Faces, like fingerprints, are unique. Did you ever wonder how it is possible for us to recognize people? Even a skilled writer probably could not describe all the features that make one face different from another. Yet a very young child-or even an animal, such as a pigeon-can learn to recognize faces, we all take this ability for granted.
We also tell people apart by how they behave. When we talk about someone’s personality, we mean the ways in which he or she acts, speaks, thinks and feels that make that individual different from other.
Like the human face, human personality is very complex. But describing someone’s personality in words is somewhat easier than describing his face. If you were asked to describe what a “nice face” looked like, you probably would have a difficult time doing so.
But if you were asked to describe a “nice person”, you might begin to think about someone who was kind, considerate, friendly, warm, and so forth.
There are many words to describe how a person thinks, feels and acts. Fordin Allport, an American psychologist, found nearly 18,000 English words charactering differences in people’s behavior. And many of us use this information as a basis for describing, or typing, his personality. Bookworms, conservatives, military types-people are described with such terms.
People have always tried to “type” each other. Actors in early Greek drama wore masks to show the audience whether they played the villains or the hero’s role. In fact, the words “person” and “personality” come from the Latin persona, meaning “mask”. Today most television and movie actors do not wear masks. But we easily tell the “good guys” from the “bad guys” because the two types differ in appearance as well as in actions.
51. By using the simile (直喻) of fingerprints, the author tells us that _____.
A) people differ from each other in facial features
B) people have difficulty in describing the features of fingerprints
C) people have different personalities
D) people can learn to recognize faces
52. According to this passage, some animals have the gift of _____.
A) typing each other
B) telling people apart by how they behave
C) recognizing human faces
D) telling good people from bad people
53. Who most probably knows best hw to describe people’s personality?
A) Psychologists. B) The modern TV audience.
C) The ancient Greek audience D) The movie star.
54. According to the passage, it is possible for us to tell one type of person form another because _____.
A) human faces have complex features
B) people differ in their behavioral and physical characteristics
C) human fingerprints provide unique information
D) people’s behavior can be easily described in words
55. Which of the following is the major point of the passage?
A) How to get to know people.
B) Why it is necessary to identify people’s personality.
C) Hoe best to recognize people.
D) Why it is possible to describe people.
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