Level 3 Reading 2A

Ch.3

第3章

Reading 2A WHAT IS 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. On the other side of the globe, the ancient Maya of Central America considered crossed eyes beautiful, and hung little balls between children's eyes to develop this look. In 18th-century France, wealthy noblemen wore large wigs of long white hair to make themselves attractive. In cultures throughout the world, people have gone to extreme lengths to achieve beauty. Today, people continue to devote a lot of time and money to their appearance. According to a recent report, one out of three consumers globally say they are spending more money on beauty and health-care products than ever before. Worldwide, sales of makeup, dieting, hair- and skin-care products— as well as gym memberships and cosmetic surgery—generate billions of dollars every year. And 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 perceived as friendlier. But what exactly is beauty? Trying to define it is difficult, and yet we know it when we see it—or so we think. "Beauty is health," says one psychologist. "It's a billboard saying, 'I'm healthy. I can pass on your genes.'" 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 in 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.

阅读2A 什么是美？ 对美的追求跨越了几个世纪和大陆。 可以追溯到4000多年前的埃及人画作显示，男性和女性都在涂指甲和化妆。 在地球的另一边，中美洲的古代玛雅人认为交叉的眼睛很美， 并在孩子们的眼睛之间挂上小球来塑造这种外观。 在18世纪的法国，富有的贵族戴着白色长发的大假发来吸引人。 在世界各地的文化中，人们不遗余力地追求美丽。 如今，人们继续为自己的外表投入大量的时间和金钱。 根据最近的一份报告，全球三分之一的消费者 他们表示，他们在美容和保健产品上的支出比以往任何时候都多。 全球范围内，化妆品、节食、护发和护肤产品的销售-- 以及健身房会员资格和整容手术——每年创造数十亿美元的收入。 想要有吸引力至少有一个很好的理由：美丽就是力量。 研究表明，长相好看的人赚的钱更多，在课堂上被叫的次数更多， 并且被认为更友好。 但美究竟是什么？ 试图定义它是困难的，但当我们看到它时，我们就知道了——或者说我们是这么认为的。 一位心理学家说：“美丽就是健康。”。 “这是一块广告牌，上面写着，‘我很健康。我可以传递你的基因。’” 我们对它的认识可能在很小的时候就开始了。 在一组研究中，六个月大的婴儿被展示了一系列照片。 一群大学生对照片中的面孔进行了吸引力评分。 在这些研究中，婴儿花在看有吸引力的脸上的时间比看没有吸引力的脸的时间多。

The idea that even babies judge appearance makes perfect sense to many researchers. In studies done by psychologists such as Victor Johnston at New Mexico State University and David Perrett at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, men regularly showed a preference for women with certain features: larger eyes, clear skin, fuller lips, and a smaller nose and chin. Another study suggests that 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. In other words, it's a fundamental part of human nature to look for these qualities in a mate. Not everyone agrees with this notion, however. "Our hardwiredness can be altered by all sorts of expectations—predominantly 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 in most Western fashion magazines, for example, and the women on the pages are thin. But is this the "perfect" body type for women worldwide? Douglas Yu, a biologist from Great Britain, and Glenn Shepard, an anthropologist at the University of California at Berkeley, say no. For them, what is considered beautiful is subjective and varies around the world. Yu and Shepard found in one study, for example, that native peoples in southeast Peru preferred shapes regarded as overweight in Western cultures. Take another example: In every culture, one's hairstyle sends a clear message. In the Huli culture of Papua New Guinea, men grow their hair long as a symbol of health and strength. Teenage boys in this culture learn from a young age to style and decorate their hair— a behavior more commonly associated with the opposite gender in many cultures. It is also the men in this culture who are the objects of beauty. For certain festivals and celebrations, men dress up and paint their faces. The more colorful a man is, the more masculine—and attractive—he is considered. For better or worse, beauty plays a role in our lives. But it is extremely difficult to define exactly what makes one person attractive to another. Although there do seem to be certain physical traits that are considered universally appealing, it is also true that beauty does not always conform to a single, uniform standard. In the end, beauty really is, as the saying goes, in the eye of the beholder.

对于许多研究人员来说，即使是婴儿也能判断外表的想法是完全有道理的。 新墨西哥州立大学的Victor Johnston等心理学家所做的研究 苏格兰圣安德鲁斯大学的David Perrett， 男性经常表现出对具有某些特征的女性的偏好： 眼睛更大，皮肤更透明，嘴唇更丰满，鼻子和下巴更小。 另一项研究表明，女性更喜欢肩膀大、腰围窄的男性。 根据科学家的说法，大脑无意识地告诉男人和女人， 清爽的皮肤，强壮的肩膀——健康和基因健康同等重要。 换句话说，在伴侣身上寻找这些品质是人性的基本组成部分。 然而，并非所有人都同意这一观点。 “我们的固有性会因各种期望而改变，主要是文化期望。” 密歇根大学的人类学家C.洛林·布雷斯说。 在一种文化中被认为有吸引力的东西在另一种文化里可能没有。 例如，在大多数西方时尚杂志上，页面上的女性都很瘦。 但这是全世界女性的“完美”体型吗？ 来自英国的生物学家Douglas Yu和Glenn Shepard， 加州大学伯克利分校的一位人类学家说没有。 对他们来说，什么是美丽是主观的，在世界各地都有所不同。 Yu和Shepard在一项研究中发现， 秘鲁东南部的原住民更喜欢西方文化中被认为超重的形状。 再举一个例子：在每种文化中，一个人的发型都传递着一个明确的信息。 在巴布亚新几内亚的胡利文化中，男性留长发是健康和力量的象征。 在这种文化中，十几岁的男孩从小就学习如何设计和装饰头发-- 在许多文化中，这种行为通常与异性有关。 这种文化中的男人也是美的对象。 在某些节日和庆祝活动中，男人们会打扮并涂脸。 一个男人越丰富多彩，他就越有男子气概和吸引力。 无论好坏，美丽在我们的生活中都起着重要作用。 但很难准确定义是什么让一个人对另一个人有吸引力。 尽管某些身体特征似乎确实被认为具有普遍吸引力， 美并不总是符合一个单一的、统一的标准，这也是事实。 最后，正如俗话所说，美真的在旁观者的眼中。

♪

♪