英语沙龙：美的力量

The Power of Beauty

 

 

One of the most successful,

influential¹ and beloved women in American history,

Eleanor Roosevelt once said that she had one regret:

she wished she had been prettier.

Who hasn’t felt the same way?

We are all too aware of our physical imperfections.

To overcome them,

we spend billions upon billions of dollars every year on cosmetics²,

diet products, fashion, and plastic surgery.

Why do we care so much about how we look?

Because it matters.

Because beauty is powerful.

Because even when we learn to value people

mostly for being kind and wise and funny,

we are still moved by beauty.

No matter how much we argue against it or pretend to be immune,

beauty exerts its power over us.

There is simply no escape.

Aristotle said,

“Beauty is a greater recommendation than any letter of introduction.”

It’s not fair, but it’s true.

We simply treat beautiful people better than we do others.

Attach a photograph of a beautiful author to an essay,

and people will think that is more creative and more intelligently written

than exactly the same essay accompanied by the photo of a homely³ author.

Our sensitivity to physical beauty is not something we can control at will.

We are born with it.

Experiments conducted by psychologist Judith J. Langlois

showed that even small infants prefer to look at attractive faces.

Before they have met a single supermodel,

before they have watched a single TV show,

before they have opened up a single fashion magazine,

they are drawn⁴ to the same faces which adults have judged to be attractive.

There are more important things in life than beauty.

But as Etcoff says,

“We have to understand beauty, or we will always be enslaved by it.”

If you aim to be wise and kind and funny,

it doesn’t mean that you can’t also try your best to look beautiful.

There’s no reason to feel guilty about being moved by beauty’s power.

It moves us all.

1 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

2 cosmetics   

n.化妆品

参考例句：

• We sell a wide range of cosmetics at a very reasonable price. 我们以公道的价格出售各种化妆品。
• Cosmetics do not always cover up the deficiencies of nature. 化妆品未能掩饰天生的缺陷。

3 homely   

adj.家常的，简朴的；不漂亮的

参考例句：

• We had a homely meal of bread and cheese.我们吃了一顿面包加乳酪的家常便餐。
• Come and have a homely meal with us,will you?来和我们一起吃顿家常便饭，好吗？

4 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。