54. It can be inferred from the passage that people's views on beauty are often      

      A. practical     B. supportive      C. old-fashioned    D. one-sided

53. Bowman's experiment shows that when it comes to polities, attractiveness        

      A. turns out to be a disadvantage to men

      B. is more of a disadvantage than an advantage to women

      C. affects men and women alike

      D. has as little effect on men as on women

52. In traditionally female jobs, attractiveness       

      A. makes women look more honest and capable

      B. strengthens the feminine qualifies required

      C. is of no importance to women

      D. often enables women to succeed quickly

51. The word "liability" most probably means        

    A. disadvantage     B. advantage         C. misfortune        D. trouble

50. B 推断题。根据最后一句话中的the husband accepting a greater share of the duties可以推出，现代家庭里，丈夫会帮助他的妻子做家务活。

C

      Beauty has always been regarded as something praiseworthy. Almost everyone thinks attractive people are happier and healthier, have better marriages and have more respectable jobs. Personal advisors give them better advice for finding jobs. Even judges are softer on attractive defendants. But in the executive circle, beauty can become a liability.

     While attractiveness is a positive factor for a man on his way up the executive ladder, it is harmful to a woman.

     Handsome male executives were considered as having more honesty than plainer men; effort and ability were thought to lead to their success.

     Attractive female executives were considered to have less honesty than unattractive ones; their success was connected not with ability but with factors such as luck.

     All unattractive women executives were thought to have more honesty and to be more capable than the attractive female executives. Interestingly, though, the rise of the unattractive overnight successes was connected more to personal relationships and less to ability than that of the attractive overnight successes.

     Why are attractive women not thought to be able? An attractive woman is considered to be more feminine and an attractive man more manly than the less attractive ones. Thus, an attractive woman has an advantage in traditionally' female jobs, but an attractive woman in a traditionally manly position appears to lack the "manly" qualities required.

     This is true even in politics. "When the only clue is how he or she looks, people treat men and women differently," says Anne Bowman, who recently published a study on the effects of attractiveness on political candidates. She asked 125 undergraduate students to rank two groups of photographs, one of men and one of

women, ir o_nler of attractiveness. The students were told the photographs were of candidates for political offices. They were asked to rank them again, in the order they would vote for them.

     The results showed that attractive males completely defeated unattractive men, but the women who had ranked most attractive unchangeably received the fewest votes.

49. D 细节题。从第二段的more married women stay at work at least until shortly before their first child is born可以知道如今很多妇女坚持工作直到生养第一个孩子。

48. C 推断题。由Very many more afterwards return to full or part-time work可以推出妇女在生活后期回到工作岗位日渐普遍。同时可结合上下文相应文句，不难发现其它选项的不合理之处。

47. A推断题。根据第一段中对十九世纪和二十世纪妈妈的年龄，就业等情况的对比中不难推出the woman of today may take a job的一个原因是is younger when her children are old enough to look after themselves。

46. A 细节题。从第一段的of whom four or five lived till they were five years old可知，七八个孩子中有四个或五个可能在五岁之前就死了。

50. Now a husband probably        .

      A. plays a greater part in looking after the children

      B. helps his wife by doing more of the housework

      C. feels dissatisfied with his part in the family

      D. takes a part-time job so that he can help in the home

本文主要论述了二十世纪女性与十九世纪女性相比，在结婚，生子和工作等方面所发生的巨大改变。