Задания CAE Reading and Use of English (Part 6)

Вы собираетесь прочитать четыре выдержки из статей ученых о косметической хирургии. Для вопросов 37-40 выберите академиков (A — D). Ученые могут быть выбраны более одного раза. Отметьте свои ответы на отдельном листе для ответов.

You are going to read four extracts from articles by academics on cosmetic surgery. For questions 37 – 40, choose from the academics (A – D). The academics may be chosen more than once.
Mark your answers on the separate answer sheet.

Cosmetic surgery

A

Cosmetic, or aesthetic, surgery is designed to alter a person’s appearance to achieve what they themselves perceive as a more attractive look. It should not be confused with reconstructive plastic surgery following injury or illness, or surgery designed to alleviate other physical symptoms. Nevertheless, what all these forms of surgery have in common is their undeniably beneficial effect on the patient’s long-term morale. Calls for cosmetic procedures to be made illegal invariably fail to take this positive impact into account, and, I believe, should therefore be ignored. Moreover, it seems to me that, however deplorable, in many walks of life, appearance matters. This, unfortunately, applies to both men and women, and is reflected in an increasing demand for such surgery – supplied by practitioners with varying degrees of competence. In my opinion, it is the lack of reliable oversight, particularly for what are considered relatively minor operations, that is of most concern.

B

There is a sizeable body of opinion behind the view that the increasing popularity of cosmetic surgery with both men and women is a problem that can only be adequately dealt with by means of an outright ban. I would, however, beg to differ. Not because I believe there is anything to say for such procedures, or think they confer any significant or unmerited advantages to those that undergo them. It is more that history has shown, time and again, that suppressing anything many people desire, however hazardous, simply drives the problem underground. Surely it is preferable for governments to use the regulatory powers at their disposal to ensure that all such surgery is carried out in safe environments by qualified practitioners. This is not to say that everything possible should not be done to discourage anyone considering cosmetic surgery, given the harm it can ultimately do to a person’s self-esteem.

C

The demand for cosmetic surgery is growing in many parts of the world, and the causes are various. In my view, this growth is primarily evidence of men and women’s drive to differentiate themselves from their peers, and in this case to give themselves an entirely undeserved edge over others. After all, access to these procedures is solely determined by the ability to afford it. It is a mistake, but one often made, to value anyone for their looks rather than their personality and skills. Anything that can be done to
counteract this superficiality, inherent in too many cultures, would be welcome. Moreover, I would argue that the risks involved in the surgery are reason enough for it to be forbidden by law. Although vociferous objections would no doubt be raised to such a measure, some freedoms come at too high a price, both for individuals and society.

D

Objections raised to the availability of cosmetic surgery nowadays tend to assume that the impressions we form of one another depend almost entirely on our faces. This seems over-simplistic, at the very least. The boost to confidence and inner happiness that so often results for patients following these procedures is reason enough to welcome the advances constantly being made in the field. Whereas it used to be a luxury only accessible to the privileged few, it is currently anything but. And it is simply wrong to assert that looking the way one wishes to somehow means one will be given preferential treatment one would not otherwise be entitled to. Calls for the prohibition of cosmetic surgery may be well-intentioned, but are clearly misguided, and there is no evidence that any of the risks outweigh the benefits. In fact, I would argue that the opposite is true.