The Enigma（谜）of Beauty
The search for beauty spans centuries and continents．Paintings of Egyptians dating back over 4,000 years show both men and women painting their nails and wearing makeup．In 18th-century France, wealthy noblemen wore large wigs (假发) 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．
1.People’s ideas about beauty _______．
A．have existed since ancient times
B．can be easily described
C．have little influence on a person’s success
D．are based upon strict criteria
2.In Paragraph 3, the babies in the study _______．
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
3.The underlined word “traits” in Paragraph 4 probably means _______．
A．Qualities
B．measurements
C．Judgments
D．standards
4.We can learn from the passage that _______．
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
高一英语阅读理解中等难度题
The Enigma（谜）of Beauty
The search for beauty spans centuries and continents．Paintings of Egyptians dating back over 4,000 years show both men and women painting their nails and wearing makeup．In 18th-century France, wealthy noblemen wore large wigs (假发) 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．
1.People’s ideas about beauty _______．
A．have existed since ancient times
B．can be easily described
C．have little influence on a person’s success
D．are based upon strict criteria
2.In Paragraph 3, the babies in the study _______．
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
3.The underlined word “traits” in Paragraph 4 probably means _______．
A．Qualities
B．measurements
C．Judgments
D．standards
4.We can learn from the passage that _______．
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
高一英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
For centuries, dolphins have got our admiration, and it is easy to see why. They are beautiful, cute and smart sea animals. Dolphins are not fish, but warm-blooded animals. They live in groups, and speak to each other in their own language. In this way, they are like other animals, such as bees and birds. But dolphins are very different from almost all land animals. It is said that dolphins are the world’s second brightest creatures after humans and have many brain features related to intelligence. Their brain is nearly the same size as our own, and they live a long time at least twenty or thirty years.
Like some animals, dolphins use sound to help them find their way around. They also make these sounds to talk to each other and to help them find food. We now know they do not use their ears to receive these sounds, but the lower part of the mouth, called the jaw.
Strangely, dolphins seem to like man, and for thousands of years there have been stories about the dolphin and its friendship with people.
There is a story about sailors in the 19th century. In a dangerous part of the sea off the coast of New Zealand, they learnt to look for a dolphin called Jack. From 1871 to 1903, Jack met every boat in the area and showed it the way. Then in 1903 a passenger on a boat called The Penguin shot and wounded Jack. He recovered and for nine years more continued to guide all ships through the area－except for The Penguin.
Today, some people continue to kill dolphins, but many countries of the world now protect them and in these places it is against the law to kill them.
1.Dolphins are different from many other animals because they _____.
A. live in groups
B. have large brains
C. are warm-blooded
D. have their own language
2.Which of the following does the dolphin use to help it find its way around?
A. Its nose. B. Its ears. C. Its jaw. D. Its eyes.
3.Why did the sailors off the coast of New Zealand look for Jack?
A. He was lonely and liked to be with people.
B. They enjoyed playing with him.
C. He was seriously wounded.
D. They wanted his help.
4.By telling the story of Jack, the writer wanted to show that _____.
A. dolphins are friendly and clever
B. people are cruel to animals
C. Jack is different from other dolphins
D. dolphins should be protected by law
高一英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
- They were walking around the town a place for the party.
A. search for B. in search of
C. searching D. searched for
高一英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
They were walking around the town ________ a place for the party.
A. search for B. to search for C. searching D. searched for
高一英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
The guards caught the spy and _____ him very carefully.
A. searched for B. searched C. look for D. asked for
高一英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
All the police went out ________ the missing boy.
A.searching B.in search for
C.search for D.to search for
高一英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析
The police________ him to see if he had a gun.
A．searched for B．searched C．in search of D．looked for
高一英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
The police ________him to see if he had a gun.
A．searched B．searched for C．in search of D．looked for
高一英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
They went out to sea the missing treasure.
A．search for B．search C．in search of D．to search
高一英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
--Why are they _____ the forest?
--They are _____ a thief.
A．searching; searching B．searching for; searching
C．searching; searching for D．searching for; searching for
高一英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析