六级真题2024年12月第二套 Passage Two
六级真题2024年12月第二套 Passage Two


①　Statements, like “beauty is in the eye of the beholder (观看者)”, are rarely questioned. They’ve become so embedded in our consciousness that people think it’s absurd to think otherwise. It might be useful, however, to at least push back on this assumption because people evaluate environment, situations, and people aesthetically. We may find that we still believe it is correct, but we may also find that there is a lot more to the situation than you suppose.

②　A recent study exploring aesthetic taste was published in Cognition. The results from this study show that people agree very much in their aesthetic evaluation of natural objects, but they disagree more about artifacts, or human-made objects.
③　The study found that shared taste was most common for faces and natural landscapes, but least common among works of architecture and art. The hypothesis is the commonly pleasing features, like proportion or symmetry, are at work.
④　Preferences for natural scenes might be learned through life experiences. Factors like habitability, safety, and openness might be preferred as people develop. Some of the details of landscapes change, but the basics are more common, e.g., water, open spaces, and signs of care.
⑤　Art and architecture, unlike natural spaces, do not have the same level of exposure. So, people do not have the same level of shared taste.
⑥　It’s possible that the lower amount of agreement in the shared taste of artifacts has to do more with elements of style, rather than “behavioral consequences”.
⑦　All of the consequences seem reasonable (or at least possible), but I think there might be an interesting philosophical conclusion that they did not draw. It seems that there is an objective ground to our aesthetic preferences or evaluations. I am not saying this would mean beauty is completely objective, just that there could possibly be general objective principles at work, i.e., beauty is not simply in the eye of the beholder.
⑧　Nature exhibits some of the universal aesthetic features, such as radiance, in a common way throughout the world. It’s not exactly the same everywhere, but it is common. For example, a sunset is similar enough in different places to warrant almost universal appeal.
⑨　Possible universal principles of beauty—such as proportion, fittingness, radiance, and others—are general categories, which allow for a wide array of embodiments. When people get involved in making artifacts in architecture or art, they apply these very general concepts in unique ways. But the way they applied the principle may not have universal appeal.
⑩This is why it’s important to experience diverse cultures and their artifacts because it opens us up to different ways of approaching or constructing beauty. And it is always good to question our assumptions.

1.1. What does the passage say about the statement “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”?

A It has hardly ever been disputed.

B It can be interpreted aesthetically.

C Many people have found it absurd.

D People have long been misled by it.

解析：选A。A 细节理解题。首段①句指出,像“美存在于观者眼中”这样的说法很少受到质疑。A 项与之契合,选项中的 hardly ever been disputed是对文中are rarely questioned的同义改写。

2.2. What does a recent study exploring aesthetic taste show?

A Aesthetic tastes tend to differ from person to person.

B Natural beauty is rarely surpassed by artificial beauty.

C There is less consensus on objects shaped by human craft.

D There is general agreement on what is pleasing to the eye.

解析：选C。C 细节理解题。第二段①句指出研究发表在《认知》杂志上,第二段②句和第三段①句共同呈现两点研究发现:一是人们对自然物体的审美评价非常一致,尤其是对相貌和自然景观的审美品味最常达成一致;二是人们对人工制品(即人造物品)的审美评价分歧较大,对建筑和艺术作品的审美品味最不常达成一致。C项契合第二点研究发现,选项中的 less consensus on 对应第二段②句的 disagree more about 和第三段①句的 leascommon among,objects shaped by human craft 对应第二段②句的 artifacts, or human-made objects 和第三段句的 works of architecture and art.

3.3. Why do people differ in their aesthetic appraisal of artifacts?

A They come out in a great variety of designs.

B They lead to varying behavioral consequences.

C They take up much less natural space than landscapes.

D They come into people’s view less often than natural spaces.

解析：选D。D 细节理解题。第五段指出,不同于自然景观,艺术和建筑没有与人产生同等程度的接触,因此人们对它们的品味不会达成同等程度的一致。结合第四段所述“人们通过生活经历习得对自然景观的偏好,在成长过程中会逐渐青睐具有宜居、安全、开放等特征的自然景观”可知第五段的内涵:每个人在生活/成长过程中都必然会接触到自然景观/空间(因其随处可见),但未必都能经常接触到艺术和建筑,因此人们对于艺术和建筑等人工制品的审美评价/品味就会存在差异。D项与之契合,选项中的 come into people's viewless often 是对第五段①句中 do not have the same level of exposure 的直白阐释。

4.4. What does the example of sunset tell about nature?

A It creates a powerful appeal through its brilliant radiance.

B It displays aesthetic traits in a similar way the world over.

C It embodies beauty with a wide array of aesthetic features.

D It establishes the principles of beauty in a number of ways.

解析：选B。B 推理判断题。第八段①句先指出,自然界在全世界范围内以常见的方式展现诸如光辉等某些普遍的审美特征。③句进而举例指出自然界展现光辉这一审美特征的普遍方式:日落。可见,作者通过日落的例子(世界各地的日落光辉/景象都非常相似,因此全世界的人几乎都能被日落吸引)说明自然界在全世界以相似的方式展示审美特征,B项正确,选项中的 displays aesthetic traits in a similar way the world over 是对文中exhibits... universal aesthetic features...in a common way throughout the world 的同义改写。

5.5. Why do artifacts not always hold universal appeal?

A The appreciation of their beauty is not subject to objective standards.

B The universal principle of beauty prevents a wide array of embodiments.

C The way their creators apply the principle of beauty may not be pleasing to everybody.

D Their creators interpret the universal principle of beauty each in their preferred way.

解析：选C。C 细节理解题。第九段指出,美可能存在的普遍原则属于宽泛的类别,可以有各种各样的表现形式,人们在制作建筑或艺术作品时会以独特的方式应用这些非常宽泛的概念,但他们应用这类原则的方式可能并不具有普遍的吸引力。换言之,美的普遍原则较为宽泛,不同的人在应用这些宽泛的概念/原则创作建筑或艺术作品时会结合自己独特的方式(即不具普遍性/不能让每个人都满意),其呈现的结果(即人工制品)也就不能让每个人都感受到美/不总是具有普遍的吸引力，C项正确。