Question

For many centuries，countless scholars have asked the question：What is beauty? As designers update the latest fashions and artists create their masterpieces, what is considered beautiful changes at an alarming pace. Fifty years ago, the full-figured American actress Marilyn Monroe was a symbol of the American aesthetic(美学的)value；today, many Hollywood actresses different in appearance from Marilyn’s have taken her place. However，aesthetic values not only differ from generation to generation，but do so along cultural lines as well. Often, what is considered hating one civilization is just the aesthetic appeal in another. Thus it is difficult to give an absolute definition(定义)of beauty.

As fundamental(基础的)physicists，my colleagues and I like to believe that we are involved in a search for a beauty that affects definition. The beauty that we search for is not what is set up through the work of people and subject to the tastes, but rather what has been laid down by nature Physics allows its students to look past outer appearances，into a deeper beauty. As a human being, I am attracted by the visual appeal of a wave crashing on the beach. As a physicist, however I am able to see the deeper beauty of the physical laws that govern such a phenomenon.

In truth，since Albert Einstein put forward the idea that there might be one main physical theory that governs the universe，aesthetics have become a driving force in modern physics. Einstein and other later physicists have discovered that：Nature, as its most fundamental level，is beautifully constructed. The extraordinary simplicity (朴素)of the laws that govern the universe is really breathtaking. As Einstein said, it would seem more likely that we should find ourselves living in a “chaotic (无秩序曲)world，in no way graspable（能理解的） through thinking”. Yet we are now closer than ever to a full understanding of the universe’s beautiful clockwork. As new discoveries and technologies allow us to examine the physical world on deeper and deeper levels，we find that the beauty itself becomes much deeper.

1.The reference to “Marilyn Monroe” in Paragraph 2 mainly serves to___________.

A. provide an example of today’s beauty standards

B. show there is no fixed definition of aesthetics

C. compare traditions of the East to the West

D. discuss her abilities as an actress

2.When appreciating a wave crashing on the beach，a physicist sees the beauty of_____.

A. the visual attraction

B. the powerful sounds

C. the physical laws behind

D. the lovely creatures

3.Why are Albert Einstein’s words mentioned in Paragraph 3?

A. To detail the functions of physical laws.

B. To highlight the range of Einstein’s influence.

C. To show that Einstein doubted the beauty of physics.

D. To stress the very simplicity of the laws of the universe.

4.The passage is mainly to___________.

A. present a special way of seeing beauty

B. emphasize the influence of physics

C. discuss the awareness of cross-culture

D. argue the traditional ideas on value

Answer 1

1.B

2.C

3.D

4.A

【解析】

试题分析：作者在本文中主要讨论的是在不同的年代中人们对于美的定义是有所区别的，并且在文章最后一段告诉我们一种很特殊的定义美的方法simplicity of the laws of the universe.

1. years ago, the full-figured American actress Marilyn Monroe was a symbol of the American aesthetic(美学的)value；today, many Hollywood actresses different in appearance from Marilyn’s have taken her place.（五十年前，一个肥胖的美国女演员Marilyn Monroe 曾是美国美学价值的象征；然而现今，许多在外表上与Marilyn有很大不同的好莱坞女演员却取代了她的位置。）”，可知，对于美学的标准在不同的年代有不同的标准，是在不断变化的。所以作者以此为例主要是说明美学标准是没有确定的定义的。故选B。

2. a human being, I am attracted by the visual appeal of a wave crashing on the beach. As a physicist, however I am able to see the deeper beauty of the physical laws that govern such a phenomenon.（作为普通人，我会被海浪冲撞上沙滩的视觉效果所吸引。然后，作为一个物理学家，我可能回看到这种现象所带来的物理原理的深层美。）”可知，物理学家看到的海浪的美是背后的物理学原理，和我们所见到的是完全不一样的东西。故选C。

3. and other later physicists have discovered that：Nature, as its most fundamental level，is beautifully constructed. The extraordinary simplicity (朴素)of the laws that govern the universe is really breathtaking. （爱因斯坦和之后的其他物理学家都发现了：当自然处于它最基本的层面时是最美丽的结构。支配世界的原理变得特别朴素时是最激动人心的。）”可知，作者用爱因斯坦的例子来说明真正的美是simplicity of the laws of the universe。故选D。

4.主旨大意题。作者在本文中主要讨论的是在不同的年代中人们对于美的定义是有所区别的，并且在文章最后一段告诉我们一种很特殊的定义美的方法simplicity of the laws of the universe.故选A。

考点：考查日常生活类阅读。