The Great Debate: Beard or No Beard?
A 2012 article in the Los Angeles Times reported research on people’s opinions about men with beards. The researchers showed the men and women in the study pictures of the same men when they were “bearded” (with hair on the cheeks and below the mouth) and “clean-shaven” (with no hair on the face). The men had smiling, “neutral” (no expression), and angry facial expressions. The people in the research study were then asked about the men’s age, “attractiveness” (good looking or not), “social status” (whether he is respected in society by other people), and “aggressiveness” (willing to confront other people; willing to use force to get what he wants).
2012年《洛杉磯時報》的一篇文章報導了一項關於人們對鬍鬚男性看法的研究。研究人員向參與研究的男女展示了同一男性在有鬍子（面頰和嘴下方有毛髮）和刮乾淨鬍子（臉上無毛髮）的照片。這些男性在照片中有微笑的、中性的（無表情）和生氣的面部表情。研究中的人們隨後被詢問關於這些男性的年齡、“吸引力”（好看與否）、“社會地位”（他是否受到社會其他人的尊重）和“攻擊性”（是否願意面對他人；是否願意使用武力達到目的）。
Both men and women said that with beards, the men looked older, more aggressive, and of higher social status. What the researchers also found was that women rated men who were clean-shaven as more attractive. The researchers wrote that “natural selection” — Charles Darwin’s idea that the more “adaptable” (able to change with the circumstances) we are, the more likely we are to survive — “favored” (gave the best chances to) bearded men because men with more hair were more likely to be seen as aggressive and better able to protect themselves and their families.
男女都表示，有鬍子的男性看起來更老、更具攻擊性且社會地位更高。研究人員還發現，女性認為刮乾淨鬍子的男性更有吸引力。研究人員寫道，“自然選擇”——查爾斯·達爾文的觀點，即我們越能“適應”（隨環境改變的能力），我們越有可能生存——“偏愛”（給予最佳機會）有鬍子的男性，因為毛髮更多的男性更容易被視為具有攻擊性，且更能保護自己和家人。
So, at least in the early days, it was the scarier ones, the ones who could frighten away dangers, who got the girls and who survived and “thrived” (grew or developed well; prospered).
所以，至少在早期，正是那些更可怕的、更能驅趕危險的人，贏得了女孩，並且得以生存和“繁榮”（成長或發展良好；興旺）。
重點單字
- 1. Bearded [ˈbɪərdɪd] 有鬍子的
- 2. Clean-shaven [klin-ˈʃeɪvən] 刮乾淨鬍子的
- 3. Neutral [ˈnjuːtrəl] 中性的
- 4. Attractiveness [əˈtræktɪvnəs] 吸引力
- 5. Social status [ˈsoʊʃəl ˈsteɪtəs] 社會地位
- 6. Aggressiveness [əˈɡrɛsɪvnəs] 攻擊性
- 7. Natural selection [ˈnætʃərəl sɪˈlɛkʃən] 自然選擇
- 8. Adaptable [əˈdæptəbl] 適應的
- 9. Favored [ˈfeɪvərd] 偏愛
- 10. Thrived [θraɪvd] 繁榮
