复合题

There exists a common misconception in our daily life. 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, that 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.

Are Americans, you say, unfair and extremely unbelievable? Once again, the scientists have caught us mouthing pieties while acting just the contrary. Their typical experiment works something like this. They give each member of a group—college students, or teachers or corporate personnel mangers 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 women who may be less attractive.

单选题 According to the passage, people often wrongly believe that in pursuing a career as a manager_____.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】根据文章第一段“There exists a common misconception in our daily life. Beauty is only skin deep.”即人们错误地认为外表不重要。 B项与原文中的“One’s physical assets and liabilities don’t count all that much in a managerial career.”意思相同， 故选B。
单选题 The result of research carried out by social scientists show that _____.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】根据题干定位至文章第二段。 文中提到， “The data suggest that physically attractive individuals are more likely to be treated well by …they are also more likely to be hired, paid well, and promoted.”由此可知外貌吸引人的人更有优势， D项符合题意。
单选题 Experiments by scientists have shown that when people evaluate individuals on certain attributes _____.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】根据题干定位至文章第三段， 选项B与文中“the scientists have caught us mouthing pieties while acting just the contrary”对应， 故正确答案为B。
单选题 “Good looks cut both ways for women.” (Line 1, Para. 5) means that _____.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】文章第五段都是对题干所指内容的举例说明。 由末尾句可知， 职场中相貌出众的女性却很难与相貌平平的女性友好相处。 这是“good looks”的弊端， 由此可推断该句意为“相貌出众对于女性来说并不总是优势”， 故C正确。
单选题 It can be inferred from the passage that in the business world _____.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】根据文章最后一段“…the impact of physical attractiveness on males is only modest. But its potential impact on females can be tremendous…”可知A选项正确， D错误。 而根据“…making it easier for the more attractive to get jobs where they are in the public eye.”这里是指相貌出众让女性更易找到工作， B、 C选项对此理解有误。 故选A。