Section C: Reading Comprehension
Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.
Passage One
Questions 46 to 50 are based on the following passage.
Imagine you're an alien sent to Earth to document the behaviour of the mammals inhabiting the planet. You stumble into a movie theatre that's showing the latest Hollywood horror film. Several dozen humans are gathered together in a dark, undecorated room. They're all staring at a rectangular area on which patterns of light change rapidly. They are clearly in a state of high arousal. Their heart rate is elevated, they occasionally glance around nervously, and they sometimes jump collectively in their seats, and emit high-pitched warning calls. Eventually, the lights come up and the rectangular screen goes black. The humans stand up and leave the room, chatting and laughing, and showing signs of pleasure.
Why do these humans voluntarily expose themselves to what appears to be a deeply unpleasant experience? And why do they react so strongly to those patterns of light on a screen? I am fascinated with the paradox of horror --- the strange fact that many people seek out scary entertainment. I think the answer to the puzzle lies in human nature. My research suggests that we humans evolved to find pleasure in situations that allow us to experience negative emotions in a safe context.
You can see these elements of horror in children's games. Take hide-and-seek for example, which is a simulation of a predator-prey interaction. The kid hides and the adult pretends to be a predator, searching for the child while howling like a dangerous beast. This simulation gives the child crucial information about how to avoid becoming prey, and children tend to find that kind of activity deeply satisfying, presumably because it gives them a safe experience of a potentially catastrophic scenario. They find it pleasurable, and pleasure is evolution's way of motivating us toward adaptive behaviour.
Horror is pleasurable to many people because it lets us play with negative emotions and develop coping strategies. We learn what it feels like to be truly afraid, and we learn how to handle negative emotion. How, then, does horror work? My research suggests that horror works by exploiting an ancient set of biological defence mechanisms --- an evolved fear system, which we share with other animals. But humans are uniquely imaginative, and we use our evolved imagination to travel into virtual worlds that are full of danger.
There are good reasons for watching a horror film, even if you're not a loyal horror fan. If you make it through the film in one piece, you'll probably experience a strong sense of mastery, a sense that you were able to make it through an appalling experience. Anyway, watching a horror film makes you better at handling your own fear, and who knows when that will become critically relevant?
46. The alien finds the audience in the movie theatre clearly in a state of
47. Why do many people seek out scary entertainment, according to the author's research?
48. What do children learn from hide-and-seek?
49. Why is horror gratifying to many people?
50. What will one experience if they watch a horror film through without being hurt?
Passage Two
Questions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.
An awakening has been taking place in the physical world against the beauty model that has been dictated to us for years. But in the digital arena, social media determines what is considered beautiful.
The two opposing struggles are taking place in parallel. In the physical world, the struggle goes against the underlying pressure exerted on women to conform to an unrealistic beauty ideal. As part of the struggle, various media outlets have presented women whose bodies don't correspond to the so-called ideal. All those women who had previously been excluded from the covers of magazines, television series and the public agenda, have become 'legitimate'. At the same time, a group of influencers have begun to upload to social media photos of themselves without makeup, and even photos in which they highlight supposed flaws.
Technology has reshaped our beauty ideal and is doing a great job communicating that message to the masses. One of the bizarre legacies of the past decade is the popularity of the 'cyborg look', which illustrates what Americans will look like in 2050.
The cyborg look spread rapidly. Today, however, the Instagram face has become the new beauty ideal. The internalization of accepted beauty norms is much more effective when there is active involvement in the learning process. The active involvement of users is reflected in the gamified interaction offered by the social media platforms --- the ability to like, write a comment, compare, share. Once the desired beauty ideal has been internalized, users are given tools or features to change their appearance to suit the accepted beauty ideal such as editing the image, choosing the ideal filter, the right background. A survey conducted in the United States revealed that more than 50% filter the images before posting them. And you will not be surprised to hear that the majority of them are women. One of the significant consequences of obsessive filtering is the emerging tendency to treat oneself as an object to be observed and valued, in the same way another person observes and judges from the side.
The effect of the filters is already far beyond amiable amusement. The filters and the entire game played on the networks affect the mental health of the users. According to a study, apps like Instagram, Snapchat and FaceTune allow users to achieve a level of perfection that was previously only observed in beauty magazines. Even though humanity has always cherished beauty, in the last decade our obsession with looks has reached an unprecedented peak. The time spent on social media creates an urge to achieve an impossible beauty ideal so powerful that the only thing that can fix it is not cosmetic intervention, but mental health care.
