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  3. There are a number of beauty contests across the world, the most famous perhaps being the Miss World Pageant. Some people believ

There are a number of beauty contests across the world, the most famous perhaps being the Miss World Pageant. Some people believ

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问题         There are a number of beauty contests across the world, the most famous perhaps being the Miss World Pageant. Some people believe that these contests are an important platform to celebrate the beauty and wisdom of women. The following are opinions from two women writers.
        Write an article of NO LESS THAN 300 words, in which you should:
        1. summarize the arguments on both sides and then
        2. give your comment on the statement that beauty contests are beneficial to women.
        Naomi Wolf, writer, and author of Beauty Myth
        The most obvious detrimental effect of beauty pageants is enforcing an inappropriate body perception for men and women. Unlike the majority of so-called "average" women, the beauty of such contests’ participants is cherished and rehearsed; this is the case when natural beauty is heavily supported by the efforts of visagistes and dressers. Though pageants represent the absolute minority of the society, their appearances set high, unrealistic standards for how women of all ages should look like. Young girls who try to live up to these standards, mature women complaining about their bodies, men who demand their wives/girlfriends to look like beauty pageants—all of them are affected by the illusions propagated by beauty contests.
        Another perception issue arises from the very nature of beauty contests—the objectification of women. Despite proclaimed gender equality, physical attractiveness remains one of the major requirements for women today. No matter how progressive and tolerant people strive to be, they still make their first impression about other people by their appearance, and this is natural. However, the idea of beauty contests implies evaluating women solely on their physical shape, ignoring all other aspects of individuality. Interviewing, meant to show a contestant’s personality, is a fraud; as one of the former pageants wrote, none of the judges wanted to hear about deep problems, asking about the most challenging childhood experiences. This turns a woman into a media object, or even a product, which can be assessed and then either approved or rejected; due to the popularity of beauty contests, such attitude is being widely propagated.
        Elizabeth Day, feature writer for The Observe
        In an environment where women are valued on solely on their appearance, and in which there are more opportunities for men, beauty contests give women an opportunity to improve their situations. Winning a beauty contest can be a first step toward a successful life in the future; the most attractive earn 12% more, according to a survey in The Observer. Many Hollywood actresses are former beauty queens, and they would not have reached their success without the beauty contests they won. In addition, the winners of high-profile beauty contests are able to publicize charities and causes they feel strongly about—they have a public platform they could not otherwise have gained. Beauty pageants can also empower in other ways: The Miss America competition is the largest provider of scholarship assistance for women in the world; indeed it pioneered assistance for women in higher education in the 40’s and 50’s.
选项
答案 The Benefits of Beauty Contests The two excerpts mainly present two distinct attitudes towards beauty contests with Naomi Wolf in the first excerpt maintaining a negative attitude while Elizabeth Day in the second excerpt is positive about beauty contests. Specifically, Naomi Wolf believes that beauty pageants not only spread high, unrealistic standards for how women of all ages should look like, but also contribute to the objectification of women. Elizabeth Day, however, appreciates beauty contests in that they open up an opportunity for women to improve their situations, help to raise money for charities and provide scholarship assistance for women in the world. I think the long-running history of the contest shows that beauty contests are beneficial to women. To begin with, beauty contests draw the public attention to women and improve their social status. The emergence of beauty contests, such as Miss World pageant, showcases the refined attributes of women, beautiful, kindhearted, understanding and considerate. The contests, though indirectly, urge people, especially men, to look at women in a different perspective. They are confident and self-sufficient ladies who are brave enough to compete and make their voices heard. In other words, beauty contests lead to the positive image and the subsequently improved conditions of women. What’s more, entering or even winning a beauty contest is a national pride for the contestants’ home countries. For example, when Ms. Zhang Zilin was crowned Miss World 2007, Chinese people and East Asians were all very proud and uplifted, because she was the first Miss World of East Asian region. Like sporting games, beauty contests give a chance to the people around the world to compete on a fair ground, immune from the economic prowess. As Ralph Waldo Emerson put it, "Love of beauty is taste; the creation of beauty is art". Beauty contests are tasteful and artistic events, because they hail the love of beauty and create a stage to celebrate it.
解析         材料围绕“选美比赛”这一话题，给出了两位女性杂志作者对此的看法，两人的观点相反。Naomi Wolf持否定看法，认为选美比赛歪曲人们对身体的看法（enforcing an inappropriate body perception），而且会造成物化女性形象（the objectification of women）。Elizabeth Day则主要阐述了选美比赛的好处，认为选美比赛不仅给女性一个改善处境的机会（an opportunity to improve their situations），提供了一个宣传慈善（publicize charities）的公共平台（public platform），还可以带来其他好处，比如为女性提供奖学金；（provider of scholarship assistance）等。
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