A few common misconceptions. Beauty is only skin-deep. One' s physical assets and liabilities don' t count all that much in a managerial career. A woman should always try to look her best.
Over the last 30 years, social scientists have conducted more than 1,000 studies of how we react to beautiful and not- so-beautiful people. The virtually unanimous conclusion: Looks do matter, more than most of us realize. The data suggest, for example, the physically attractive individuals are more likely to be treated well by their parents, sought out as friends, and pursued romantically. With the possible exception of women seeking managerial jobs they are also more likely to be hired, paid well, and promoted.
Un-American, you say, unfair and extremely unbelievable? Once again, the scientists have caught us mouthing pieties (虔诚) while acting just the contrary. Their typical experiment works something like this. They give each member of a group--college students, perhaps, or teachers or corporate personnel managers a piece of paper relating an individual' s accomplishments. Attached to the paper is a photograph. While the papers all say exactly the same thing the pictures are different. Some show a strikingly attractive person, some an average-looking character, and some an unusually unattractive human being. Group members are asked to rate the individual on certain attributes, anything from personal warmth to the likelihood that he or she will be promoted.
Almost invariably, the better looking the person in the picture, the higher the person is rated. In the phrase, borrowed from Sappho, that the social scientists use to sum up the common perception, what is beautiful is good.
In business, however, good looks cut both ways for women, and deeper than for men. A Utah State University professor, who is an authority on the subject, explains: In terms of their careers, the impact of physical attractiveness on males is only modest. But its potential impact on females can be tremendous, making it easier, for example, for the more attractive to get jobs where they are in the public eye. on another note, though, there is enough literature now for us to conclude that attractive women who aspire (追求) to managerial positions do not get on as well as who may be less attractive.
1. In "Beauty is only skin-deep", "skin-deep" can be replaced by______.
A. decorating B. superficial C. expressive D. demanding
2. "One's physical assets and liabilities don' t count all that much in a managerial career."(paral) can be interpretated as______.
A. whether or not one looks good or bad, it doesn' t affect much one' s managerial career
B. in one' s managerial career, he may deal with cases like assets and liabilities
C. in one' s managerial career, he may rarely deal with cases like assets and liabilities
D. whether or not one looks good or bad, it may affect much one' s managerial career
3. The result of research carried out by social scientists show that______.
A. people do not realize the importance of looking one' s best
B. women in pursuit of managerial jobs are not likely to be paid well
C. good -looking women aspire to managerial positions
D. attractive people generally have an advantage over those who are not
4. "Good looks cut both ways for women" (Para.5) means that______.
A. attractive women have tremendous potential impact on public job
B. good-looking women always get the best of everything
C. being attractive is not always an advantage for women
D. attractive women do not do as well as unattractive women in managerial positions
5. It can be inferred from the passage that in the business world______.
A. handsome men are not affected as much by their looks as attractive women are
B. physically attractive women who are in the public eye usually do quite well
C. physically attractive men and women who are in the public eye usually get along quite well
D. good looks are important for women as they are for men
Home stay provides English language students with the opportunity to speak English outside the classroom and the experience of being part of a British home.
What to Expect
The host will provide accommodation and meals. Rooms will be cleaned and bedcovers changed at least once a week. You will be given the house key and the host is there to offer help and advice as well as to take an interest in your physical and mental health.
Accommodation Zones
Home stays are located in London mainly in Zones2,3 and of the transport system. Most hosts do not live in the town centre as much of central London is commercial and not residential(居住的). Zones3 and 4often offer larger accommodation in a less crowned area. It is very convenient to travel in London by Underground.
Meal Plans Available
♢ Continental Breakfast21世纪教育网
♢ Breakfast and Dinner
♢ Breakfast, Packed Lunch and Dinner
It’s important to note that few English families still provide a traditional cooked breakfast. Your accommodation includes Continental Breakfast which normally consists of fruit juice, cereal（谷物类食品），bread and tea or coffee. Cheese, fruit and cold meat are not normally
part of a Continental Breakfast in England. Dinners usually consist of meat or fish with vegetables followed by desert, fruit and coffee.
Friends
If you wish to invite a friend over to visit. You must first ask your host’s permission. You have no right to entertain friends in a family home as some families feel it is an invasion of their privacy.
Self-Catering Accommodation in Private Homes
Accommodation on a room-only basis includes shared kitchen and bathroom facilities and often a main living room. This kind of accommodation offers an independent lifestyle and is more suitable for the long-stay student. However, it does not provide the same family atmosphere as an ordinary home stay and may not benefit those who need to practise English at home quite as much.
1. The passage is probably written for ____________.
A. host willing to receive foreign students
B. foreigners hoping to build British culture
C. travellers planning to visit families in London
D. English learners applying to like in English homes
2. Which of the following will the host provide?
Room cleaning.
Medical care.
Free transport.
Physical training.
3..What can be inferred from Paragraph3?