51. What do we learn about beauty in the digital arena?
52. What does the passage say about beauty in the physical world?
53. What do we learn from the passage about the Instagram face?
54. What has obsessive filtering resulted in?
55. What does the author want to emphasize at the end of the passage regarding Americans' obsession with looks?
Answers & Explanations
46. B。解析：第一段描述观众"heart rate is elevated（心率升高）""occasionally glance around nervously（偶尔紧张地环顾四周）""jump collectively in their seats（在座位上集体跳起）"，这是高度兴奋的状态，对应B项 extreme excitement。
47. B。解析：根据第三段"we humans evolved to find pleasure in situations that allow us to experience negative emotions in a safe context"，人们在安全的模拟环境中体验负面情绪时会感到愉悦。B项"find joy in going through simulated horrible experiences"与此一致。
48. A。解析：第四段明确指出"This simulation gives the child crucial information about how to avoid becoming prey"（这种模拟给了孩子关于如何避免成为猎物的关键信息），对应A。
49. C。解析：第五段"Horror is pleasurable... because it lets us play with negative emotions and develop coping strategies. We learn what it feels like to be truly afraid, and we learn how to handle negative emotion."说明恐怖片让人学会恐惧的感觉以及如何应对，对应C。
50. D。解析：最后一段"you'll probably experience a strong sense of mastery, a sense that you were able to make it through an appalling experience"，mastery意为掌控感、控制感，对应D"a strong sense of being in control"。
51. D。解析：首段最后一句"in the digital arena, social media determines what is considered beautiful"明确说明在数字领域，社交媒体决定了什么被视为美，对应D。
52. C。解析：第二段"the struggle goes against the underlying pressure exerted on women to conform to an unrealistic beauty ideal"，这是一场反对施加给女性的不切实际审美压力的斗争，对应C。
53. A。解析：第四段"Today, however, the Instagram face has become the new beauty ideal."直接说明Instagram面孔已变成新的审美标准，对应A。
54. C。解析：第四段末尾"One of the significant consequences of obsessive filtering is the emerging tendency to treat oneself as an object to be observed and valued"，痴迷使用滤镜导致将自身视为被观察与评估的客体，对应C。
55. B。解析：最后一段"the only thing that can fix it is not cosmetic intervention, but mental health care"，能解决对外貌痴迷的不是整容干预而是心理健康照护，即需要心理干预，对应B。
核心搭配与高分句型
【核心搭配与高频短语】
● in a state of high arousal：处于高度兴奋状态（描述生理反应的高级表达）
● emit high-pitched warning calls：发出高声调的警告叫声
● the paradox of horror：恐怖悖论（学术性核心概念）
● seek out scary entertainment：主动寻求恐怖娱乐
● predator-prey interaction：捕食者-猎物互动
● coping strategies：应对策略
● ancient set of biological defence mechanisms：一套古老的生物防御机制
● internalization of accepted beauty norms：被接受的审美规范的内化
● gamified interaction：游戏化的互动
● obsessive filtering：痴迷的滤镜使用
● cosmetic intervention：整容干预
● mental health care：心理健康护理
【亮点句型解析】
独立主格结构（absolute construction）：
"Their heart rate is elevated, they occasionally glance around nervously, and they sometimes jump collectively in their seats, and emit high-pitched warning calls."
三个并列的独立分句紧凑地描述了观众的生理反应，节奏感极强，是描写类文章的典型手法。
"Their heart rate is elevated, they occasionally glance around nervously, and they sometimes jump collectively in their seats, and emit high-pitched warning calls."
三个并列的独立分句紧凑地描述了观众的生理反应，节奏感极强，是描写类文章的典型手法。
so...that 结构与宾语从句的嵌套：
"The time spent on social media creates an urge to achieve an impossible beauty ideal so powerful that the only thing that can fix it is not cosmetic intervention, but mental health care."
本句包含过去分词后置定语(spent on...)、不定式后置定语(to achieve...)以及 so...that 结果状语从句，是六级阅读理解中的高分长难句。
"The time spent on social media creates an urge to achieve an impossible beauty ideal so powerful that the only thing that can fix it is not cosmetic intervention, but mental health care."
