46. What do we learn about American society from the first paragraph?
- A. It sees lots of personal income wasted on beauty products.
- B. It considers one's physical appearance very important.
- C. It places a high value on the physical fitness of stars.
- D. It expects every individual to look their very best.
答案：B
答案句：Our society places a high value on physical beauty. Americans spend an average of over $722 each year on their appearance. One in ten Americans has tried to look like a star.
参考译文：我们的社会高度重视外在美。美国人平均每年花费超过722美元用于外表。十分之一的美国人曾试图看起来像明星。
定位线索：题干“from the first paragraph”→答案句取自第1段“Our society places a high value on physical beauty”；文中“places a high value on physical beauty”对应选项B“considers one's physical appearance very important”。
解析：题干问从第一段了解到美国社会的什么情况。答案句首句直接点明“Our society places a high value on physical beauty”，即社会高度重视外在美，与选项B“认为外表非常重要”同义转述。选项A“大量个人收入浪费在美容产品上”无中生有，文中只提到花费金额未说浪费；选项C“重视明星的身体健康”偷换概念，文中说的是“look like a star”而非健康；选项D“期望每个人都看起来最好”范围扩大，文中只说“tried to look like a star”，未涉及期望所有人。
47. What happens when people strive to look better?
- A. They have to get prepared for resentment and bitter court battles.
- B. They are better able to gain attention, love, and personal connection.
- C. They may neglect to cultivate the inner qualities that matter more.
- D. They feel much of their precious time, energy and resources is wasted.
答案：C
答案句：Many of us spend far too much time, energy, and money trying to polish an image of what we think will bring attention, love, and connection. In the process, we may fail to attend to ourselves in a way that would move us toward deeper intimacy, fulfillment, and meaning.
参考译文：我们许多人花费过多的时间、精力和金钱去打磨一个我们认为会带来关注、爱和联系的形象。在这个过程中，我们可能无法以能让我们走向更深层次的亲密、满足和意义的方式来关照自己。
定位线索：题干“strive to look better”→答案句“trying to polish an image”；文中“fail to attend to ourselves”对应选项C“neglect to cultivate the inner qualities”。
解析：题干问人们努力变好看时会发生什么。答案句指出人们花大量时间精力打磨形象，过程中“fail to attend to ourselves”，即忽视了对内在的关照，与选项C“可能忽视培养更重要的内在品质”对应。选项A“必须为怨恨和官司做准备”答非所问，那是第三段关于明星的例子；选项B“更能获得关注、爱和联系”与原文相反，原文说“think will bring”，是主观认为而非事实；选项D“感觉时间精力资源被浪费”无中生有，原文未提“感觉浪费”。
48. What does the author say about outer beauty?
- A. It may be inherited or cultivated.
- B. It may lead to bad as well as good habits.
- C. It may create connection or isolation.
- D. It may do as much harm as good.
答案：D
答案句：Outer beauty can be as much of a curse as a blessing. We may develop a habit of being so focused on maintaining a perfect appearance that we never cultivate the inner qualities necessary to sustain and deepen intimacy and connection.
参考译文：外在美既可能是祝福也可能是诅咒。我们可能养成一种习惯，如此专注于维持完美的外表，以至于从不培养维持和加深亲密与联系所必需的内在品质。
定位线索：题干“outer beauty”→答案句“Outer beauty can be as much of a curse as a blessing”；文中“as much of a curse as a blessing”对应选项D“do as much harm as good”。
解析：题干问作者对外在美的看法。答案句首句明确说“Outer beauty can be as much of a curse as a blessing”，即外在美既是祝福也是诅咒，与选项D“可能带来同样多的好处和坏处”直接对应。选项A“可以遗传或培养”无中生有，原文未提遗传；选项B“可能导致好习惯和坏习惯”偷换概念，原文说的是“curse”和“blessing”而非习惯；选项C“可能创造联系或孤立”范围缩小，原文强调的是内在品质的缺失，而非联系或孤立。