阅读理解
Beauty has always been regarded as something praiseworthy. Almost everyone thinks attractive people are happier and healthier, have better marriages and have more respectable occupations. Personal consultants give them better advice for finding jobs. Even judges are softer on attractive defendants (被告). But in the executive circle, beauty can become a liability. While attractiveness is a positive factor for a man on his way up the executive ladder, it is harmful to a woman. Handsome male executives were perceived as having more integrity than plainer men; effort and ability were thought to account for their success. Attractive female executives were considered to have less integrity 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 integrity and to be more capable than the attractive female executives. Interestingly, though, the rise of the unattractive overnight successes was attributed more to personal relationships and less to ability than was that of attractive overnight successes. Why are attractive women not thought to be able? An attractive woman is perceived 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. "When the only clue is how he or she looks, people treat men and women differently," says Ann Bowman, who recently published a study on the effects of attractiveness on political candidates. She asked 125 undergraduates 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 to rank them again, in the order they would vote for them. The results showed that attractive males utterly defeated unattractive men, but the women who had been ranked most attractive invariably received the fewest votes.
单选题31.The word "liability" (Paragraph 1) most probably means "______."
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】根据题干定位至原文第一段最后一句：But in the executive circle，beauty can become a liability．要对liability有准确的、符合上下文的猜测，一定不要忽略本句的第一个单词But，因为这个单词既提示了作者的观点，也对liability这个词的意思有了本质上的提醒。即它的意思一定要与前文对beauty的评价截然相反。本段第一句Beauty has always been regarded as something praiseworthy．中，praiseworthy是说美貌是令人称赞的，之后又举例说明美貌给人带来的好处。所以利用逻辑不难推断出liability就是这些意思的反面，即“缺点”，故选项[C]正确。
【答案解析】根据题干信息定位至第四段第三句：Thus，an attractive woman has an advantage in traditionally female jobs，文章的第二、第三段都在详细描述美貌给female executives带来的困扰。再结合对本句的理解，不难发现只有选项[A]符合题意。即美貌强化了传统职业中人们对女性特质的认识。选项[B]、[C]和[D]都没有明确提及，属于干扰项。
单选题33.Bowman's experiment reveals that when it comes to politics,attractiveness______.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】本题的关键信息词Bowman’s experiment虽然在文章第五段才出现，但是第四段中已经把有吸引力的容貌对于男女的不同作用充分表达了，而第五段第一句告诉我们：This is true even in politics．所以无论是从第四段中获取信息，还是看第五段都会得到同样的观点，即有吸引力的容貌对于女性的影响远比男性复杂。在政治层面容貌的优势反而成为阻碍，即选项[D]所表达的内容。
单选题34.It can be inferred from the passage that people's views on beauty are often______.