B
Little babies, kittens and puppies are all cute, aren’t they? Most of us would say “Yes!” But why do we find them cute?
About 100 years ago, scientists listed the cute features of human babies. These included a large head, round cheeks, big eyes and more. Many baby animals have similar features.
When we see a cute baby or animal, our brain produces some special chemicals. These chemicals make us feel happy. Besides, our brain creates the “cute response(可爱回应)”. This feeling makes us want to protect the baby or animal.
In 2009, scientists in the USA did a study. They asked 122 young people to rate(评分) the cuteness of human babies. What did the scientists find? Well, the cuter these people rated the baby, the more they wanted to care for that baby.
However, not everyone feels cuteness in the same way. In another study, scientists used computers to create some pictures of baby faces. These babies looked similar but had small differences in their features. The scientists then showed these pictures to a group of people. Who could better find out the differences? Well, women did a little better than men. And women between the ages of 19 and 26 did the best.
Interestingly, when we see a really cute baby or animal, we may want to squeeze(挤压) or bite it. This is called “cuteness aggression(可爱侵略性)”. Do we want to hurt the baby or animal? Not at all! In fact, our brain doesn’t want our cute response to be too strong. As a result, it creates the feeling of aggression to try to fit in.
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)26. Which of the following babies may be the cutest baby according to the passage?
A. A baby with a large head, small eyes and a big nose.
B. A baby with a large head, big eyes, square cheeks and long legs.
C. A baby with big eyes, a small head and straight hair.
D. A baby with a large head, round cheeks, big eyes and a small mouth.
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)27. Which statement is TRUE according to the article?
A. All people have the same feeling when it comes to cuteness.
B. Our brain creates chemicals that make us happy when we see cute things.
C. Men always notice small differences in baby faces better than women.
D. To study more, scientists used a computer to make some quite different baby faces.
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)28. What is the relationship between the “cute response” and “cuteness aggression”?
A. There is no connection at all.
B. Aggression is the brain’s way of balancing the cute response.
C. They happen in different parts of the brain.
D. Only humans experience cute response while animals show aggression.
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)29. Which is the best title for the passage?
A. How to make yourself cuter
B. The happiness of cuteness response
C. Male-female differences in cuteness feeling
D. The science behind why we find things cute