本句包含过去分词后置定语(spent on...)、不定式后置定语(to achieve...)以及 so...that 结果状语从句，是六级阅读理解中的高分长难句。
全文翻译
想象你是一个被派到地球记录哺乳动物行为的外星人。你偶然走进一家正在放映最新好莱坞恐怖片的电影院。几十个人类聚集在一个黑暗、未装饰的房间里，全都盯着一个矩形的区域，上面的光影图案快速变化。他们明显处于高度兴奋的状态——心率升高，偶尔紧张地环顾四周，有时候集体在座位上跳起来，发出高声尖叫。最终，灯光亮起，矩形屏幕变黑，人类站起来离开房间，有说有笑，显得很愉悦。
为什么这些人类会自愿暴露于看似极不愉快的体验，并对此反应如此强烈？我被恐怖悖论所吸引——许多人主动寻求恐怖娱乐这一奇怪事实。我认为答案在于人类的本性。我的研究表明，我们人类进化出在安全情境中体验负面情绪时获得愉悦的能力。
你可以在儿童游戏中看到恐怖的元素。以捉迷藏为例，它是一种捕食者与猎物互动的模拟。孩子躲藏，成人假装成捕食者，一边像危险的野兽般嚎叫一边寻找孩子。这种模拟给了孩子关于如何避免成为猎物的关键信息，而孩子们往往觉得这种活动非常令人满足，大概是因为它让他们在安全的环境中体验了潜在的灾难性场景。他们觉得这是愉悦的，而愉悦正是进化激励我们采取适应性行为的方式。
恐怖片对许多人来说是愉悦的，因为它让我们去体验负面情绪并培养应对策略。我们学会真正恐惧是什么感觉，以及如何应对负面情绪。那么，恐怖是如何起作用的呢？我的研究表明，恐怖通过利用一套古老的生物防御机制——一种进化而来的恐惧系统——而起作用，这一系统我们与其他动物共享。但人类拥有独特的想象力，我们利用进化而来的想象力进入充满危险感的虚拟世界。
即使你不是忠实的恐怖片粉丝，观看恐怖片也有充分的理由。如果你能完整地看完一部恐怖片，你很可能会体验到一种强烈的掌控感——一种你能从令人震惊的经历中挺过来的感觉。无论如何，观看恐怖片能让你更好地处理自己的恐惧，而谁知道这种能力什么时候会变得至关重要呢？
全文翻译
在现实世界中，一场针对多年来强加给我们的审美模式的觉醒正在发生。但在数字领域，社交媒体决定了什么是美的标准。
这两场对立的斗争正在并行发生。在现实世界中，斗争针对的是施加给女性、要求她们遵守不切实际的审美理想的潜在压力。作为这场斗争的一部分，各类媒体开始展现那些身材不符合所谓理想标准的女性。那些此前被排除在杂志封面、电视剧和公共议题之外的女性，如今变得「合理」了。与此同时，一群网红开始在社交媒体上上传自己素颜的照片，甚至是突出所谓缺陷的照片。
技术已经重塑了我们的审美理想，并且在向大众传达这一信息方面做得非常出色。过去十年间一个奇特的产物是「半机械人面孔」的流行，它展示了美国人在2050年会是什么模样。
半机械人面孔迅速传播。然而如今，Instagram面孔已成为新的审美标准。当学习过程中有主动参与时，对已被接受的审美规范的内化会更为有效。用户的主动参与体现在社交媒体平台提供的游戏化互动中——点赞、写评论、比较、分享的能力。一旦想要的审美标准被内化，用户就会被赋予改变外貌以符合接受标准的工具或功能，比如编辑图片、选择理想的滤镜和合适的背景。一项在美国进行的调查显示，超过50%的人在发布照片前会使用滤镜。而其中大多数是女性，这并不令人意外。痴迷使用滤镜的重大后果之一，是一种正在形成的倾向——将自己视为一个被观察和评价的客体，就像另一个人从一旁观察和评判一样。
滤镜的影响早已超出了善意的娱乐范畴。滤镜和社交网络上整套游戏影响着用户的心理健康。根据一项研究，Instagram、Snapchat和FaceTune等应用让用户能达到此前只在美容杂志中才能看到的完美程度。尽管人类一直珍视美，但在过去十年里，我们对外表的痴迷已达到了前所未有的高峰。在社交媒体上花费的时间创造了一种实现不可能达到的审美理想的强烈冲动，这种冲动如此强大，以至于唯一能解决它的不是整容干预，而是心理健康照护。