One of the most successful, influential, and beloved women in American history, Eleanor Roosevelt once said that she had one regret: She wished she had been prettier. Who hasn't felt the same way? We are all too awake to our physical imperfections. To overcome them, we spend billions upon billions of dollars every year on cosmetics, diet products, fashion, and plastic surgery.

埃莉诺·罗斯福是美国历史上最成功、最具影响力、最受人爱戴的女性之一，他曾经说过自己有一大憾事：她觉得自己长得不够漂亮。谁没有过这样的想法呢？我们对自己外表上的瑕疵都太过在意。为了弥补缺陷，我们不惜每年在化妆品、减肥品、时装以及整容手术上花上大把大把的钱。

Why do we care so much about how we look? Because it matters. Because beauty is powerful. Because even when we learn to value people mostly for being kind and wise and funny, we are still moved by beauty. No matter how much we argue against it or pretend to be immune, beauty exerts its power over us. There is simply no escape.

为什么我们会如此在意自己的外表呢？这是因为外表的确重要，因为外表的美有着巨大的影响力，因为，即使我们知道应主要以仁爱、智慧和风趣来评判他人，我们仍然会被美貌所打动。不论我们多么卖力地反驳，或假装无动于衷，美依然有力地影响着我们，令我们无从逃避。

As children, beautiful people are more likely to become favorites with parents and teachers. Later, they're more likely to get good jobs and promotions. Beautiful lawyers get paid more than their less attractive colleagues. Good-looking criminals are more likely to win the sympathy of judges and juries. Attractive people in need are more likely to receive help from strangers.

小时候，漂亮的孩子更容易讨父母和老师的欢心。成年后，他们比较容易找到称心的工作并得到提拔。与长相平庸的同事相比，外表出众的律师往往会得到更高的酬金。外表好看的罪犯更容易赢得法官和陪审团的同情。相貌迷人的人在急需帮助时更可能获得陌生人的帮助。

Many of the physical features that make us attractive to one another are, in fact, signals of our health and fertility. http://cs1.xnjd.cn/jpkc/dxyy2/course/2/unit3/images/icon_lp.gifPursuit of Beauty （追求漂亮）" /> These days, in addition to cosmetics, women and men both rely on advanced technology to enhance their beauty. Wrinkles can be stretched away with a face lift. Special injections can make lips look attractively young and plump. Countless creams and chemicals promise clear, glowing skin for men and women. Besides being a sign of youth, good skin also means that the person is likely to be healthy and free from parasites.

其实，使我们彼此吸引的外表特征大多是健康和生育力的标志。如今的男女除使用化妆品外，还借助先进技术来给自己美容。脸部拉皮可去除皱纹。注射特殊药物可使嘴唇年轻饱满，更加迷人。无数种面霜与化学制品有望让男男女女拥有清洁光亮的肌肤。肌肤好，不仅使人显得年轻，也表明其身体健康，未感染寄生虫。

Our sensitivity to physical beauty is not something we can control at will. We are born with it. There are more important things in life than beauty, http://cs1.xnjd.cn/jpkc/dxyy2/course/2/unit3/images/icon_lp.gifPursuit of Beauty （追求漂亮）" /> but as Etcoff says, "We have to understand beauty, or we will always prefer to be enslaved by it." If you aim to be wise and kind and funny, it doesn't mean that you can't also try your best to look beautiful. There's no reason to feel guilty about being moved by beauty's power. It moves us all.