unit02 MIrror Miracle 镜子的魔力

unit02 Mirror Miracle镜子的魔力

We are all more obsessed¹ with our appearance than we like to admit. Concern about appearance is quit normal and understandable. Attractive people have distinct advantages in our society. Studies show:

Attractive children are more popular, both with classmates and teachers. Teachers give higher evaluations² to the work of attractive children and have higher expectations of them.

Attractive applicants³ have a better chance of getting jobs, and of receiving higher salaries. One US study found that taller men earned around $600 per inch more than shorter excutives a month. In court, attractive people are found guilty less often. When found guilty, they receive less severe sentences.

We also believe in the “What is beautiful is good” stereo-type—a deep-rooted belief that physically⁴ attractive people possess other desirable characteristics such as intelligence, competence⁵, social skills and confidence—even moral virtue⁶. The good fairy princess is always beautiful; the wicked stepmother is always ugly.

It is not surprising that physical attractiveness is of overwhelming importance to us.

Every period of history has its own standards of what is beautiful, and every contemporary society has its own distinctive⁷ concept of the ideal physical features. In the 19th century being beautiful meant wearing a corset—causing breathing problems. Now we try to diet and exercise ourselves into the fashionable shape—often with even more serious consequences. But although we resemble our ancestors in our concern about appearance, there is a difference in the degree of concern. Advances in technology and in particular the rise of the mass media have caused normal concerns about how we look to become obsessions⁸. How? There are 3 reasons:

Thanks to media, we’ve become accustomed to extremely rigid⁹ and uniform standards of beauty.

TV, billboards¹⁰ and magazines mean that we see “beautiful people” all the time, more often than our own family members, making exceptional good looks seem real, normal and attainable¹².

Standards of beauty have become harder and harder to attain¹¹. The media ideal of thinness for women is achievable by less than 5% of the female population.

Even atttractive people may not be looking in the mirror out of vanity, but out of insecurity. We forget that there were disadvantages to being attractive: attractive people are under much greater pressure to maintain appearance.

1 obsessed   

adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的

参考例句：

• He's obsessed by computers. 他迷上了电脑。
• The fear of death obsessed him throughout his old life. 他晚年一直受着死亡恐惧的困扰。

2 evaluations   

估价( evaluation的名词复数 )； 赋值； 估计价值； [医学]诊断

参考例句：

• In fact, our moral evaluations are merely expressions of our desires. 事实上，我们的道德评价只是我们欲望的表达形式。 来自哲学部分
• Properly speaking, however, these evaluations and insights are not within the concept of official notice. 但准确地讲，这些评估和深远见识并未包括在官方通知概念里。

3 applicants   

申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
• He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。

4 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

5 competence   

n.能力，胜任，称职

参考例句：

• This mess is a poor reflection on his competence.这种混乱情况说明他难当此任。
• These are matters within the competence of the court.这些是法院权限以内的事。

6 virtue   

n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力

参考例句：

• He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
• You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。

7 distinctive   

adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的

参考例句：

• She has a very distinctive way of walking.她走路的样子与别人很不相同。
• This bird has several distinctive features.这个鸟具有几种突出的特征。

8 obsessions   

n.使人痴迷的人（或物）( obsession的名词复数 )；着魔；困扰

参考例句：

• 95% of patients know their obsessions are irrational. 95％的病人都知道他们的痴迷是不理智的。 来自辞典例句
• Too often you get caught in your own obsessions. 所以你时常会沉迷在某个电影里。 来自互联网

9 rigid   

adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的

参考例句：

• She became as rigid as adamant.她变得如顽石般的固执。
• The examination was so rigid that nearly all aspirants were ruled out.考试很严，几乎所有的考生都被淘汰了。

10 billboards   

n.广告牌( billboard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Large billboards have disfigured the scenery. 大型告示板已破坏了景色。 来自辞典例句
• Then, put the logo in magazines and on billboards without telling anyone what it means. 接着我们把这个商标刊在杂志和广告看板上，却不跟任何人透漏它的涵意。 来自常春藤生活英语杂志-2006年4月号

11 attain   

vt.达到，获得，完成

参考例句：

• I used the scientific method to attain this end. 我用科学的方法来达到这一目的。
• His painstaking to attain his goal in life is praiseworthy. 他为实现人生目标所下的苦功是值得称赞的。

12 attainable   

a.可达到的，可获得的

参考例句：

• They set the limits of performance attainable. 它们确定着可达到的运行限度。
• If objectives are to be meaningful to people, they must be clear, attainable, actionable, and verifiable. 如果目标对人们是具有意义的，则目标必须是清晰的，能达到的，可以行动的，以及可供检验的。