There is a popular Chinese saying that “Fair skin will make up for three flaws (缺点)”. This mentions the fact that in Chinese culture, it is believed that people who have fair skin are more beautiful. In Western culture, however, the opposite is true—many Westerners think tanned skin is prettier. The example shows that different cultures have different ideas of what they think is beautiful. These cultural meanings of beauty, however, are no longer important. As more and more people travel overseas, ideas about beauty are being shared among cultures. The Internet has also made it easier for people to share different types of beauty since people are always posting pictures on social media. The result is an ever-changing idea of what is considered beautiful.

The cultural practice of ear piercings, for example, has become a part of modern day culture. In Kenya, it is a tradition among the Masai men and women to pierce and then make their ear lobes (耳垂) longer using ivory and wood or stones. They then wear colorful things on their ear lobes. This is a common practice since longer ear lobes are seen as a sign of beauty. This tradition has now found its way into present-day culture. Nowadays, this might still seem unusual to some, but with more and more well-known actors and film stars showing off their longer ear lobes. It will finally become more fashionable.

It is understood that different cultures around the world have different ways of showing beauty. However, since we now live in a worldwide society, people’s views about beauty are always changing. With the help of the Internet, people are now able to easily borrow ideas from other cultures to help them stand out. So what new fashions can we expect to see in the future?

【小题1】What has made it easier for people to share ideas about beauty?

A．The popularity of the latest fashions.	B．The unchanged cultural traditions.
C．The development of technology.	D．The world’s growing population.

【小题2】The underlined word “pierce” in paragraph 2 means___________.

A．make sth. longer

B．borrow ideas

C．wear things

D．make a hole

【小题3】What can be learned about the Masai people from the passage?

A．Longer ear lobes are their new fashion.

B．They think longer ear lobes look beautiful.

C．Only women make their ear lobes longer.

D．They make actors and film stars famous.

【小题4】What is the passage mainly about?

A．People in Asian countries like fair skin better.

B．People’s ideas about beauty are changing all the time.

C．Different cultures have different ideas about beauty.

D．Beauty is considered important in many cultures.