A. Zone 4 is more crowded than Zone 2.
B. The business centre of London is in Zone.
C. Hosts dislike travelling to the city centre.
D. Zone 2 is more crowded than Zone 4.
4. According to the passage. What does continental Breakfast include?
A. Dessert and coffee
B. Fruit and vegetables.
C. bread and fruit juice
D. Centre and cold meat.
5. Why do some people choose self-catering accommodation?
A. To experience a warmer family atmosphere.
B. To enrich their knowledge of English.
C. To entertain friends as they like.
D. To enjoy much more freedom.
People from East Asia tend to have more difficulty than those from Europe in distinguishing facial expressions — and a new report published online in Current Biology explains why.
Rachael Jack, University of Glasgow researcher, said that rather than scanning evenly(均匀的) across a face as Westerners do, Easterners fix their attention on the eyes.
"We show that Easterners and Westerners look at different face features to read facial expressions," Jack said. "Westerners look at the eyes and the mouth in equal measure, whereas Easterners favor the eyes and neglect (忽略) the mouth."
According to Jack and her colleagues, the discovery shows that human communication of emotion is more complex than previously believed. As a result, facial expressions that had been considered universally recognizable cannot be used to reliably convey emotion in cross-cultural situations.
The researchers studied cultural differences in the recognition of facial expressions by recording the eye movements of 13 Western Caucasian and 13 East Asian people while they observed pictures of. expressive faces and put them into categories: happy, sad, surprised, fearful, disgusted, angry, or neutral. They compared how accurately participants read those facial expressions using their particular eye movement strategies.
It turned out that Easterners focused much greater attention on the eyes and made significantly more errors than did Westerners. "The cultural difference in eye movements that they show is probably a reflection of cultural difference in facial expressions," Jack said. "Our data suggest that whereas Westerners use the whole face to convey emotion, Easterners use the eyes more and mouth less."
In short, the data show that facial expressions are not universal signals of human emotion. From here on, examining how cultural factors have diversified these basic social skills will help our understanding of human emotion. Otherwise, when it comes to communicating emotions across cultures, Easterners and Westerners will find themselves lost in translation.
1. The discovery shows that Westerners .
A. pay equal attention to the eyes and the mouth
B. consider facial expressions universally reliable
C. observe the eyes and the mouth in different ways
D. have more difficulty in recognizing facial expressions
2. What were the people asked to do in the study?
A. To make a face at each other. B. To get their faces impressive.
C. To classify some face pictures. D. To observe the researchers' faces.
3. What does the underlined word "they" in Paragraph 6 refer to?
A. The participants in the study.
B. The researchers of the study.
C. The errors made during the study.
D. The data collected from the study.
4. In comparison with Westerners, Easterners are likely to .
A. do translation more successfully
B. study the mouth more frequently
C. examine the eyes more attentively
D. read facial expressions more correctly
5. What can be the best title for the passage?
A. The Eye as the Window to the Soul
B. Cultural Differences in Reading Emotions
C. Effective Methods to Develop Social Skills
D. How to Increase Cross-cultural Understanding
Every year 2.2 million tons of oil are spilled ( 散落，溅出 ) into the ocean. Actually, this only amounts to a small percentage of the total 1.6 billion tons of oil shipped around the world each year.However, this spilled oil has terrible effects on ocean life, including the coastlines where the off washes up onto shore. Some of the largest spills in history were caused by oil tankers running into each other or by an oil tanker sailing into shallow water and hitting the bottom of the ocean. After these spills, officials try to discover who or what was at fault to help prevent similar accidents in the future.
One of the worst oil spills in history occurred along the Alaskan coastline in 1989. In this accident, 42,000 tons of oil spilled from a tanker which resulted in terrible damage to this sensitive natural area. In this spill, the tanker's captain, who was tired from overwork and drinking alcohol, had gone to take a rest. He gave control of the ship to the third mate. The third mate was unfamiliar with the path the ship took, and he ran the ship onto Blighe Reef. Blighe Reef is a natural underwater rock wall near the Alaskan coast. Damaged by the reef, the ship leaked oil out into the ocean. More than 1,600 kilometers of coastline were affected by the oil spill. Some scientists who studied nature in the area guessed that 580,000 birds and 5,500 otters died when the oil from the spill covered their skin. As well, smaller shellfish and other sea creatures were later eaten by seals, whales, and other animals.
The most oil ever spilled was actually dumped on purpose as an act of ecological warfare. The term ecological warfare means to fight by doing harm to nature in the area under attack. In 1990, Iraq sent soldiers into Kuwait and set off the Persian Gulf War. As part of the Iraq war plan,900,000 tons of oil were let out into the Persian Gulf Way Iraq. This oil covered 1,500 square kilometers of water in the Persian Gulf. The oil also damaged 650 kilometers of the coastline of both Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. In some places, oil floating on the water was measured to be 43 centimeters thick. Water birds, water plants, and baby fish were all seriously affected by the oil. The long-term effects of this act on the food chain in the area are bound to cause problems tar into the future.
