2017托福阅读理解：性格影响外表

对于托福考生来说，想要取得比较理想的成绩，阅读理解是关键之一。下面，小编就为大家送上一篇托福阅读理解文章。

if you exhibit positive traits such as honesty and helpfulness， the chances are that you will be perceived as a good looking person， for a new study has found that the perception of physical attractiveness is influenced by a person's personality.

the study， led by gary w. lewandowski， jr， found that people who exhibit negative traits， such as unfairness and rudeness， appear to be less physically attractive to observers.

in the study， the participants viewed photographs of opposite-sex individuals and rated them for attractiveness before and after being provided with information on personality traits.

after personality information was received， participants also rated the desirability of each individual as a friend and as a dating partner.

information on personality was found to significantly alter perceived desirability， showing that cognitive processes modify judgments of attractiveness.

"perceiving a person as having a desirable personality makes the person more suitable in general as a close relationship partner of any kind，" said lewandowski.

the findings show that a positive personality leads to greater desirability as a friend， which leads to greater desirability as a romantic partner and， ultimately， to being viewed as more physically attractive.

the findings remained consistent regardless of how "attractive" the individual was initially perceived to be， or of the participants' current relationship status or commitment level with a partner.

what would you think of this lady's physical attractiveness if she exhibited bad personal traits?

"this research provides a more positive alternative by reminding people that personality goes a long way toward determining your attractiveness; it can even change people's impressions of how good looking you are，" said lewandowski.

附：如何在阅读理解中精读词?

单词量不够一直是很多考生阅读时遇到的障碍之一。考生除了通过背词汇书提高词汇量之外，也可以利用托福阅读文章来积累新词汇。具体该如何操作呢?首先，考生将一篇托福阅读文章中不认识的单词划出来，标上序号，然后整理到笔记本上。整理完成后，很多考生自然会想到通过查阅词典来记录单词的意思。事实上，考生在精读时，不要过分依赖词典，而是多尝试练习猜词的方法，这样真正上考场时，考生遇到生词不会过分紧张。具体来说，在查阅词典之前，考生应该先根据单词所在的上下文语境猜测单词的含义，然后再通过查阅词典来进行核实，最后将正确含义记录在笔记本上。

是不是所有自己不认识的`单词都需要仔细背诵呢?当然不是。托福阅读文章具有多学科的特点，所以，势必会有很多学科词汇是考生所不认识的，对于专业的学科词汇，考生只要做到识记含义即可，比如，perennial (多年生植物)、biennial (两年生植物)、annual (一年生植物)等植物学词汇。那么，哪些词汇是必须认真背诵与掌握的呢?简单地说，就是那些影响考生理解句子的单词。以下面这个例句为例。

Papermaking spread quickly to Egypt—and eventually to Sicily and Spain—but it was several centuries before paper supplantedparchment for copies of the Koran, probably because of the conservative nature of religious art and its practitioners. (TPO 34 “Islamic Art and the Book”)

大部分考生在精读这句话时会查阅这四个划线的单词，其中Koran表示伊斯兰教中的《古兰经》，这一专有名词考生只作基本了解即可，因为考生即使不认识这个单词，也不会干扰对句子的理解。而其余的三个单词supplant (取代)、parchment (羊皮卷)、conservative (保守的)都会妨碍考生对原句的理解，如果考生不认识这些单词，就会很难理解出句子的意思为“经过多个世纪之后，纸张才取代羊皮卷用来抄写某个东西”这个关键信息，也会不明白because of后面提及的原因究竟是什么。从词性的角度来说，影响句子理解的单词一般是动词和形容词，因为它们通常透露着原句的重要细节。从托福阅读考试来说，动词和形容词也是词汇题比较“青睐”的考查对象。

此外，考生还可以从托福阅读文章中积累写作中可以用到的单词或词组。以下面例句为例。

In the wake of the Roman Empire’s conquest of Britain in the first century A.D., a large number of troops stayed in the new province, and these troops had a considerable impact on Britain with their camps, fortifications (碉堡), and participation in the local economy. (TPO 19 “The Roman Army’s Impact on Britain”)

考生可能不认识considerable，查阅后会知道它意为“相当大的;重要的”，那么have a considerable on sth.就表示“对……产生重大影响”，这个词组在很多写作话题中都可以使用，考生可以将其作为写作表达积累起来，比如，考生要表达“阅读对人的性格产生着重大影响”的含义，则可以说：“Reading books has a considerable impact on people’s characters.”

精读词汇的最后一步就是在笔记本上把那些需要重点记忆的单词用荧光笔再次强调突出，然后多花时间进行重点背诵和记忆。