her face at the table, demonstrating that while she was next to me, she was not with me.
In fact, I am generally prohibited from making up in public, except when I am in the company of cosmetics moment. In a gathering more professional than social, I would do so.
Kathy Peiss, a history professor at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst says that nose-powdering in the office was an occasion for outrage in 1920’s and 30’s. Deploring the practice as a waste of company time, trade journals advises managers to discourage it among workers. Peiss theorizes that it was female’s making up in what has been an all-male field that disturb some gentlemen.
Peiss tells me that after the 30’s , pulling out a make-up case was no longer an issue. It became an accepted practice. I asked if she feels free to apply lipstick at a professional lunch herself. Sounding mildly shocked, she says she would save that for the privacy of her car afterward. Why? Because it would be “a gesture of inappropriate feminity(女性化）.” One guess is that most professional women feel this way. There is evidence of the popularity of the new lipsticks that remain in place all day without retouching.
小题1:According to the author, “My husband and I could have been a blanket wall.” (Line 6, Para.1) most probably means “________”.
A．We were treated with an expressionless face.
B．We looked at the French woman expressionlessly
C．We used books as a wall to avoid the woman’s eyes
D．We were of no existence in the French woman’s eyes小题2:In the author’s opinion, she _______.
A．allows public making up on certain occasions
B．feels comfortable when making up in public
C．only makes up on social occasions
D．makes up before any professional gatherings小题3:According to Peiss, nose powdering in an office was criticized mainly for the reason that ____.
A．normal office work was disturbed
B．it discouraged women’s interest in career
C．make dominance was emphasized there
D．it distracted make workers’ focus on work小题4:Why do most professional women give up using lipsticks in public?
A．Because they are worried about being looked down upon
B．Because it emphasizes their female features in wrong situations
C．Because it implies women’s disadvantages in academic fields
D．Because they are ashamed to be seen making up in front of males/小题5:It can be inferred that in a highly open society, the differences between men and women ______.
A．have attracted little attention
B．hinder the social development
C．are attractive topics in talk shows
D．still call for great concern
