英语听力精选进阶版 6384

As the old saying goes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder¹. But Venezuela, whose beauty queens have won Miss Universe and Miss World over six times, doesn't leave it to chance and girls as young as four can be found attending beauty schools.

There they can learn a range of skills from how to strut² down the catwalk, to the correct way to hold a wine glass.

"Hair must always be completely clean, make-up should look natural, and you should always, always wear high-heels," advises Andrea Reyes, a teacher in a school in the suburbs of Caracas with 160 students.

Beauty pageants⁴ are treated in Venezuela much as sporting competitions are elsewhere. Many young Venezuelan girls are groomed⁵ to compete as parents believe that if they can succeed and get the beauty crown, their future as celebrities⁶ and public figures is assured.

Among former beauty queens are Irene Saez, who went on to compete for the country's presidency⁷, and Eva Ekvall, whose battle with breast cancer helped to raise public consciousness about the illness in Venezuela.

But the apparent obsession⁸ with beauty has faced some opposition⁹. On one occasion, a feminist¹⁰ group protest interrupted the Miss Venezuela broadcast and President Hugo Chavez has spoken out against the culture of plastic surgery in Venezuela, calling breast enlargements a "monstrous¹¹ thing".

The BBC reporter Sarah Grainger says that acceptance of the contests is partly a result of the country's 'machista' (meaning macho) view of rigid¹² traditional gender¹³ roles, ''where men are supposed to be strong and brave and women to be gentle and delicate''.

Miss Universe 1996, Alicia Machado, knows the price to be paid when you're no longer seen as attractive. After winning the beauty contest, she said all she wanted to do was "eat, eat and eat". Her subsequent weight gain and threat by the organizers of the pageant³ to replace her as queen with the runner-up was the subject of intense media scrutiny¹⁴, particularly in Latin America.

Quiz 测验

How old are the youngest students at Venezuela's beauty schools?

The girls can be as young as four years old.

What's the advice given by a teacher in Caracas to her students?

Teacher Andrea Reyes advises that students' hair must be clean, their make-up should look natural and they should always wear high-heels.

Is the following statement true, false or not given? Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez has spoken out against beauty contests.

Not given. The article only tells us that he has criticised the culture of plastic surgery in the country.

Look at the article. What word is used to refer to the contestant¹⁵ who comes in second place?

Runner-up.

What expressions are used in the article to refer to people who are well known in their country?

Celebrities and public figures.

Glossary 词汇表

beauty is in the eye of the beholder 情人眼里出西施

beauty queen 选美冠军

to leave (something) to chance 听天由命

to strut down the catwalk 走时装秀

make-up 化妆

high-heels 高跟鞋

beauty pageant 选美比赛

groomed 受培训

public figure 公众人物

to raise public consciousness 提高公众意识

to speak out 大声讲

plastic surgery 整形手术

breast enlargement 隆胸手术

macho 有男子气概的

gender roles 男女角色

attractive 有魅力的

weight gain 体重增加

runner-up 亚军

1 beholder   

n.观看者，旁观者

参考例句：

• Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. 看起来觉得美就是美。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It has been said that art is a tryst, for in the joy of it maker and beholder meet. 有人说艺术是一种幽会，因为艺术家和欣赏者可在幽会的乐趣中相遇在一起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 strut   

v.肿胀，鼓起；大摇大摆地走；炫耀；支撑；撑开；n.高视阔步；支柱，撑杆

参考例句：

• The circulation economy development needs the green science and technology innovation as the strut.循环经济的发展需要绿色科技创新生态化作为支撑。
• Now we'll strut arm and arm.这会儿咱们可以手挽着手儿，高视阔步地走了。

3 pageant   

n.壮观的游行；露天历史剧

参考例句：

• Our pageant represented scenes from history.我们的露天历史剧上演一幕幕的历史事件。
• The inauguration ceremony of the new President was a splendid pageant.新主席的就职典礼的开始是极其壮观的。

4 pageants   

n.盛装的游行( pageant的名词复数 )；穿古代服装的游行；再现历史场景的娱乐活动；盛会

参考例句：

• It is young people who favor holding Beauty pageants. 赞成举办选美的是年轻人。 来自互联网
• Others say that there's a fine line between the pageants and sexual exploitation. 其他人说，选美和性剥削之间只有非常细微的界线。 来自互联网

5 groomed   

v.照料或梳洗（马等）( groom的过去式和过去分词 )；使做好准备；训练；（给动物）擦洗

参考例句：

• She is always perfectly groomed. 她总是打扮得干净利落。
• Duff is being groomed for the job of manager. 达夫正接受训练，准备当经理。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

7 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

8 obsession   

n.困扰，无法摆脱的思想(或情感)

参考例句：

• I was suffering from obsession that my career would be ended.那时的我陷入了我的事业有可能就此终止的困扰当中。
• She would try to forget her obsession with Christopher.她会努力忘记对克里斯托弗的迷恋。

9 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

10 feminist   

adj.主张男女平等的，女权主义的

参考例句：

• She followed the feminist movement.她支持女权运动。
• From then on,feminist studies on literature boomed.从那时起，男女平等受教育的现象开始迅速兴起。

11 monstrous   

adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的

参考例句：

• The smoke began to whirl and grew into a monstrous column.浓烟开始盘旋上升，形成了一个巨大的烟柱。
• Your behaviour in class is monstrous!你在课堂上的行为真是丢人！

12 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。

13 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

14 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

15 contestant   

n.竞争者，参加竞赛者

参考例句：

• The company will furnish each contestant with a free ticket.公司将为每个参赛者免费提供一张票。
• The personal appearance and interview of the contestant is another count.参加比赛者的个人仪表和谈话也是一项。