Pots Of Promise

　　Medieval noblewomen swallowed arsenic and dabbed on bats blood to improve their complexions; 18 th century Americans prized the warm urine of young boys to erase their freckles; Victorian ladies removed their ribs to give themselves a wasp waist. The desire to be beautiful is as old as civilization, as is the pain that it can cause.

　　The pain has not stopped the passion from creating a 160 billion-a-year global industry,encompassing make -up, skin and hair care, fragrances, cosmetic surgery, health clubs and diet pills. Americans spend more each year on beauty than they do on education.

　　Such spending is not mere vanity. Being pretty — or just not ugly — confers1 enormous genetic and social advantages. Attractive people ( both men and women) are judged to be more intelligent and sexy; they earn more and they are more likely to marry.

　　Basic instinct keeps the beauty industry powerful. In medieval times, recipes for homemade cosmetics were kept in the kitchen right beside those used to feed the family.

　　But it was not until the start of the 20 th century, when mass production coincided with mass exposure to an idealized standard of beauty ( through photography, magazines and movies) that the industry first took off.

　　In 1909, Eugene Schueller founded the French Harmless Hair Coloring Co., which later became L'Oreal2— today's industry leader. Two years later, a Hamburg pharmacist, developed the first cream to bind oil and water. Today, it sells in 150 countries as Nivea, the biggest personal-care brand in the world.

　　But it was the great rivalry between two women in America that made the industry what it is today. Elizabeth Arden opened the first modern beauty salon in 1910 , followed a few years later by Helena Rubinstein, a Polish immigrant. The two took cosmetics out of household pots and pans and into the modern era . Both thought beauty and health were interlinked. They combined facials with diets and exercise classes in a holistic approach that the industry is now returning to.

　　The emerging beauty industry played on3 the fear of looking ugly as much as on the pleasure of looking beautiful, drawing on the new science of psychology to convince women that an inferiority complex4 could be cured by a dab of lipstick.

　　练习题：

　　Ⅰ. Matching:

　　1. In medieval time ( ) . 2. In 1910 ( ) .

　　3. In 1909 ( ) . 4. In 1911 ( ) .

　　A. Swallow arsenic to improve their complexion.

　　B. Recipes for homemade cosmetics were kept in the kitchen.

　　C. Eugene Schueller found the French Harmless Hair Coloring Co.

　　D. A Hamburg Pharmacist developed the first cream that now sells to 150 countries.

　　E. Elizabeth Arden opened the first modern beauty salon.

　　Ⅱ. Questions:

　　1. What are the advantages of being pretty according to the passage ?

　　2. What’s your opinion about beauty? Is it really so important?

　　答案：

　　Ⅰ. 1. A / B 2. E 3. C 4. D

　　Ⅱ. 1. Being pretty has genetic and social advantages.

　　2. ( Open discussion)

　　参考译文：

　　爱美没商量

　　中世纪时, 贵妇们服食砒霜、敷蝙蝠血来改善面色。18世纪的美国妇女用男童的尿液去斑。维多利亚时代的妇女不惜抽去肋骨来获得纤细的腰肢。对美丽的渴望, 以及由此衍生出的痛苦如同人类文明一样悠久。

　　痛苦未能阻止美的渴望。人们创造了每年1600亿的全球产业, 其中包括: 化妆、美肤、护发、香熏、美容整形、健身俱乐部和节食药片。美国人在美容上的支出多于教育。这种支出不仅仅是出于虚荣心。姣好或是不难看的面容, 具有遗传和社会两方面的极大优势。不管是男人还是女人, 漂亮的都被认为更聪明和性感; 他们挣钱多, 婚配的机会也更多。人们爱美的天性使美容业长盛不衰。中世纪时, 自制化妆品的配方就和家庭食谱并放在厨房里。直到20世纪初, 实现规模化生产了, 大众通过照片、杂志和电影接触到了近乎理想的美貌, 美容业也才开始了它的第一次腾飞。

　　1909年, 尤金· 斯库尔拉创立了法国安全染发公司( 后来发展为该行业领先品牌———欧莱雅) 。两年以后德国汉堡的药剂师发明了水和油融合的乳液。现在, 这种名为妮维雅的乳液, 作为全球最大的个人护理品牌, 行销150多个国家。

　　然而, 正是两个美国女人之间的激烈竞争塑造了今天的美容行业。伊丽莎白· 雅顿在1910年开了第一家美容院, 几年后, 波兰移民海伦娜· 卢宾斯坦因紧随其后。这两个女人使化妆品走出了家中的瓶瓶罐罐, 进入了现代发展时期。她们都认为美丽和健康是密切相关的。她们把节食和健身课程与脸部美容相结合, 这也正是现在美容业回归的方向。

　　美容业的发展利用的是人们惧怕丑陋和追求美丽的特点, 并且利用新的心理学知识使女人们相信抹一笔唇膏可以使自卑情结一扫而光。