Question

【題目】In the latest beauty craze(狂熱) sweeping social media in China, women—and even some men—are boasting that they are paper thin, by posting photographs of their waists behind a vertical(垂直) piece of A4 paper. To qualify, the waist must be entirely hidden by the paper. A piece of A4 paper is 8.3 by 11.7 inches, roughly the size of a sheet of American letter paper.

With the A4 Waist, the trend is attracting hundreds of photographs and thousands of comments on Weibo and other social media networks like Weixin or WeChat. Being abnormally thin is a widespread standard of beauty for women, one that has been criticized as an unhealthy ideal of female attractiveness.

The tiny waist has a long tradition in China, going back at least to King Ling of Chu, who ruled from 540 to 529 B.C. Many in China know the passage from the Book of Han, the history of the Western Han Dynasty: “The King of Chu loved a narrow waist. Many people at court starved to death.’’

Several commentators have found the A4 trend disturbing. In a telephone interview, He Xiaobin, senior fashion features editor at the Chinese edition of GQ magazine, said, “I find it completely stupid. Everybody has a different frame and body shape. Using a single size to define all human beings and thinking you have created a new standard is foolish.’’ The A4 waist challenge annoyed him, saying that it allows certain people to gain bragging rights, while leaving others in depression.

Luckily, some who do not qualify are turning to humor for comfort. Can they substitute a different paper size, such as A3, which is 11.7 inches across or measure a body part besides the waist?

【1】What do we know about the latest beauty craze?

A. Women with A4 waists are considered beauties.

B. The love for slim waist is a new modern trend.

C. A4 waist is an old standard of being slim in China.

D. It is a new method to help people go on a diet.

【2】According to He Xiaobin, showing A4 waist in social media is ________.

A. traditional B. challenging

C. disturbing D. instructive

【3】According to the last paragraph, some who don’t have A4 waists take the craze as a ________.

A. lie B. joke

C. dream D. target

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】A

【2】C

【3】B

【解析】本文主要講了最新的一股美麗風潮席卷了中國的社交媒體，女人（以及一些男人）吹噓自己的身段窈窕如紙，紛紛貼出用一張豎立的A4紙遮擋自己腰部的照片。

【1】細節理解題。根據第一段In the latest beauty craze(狂熱)sweeping social media in China，women--and even some men--are boasting that they are paper thin，by posting photographs of their waists behind a vertical(垂直)piece of A4 paper可知，最近的美麗潮是女士擁有A4腰，故選A。

【2】細節理解題。根據第四段中Several commentators have found the A4 trend disturbing．In a telephone interview，He Xiaobin，senior fashion features editor at the Chinese edition of GQ magazine可知，He Xiaobin覺得A4腰的趨勢令人煩擾。故選C。

【3】細節理解題。根據最后一段Luckily, some who do not qualify are turning to humor for comfort. Can they substitute a different paper size, such as A3, which is 11.7 inches across or measure a body part besides the waist?可知，一些沒有A4腰的人把這個狂熱潮當做一個笑話，故選B。