Question

    Ten years ago, a typical patient at my plastic surgery clinic in McLean, Va., was 47 or 48. They generally wanted to look like a younger version of themselves. This might mean a face or neck lift, eyelid lifts, a skin-resurfacing procedure or Botox (肉毒杆菌) injections. ''What do you recommend? '' they'd ask. This is the kind of work I am expecting to do, and these are the consultations I am expecting to give.

Today, my average patient, according to my office records, is 38 or 39. They'll come in with a specific ''flaw'' on their faces and often know exactly what procedure they want. They are pretty sure that their noses are too big, their chins are too large, or their eyebrows appear dull. And these patients are much less realistic about what I can achieve. They will ask for Kim Kardashian's nose, even if their facial structure looks nothing like hers.

There’s a reason for this rapid and radical change: selfies. The self-taken photograph is greatly attacking the confidence of many younger people. They come to my offices, show me their selfies and point to a defect on their faces, which is a totally normal shape to me. Often they will have already searched online till they’ve found someone with a similar “issue” who fixed it with surgery. Once, a 20-year-old, having studied countless images of herself and searched hundreds of pictures of the ideal looks she wanted, said she needed a facelift. But to me, no 20-year-old needs a facelift.

Selfies also mislead people about how they look. Smartphone cameras get better each year, but photos taken at arm’s length or closer often produce a ''fish eye'' effect: whatever's at the center of the photo is bigger, and things on the edge are smaller. A study published in JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery last year found that selfies make noses look 30 percent larger than they are.

A survey done by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons last year found that social media was driving more plastic surgery requests than any other social influence: more than TV, movies or magazines. People are spending more time looking at themselves, in an online environment where comparisons with others seem inevitable. Academic psychologist Brian Feinstein, who studied a sample of 268 college-age adults, has found that the more people use social media, the more they reflect on their own supposed drawbacks, and therefore causes self-confidence to drop.

1.Why did the author's typical patients want plastic surgery ten years ago?

A.They were recommended to do so.

B.They were unsatisfied with the faces they were born with.

C.They’d like to look younger than they really were.

D.The author expected them to do so.

2.What can we know about Kim Kardashian?

A.She is a patient of the author's.

B.She is a model who has a beautiful nose.

C.She is a doctor of plastic surgery.

D.She is a fan of plastic surgery.

3.What can we learn from Paragraph four?

A.Smartphone cameras can help people take better selfies.

B.Smartphone cameras make people look at their selfies through a fish eye.

C.People usually take photos at arm's length or closer.

D.Smartphone cameras make people's faces in a selfie unreal.

4.Which of the following would be the best title of the passage?

A.Selfies Are Weakening Self-confidence.

B.Young People Like to Take Selfies.

C.More People Are Getting Plastic Surgery.

D.People Like to Look Better in Selfies.

Answer

1.C

2.B

3.D

4.A

【解析】

这是一篇议论文。现在选择整形手术的人越来越多，且年龄趋于年轻化，究其根本原因是使用智能手机自拍，让我们看到了不真实的自己，放大了自己的面部缺陷，从而导致自信下降。

1.细节理解题。根据文章第一段的They generally wanted to look like a younger version of themselves. (总体上，她们想要看起来像年轻时候的自己)可知这些典型的病人来整形所的目的是想变得年轻。C. They'd like to look younger than they really were. (她们想要比实际上看起来年轻)符合以上说法，故选C项。

2.推理判断题。根据文章第二段的They will ask for Kim Kardashian's nose, even if their facial structure looks nothing like hers. (她们想要Kim Kardashian的鼻子，尽管她们的面部结构一点也不像她)可以推测Kim Kardashian很有可能是一个鼻子很好看的名人。B. She is a model who has a beautiful nose. (她是一个鼻子好看的模特)符合以上推测，故选B项。

3.细节理解题。根据文章第四段的Selfies also mislead people about how they look. (自拍会误导人们对自己长相的判断)和A study published in JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery last year found that selfies make noses look 30 percent larger than they are. (去年发表在AMA Facial Plastic Surgery上的一项研究发现，自拍让鼻子看起来比实际大30%。)可知自拍让我们看到一个不真实的自己。D. Smartphone cameras make people's faces in a selfie unreal. (智能手机的照相机让人们的脸在自拍里显得不真实)符合以上说法，故选D项。

4.主旨大意题。根据文章的主要内容，尤其是最后一段的Academic psychologist Brian Feinstein, who studied a sample of 268 college-age adults, has found that the more people use social media, the more they reflect on their own supposed drawbacks, and therefore causes self-confidence to drop. (学术心理学家Brian Feinstein研究了268名大学适龄成人，发现人们使用社交媒体越多，他们就越会反思自己被认为的缺陷，从而导致自信心下降)可知本文主要讲述越来越多人选择整形手术，其原因是使用智能手机自拍的次数越多，越让人对自己的面部缺陷感到不满。 A. Selfies Are Weakening Self-confidence. (自拍正在减弱人们的自信)可以作为本文的标题，故选A项。