1.Which cause of oil spills is described in the second paragraph?
A. Dumping B. War
C.Accidents D.Throwing about carelessly
2.The creatures affected by the oil spill near Alaska were_________.
A. birds and otters B. shellfish
C. seals and whales D. all of the above
3.The third mate ran the thanker agound (触礁) in this accident because_______.
A. he was tired B. he was drunk
C.he was talking on the phone D.he did not know the sea
4.________ was responsible for dumping oil into the Persian Gulf.
A.The United States B. Kuwait C .Saudi Arabia D. Iraq
When you consider what subject to study in college, chances are that you and your parents will think about what you can make out of it after graduation. You will likely ask the question: “Can I find a well-paid job or simply a job with a degree in this in the future?”
This consideration also influences students when they come to choose between studying science or humanities (人文学科) at college. People generally believe that the humanities, which include literature , history, cultural studies and philosophy, do not prepare students for a specific vocation (职业). Science subjects, however, are considered vocational courses that produce scientists, engineers and economists (经济学家).
“I've decided to take finance as my college major. My parents and I think this subject will help me get a good job or start a business,” said Huachen Yueru, 17, a science student at Wuxi No. 1 High School.
Even those who choose a liberal arts (文科) education often pick the humanities subject which they think will best help them later find a job.
“I'm going to study Spanish in college, which I believe will open doors to a high-paying job for me,” said Liu Chao, 18, a Senior 2 student at Dalian No 20 High School. He said few of his classmates show interest in subjects like philosophy and history, which are seen as “less promising” in job markets.
The popularity of liberal arts subjects among college students has also been decreasing in the United States. American scholars (学者) and universities are concerned that in the ongoing economic crisis (经济危机) liberal arts subjects will be hit hardest. As money tightens (紧缩), they worry that the humanities may become “a great luxury (奢侈品) that many cannot afford”, according to the New York Times.
1. When you consider what to study in college, what does you and your parents usually think about ?
A. whether you are interested in the subject.
B. if you can lead a happy life.
C. what you can make out of it after graduation.
D .How much you can learn in the college.
2.Why do students show little interest in the subjects, like philosophy or history ?
A .Because they are not interested in them.
B. Because they think these subjects are useless.
C. Because they see these subjects as less-promising in job market.
D. Because they like the science subjects.
3. What can we infer from the passage ?
A. Humanities are becoming less and less popular with the students.
B. Studying science subjects is sure to find a well-paid job.
C. The humanities in college should be cancelled.
D. The writer thinks those who choose the liberal arts education will choose their favorite subjects.
4. What does the underlined word “it” refer to in the first paragraph ?
A. the subject you study in college B. science C. humanities D. liberal arts
体裁：说明文 词数：326 难度系数：☆☆☆☆ 建议用时：8分钟
类别：细节理解+推理判断题+词义猜测题 本文标题 ：…Arts in crisis…
While small may be beautiful, tall is just plain uncomfortable it seems, particularly when it comes to staying in hotels and eating in restaurants.
The Tall Persons Club Great Britain (TPCGB), which was formed six months ago to campaign for the needs of the tall, has turned its attention to hotels and restaurants. Beds that are too small, showe heads that are too low, and restaurant tables with hardly any leg-room all make life difficult for those of above average height, it says.
But it is not just the extra-tall whose needs are not being met. The average night of the population has been increasing ye the standard size of beds, doorways, and chairs has remained unchanged.]
“The bedding industry says a bed should be six inches larger than the person using it, so even a king-size bed at 6′6″(6 feet and 6 inches) is falling short for 25% of men, while the standard 6′3″ bed caters for less than half of the male population.” Said TPCGB president Phil Heinricy, “seven-foot beds would work fine.”
Sililarly, restaurant tables can cause no end of problems. Small tables, which mean the long-legged have to sit a foot or so away from them, are enough to make tall customers go elsewhere.
Some have already taken note, however. At Queens Moat Houses′Caledoman Hotl in Edinburgh, 6′6″beds are now put in as standard after requests for longer beds from taller visitors, particularly Americans.
1. What is the purpose of the TPCGB campaign?
A. To provide better services.
B. To rebuild hotels and restaurants.
C. To draw public attention to the needs of the tall.
D. To attract more people to become its members.
2. Which of the following might be a bed of proper length according to Phil Heinricy?
A. 7′2″. B. 7′ C. 6′6″ D. 6′3″
3. What may happen to restaurants with small tables?
A. They may lose some customers.
B. They may start businesses elsewhere.
C. They have to find easy chairs to match the tables.
D. They have to provide enough space for the long-legged.
4.What change has already been made in a hotel in Edinburgh?
A. Tall people pay more for larger beds.
B. 6′6″beds have taken the place of 6′3″beds.
C. Special rooms are kept for Americans.
D. Guest rooms are standardized.
