Section C
Paasage One
Questions 46 to 50 are based on the following passage.
Americans spend bilions of dollars each year trying to change their weight with diets, gym memberships and plastic surgery.
Trying to live uψ to the images of“perfect" models and movie heroes has a dark side: anxiety,depression, as well as unhealthy strategies for weight loss or muscle gain. It also has a fnancial cost.Having an eating disorder boosts arnual health care costs by nearly US $2 000 per person.
Why is there both extemal and internal pressure to look “ perfect"? One reason is that society rewards people who are thin and healthy-looking. Researchers have shown that body mass index is related to wages and income. especially for women, there is a clear penalty at work for being overweight or obese. Some studies have also found an impact for men, though a less noticeable one.
While the research literature is clear that labor market success is partly based on how employers and customers perceive your body image, no one had explored the other side of the question.Does a person's own perception of body image matter to earmings and other indicators of success in the workplace?
Our recently published study answered this question by tracling a large national random sarmple of Americans over a critical time period when bodies change from teenage shape into adult form and when people build their identities.
As in other research, women in our sample tend to over-perceive their weight they think they're heavier than they are- -while men tend to under-perceive theirs.
We found no relationship between the average person's self-perception of weight and labor market outcomes，although self-perceived weight can influence self- esteem, mental health and health behaviors.
While the continued gender penalty in the labor market is frustrating, our finding that misperceived weight does not harm workers is more heartening.
Since employers' perception of weight is what matters in the labor market,changing discrimination laws to include body type as a category would help. Michigan is the only state that prohibits discrimination on the basis of weight and height. We believe expanding such protections would make the labor market more fair and efficient.
46. What does the author say may have an adverse impact on people?
A) Undergoing plastic surgeries in pursuit of beauty.
B) Imitating the lifestyles of heroes and role models.
C) Striving to achieve perfection regardless of financial cost.
D) Attempting to meet society's expectation of appearance.
47. What have researchers found out about people's eamings?
A) They are closely related to people's social status.
B) They have to do with people's body weight and shape.
C) They seem to matter much less to men than to women.
D) They may not be equal to people's contributions.
48. What does the author's recent study focus on?
A) previous literature on indicators of competitiveness in the workplace.
B) Traits that matter most in one's pursuit of success in the labor market.
C) Whether self-perception of body image impacts one's workplace success.
D) How bosses' perception of body image impacts employees' advancement.
49. What is the finding of the author's recent research?
A) Being overweight actually does not do much harm to the overall well-being of employees.
B) People are not adversely affected in the workplace by false self-perception of body weight.
C) Self-esteem helps to combat gender inequality in the workplace.
D) Gender inequality continues to fnustrate a lot of female employees.
50. What does the author think would help improve the situation in the labor market?
A) Banning discrimination on the basis of employees' body image.
B) Expanding protection of women against gender discrimination.
C) Helping employees change their own perception of beauty.
D) Excluding body shape as a category in the labor contract.
答案解析：
由题干中的“have an adverse impact on people”定位到第二段。文中提到试图达到“完美”模特和电影英雄的形象有负面影响，包括焦虑、抑郁以及不健康的减肥或增肌策略，这是人们试图满足社会对外貌的期望所带来的，所以选D。
由题干中的“researchers found out about people's earnings”定位到第三段。文中指出研究人员表明体重指数与工资和收入相关，说明收入与人们的体重和体型有关，所以选B。
由题干中的“author's recent study focus on”定位到第四段。该段提出一个问题：一个人对自己身体形象的看法对收入和工作场所的其他成功指标是否重要，接着说明最近发表的研究回答了这个问题，即研究关注的是自我身体形象感知是否影响职场成功，所以选C。
由题干中的“finding of the author's recent research”定位到第七段和第八段。第七段提到没有发现平均人对体重的自我认知与劳动力市场结果之间的关系，第八段指出对体重的错误认知不会伤害工人，即人们不会因对身体体重的错误自我认知而在工作场所受到不利影响，所以选B。
由题干中的“author think would help improve the situation in the labor market”定位到最后一段。文中提到由于雇主对身体形象的看法在劳动力市场很重要，改变歧视法，将体型作为一个类别纳入其中会有帮助，还提到密歇根州是唯一禁止基于体重和身高歧视的州，作者认为扩大这种保护会使劳动力市场更加公平和高效，即禁止基于员工身体形象的歧视有助于改善劳动力市场状况，所以选A。
