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 Is the woman pictured on the right more attractive than the woman on the left? The photograph on the right was changed using a new "beauty making" computer program, which uses a mathematical formula involving 234 measurements of distances between facial features to get a theoretically more attractive version, while keeping the basic appearance of the face unchanged. Unlike changes done in fashion magazine photos, wrinkles were not smoothed and hair color was not changed. The program is the latest attempt to combine beauty and science, a subject that has drawn increasing academic interest in the last decade. Studies have shown there is surprising agreement among people of different cultures about what makes a face attractive. Most important is symmetry (匀称), along with youthfulness, skin smoothness and vivid eyes and hair color. Yet, like the many other scientific or mathematical attempts to define beauty, this software program raises complex and difficult questions about the understanding of beauty. "How can they prove something is more or less beautiful?" said Lois Banner, a history professor at Chicago University, who studies changing beauty standards. "There can never be a single standard of beauty because so much of it is culturally influenced." After viewing "before" and "after" photographs of different people, Banner said the original faces were more attractive. "Irregular beauty is the real beauty," said Banner, adding that attempts to measure beauty are driven by the media's efforts to define beauty and who is beautiful. Martina Eckstut, the woman whose photo was beautified for this article, said she was struck by how different she looked. "I think the 'after' picture looks great, but it doesn't really look like me at all." She added, "I would like to keep my original face." For centuries people have tried to define a universal ideal of beauty. "The first reaction we have to faces will be based on face symmetry." said Alexander Nehamas, a professor who has written about beauty. "But in real life we don't just see a face. We see faces as people express their emotions and ideas, and all those aspects of the face are essential to our deciding whether a face or a person is beautiful." |
| 1. How does the "beauty making" computer program work? |
| A. It changes the distances between facial features. B. It smoothes the skin and softens the color of the hair. C. It repairs imperfect facial appearance by using a mathematical formula. D. It replaces the original face with a similar one. |
| 2. According to Banner, ______. |
| A. there is no such thing as beauty B. irregular beauty is more attractive than symmetrical beauty in every culture C. the media is to blame for measuring beauty D. it is impossible to show that one thing is more beautiful than another |
| 3. After seeing her beautified photo, Martina Eckstut was ______. |
| A. shocked because her face looked ugly B. prefer to get her face changed although it didn't look like her at all C. amazed by the attractiveness but refused to change her face in reality D. confused by how different she looked and had no idea what to do |
| 4. Which of the following statements is TRUE? |
| A. Beauty lies in face symmetry. B. There is no single standard or definition of beauty. C. People of different cultures can hardly reach any agreement on beauty. D. Science should be used to help us create beauty. |
| 5. The purpose of the passage is to ______. |
| A. criticize the attempts to create artificial beauty B. introduce a beauty program and a discussion about beauty C. discuss what makes a person beautiful D. to encourage people to change their appearance |