① The number of facelifts performed in the United States increased an impressive 17% since the start of the pandemic. Google searches for “facelift” doubled over the same time period. “Plastic surgery patients are now 10 years younger as compared to pre-pandemic,” New York-based plastic surgeon Dr Robert Schwarcz revealed in a press release, “and are coming in their mid-30s instead of mid-40s.”
② Contrary to the beauty industry’s favorite marketing line – “do it for you!” – no desire springs authentic and unbidden from the depths of one’s innermost soul. Rather, as philosopher René Girard argued in his 1961 theory of “mimetic desire”, all human desire is derivative. We want the things we want, in other words – the Labubu, the barrel jeans, the de-aged face – because other people want them.
③ When it comes to beauty specifically, what we want to look like changes as technology changes what it’s possible to look like. New facelift innovations – less invasive techniques, more “natural” results, subtler scars, faster recovery times, Buy Now Pay Later – lower the barrier to entry. Access is democratized; demand skyrockets.
④ The “cosmetic transparency” movement also plays a part here. Celebrities who openly share the procedures they’ve had destigmatize cosmetic work and provide people with the blueprints to A-list beauty. In a media announcement, New York-based plastic surgeon Dr Ari Hoschander said he believes “this growing openness toward plastic surgery ... is one of the reasons why younger patients are seeking these procedures”.
⑤ Despite these pressures, the best reason not to get a facelift remains a simple one: you don’t want one—external influences shouldn’t override your own judgment. But for those still weighing the decision, other compelling reasons to opt out exist.
⑥ Besides an aesthetically “botched” outcome, complications from facelift surgery can include hematoma, infection, nerve damage, hair loss, scarring, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism and, in exceedingly rare cases, death. What’s more, “adverse psychological reactions to facelift operations are shown to occur in about 50% of patients, with depression and anxiety being the most common,” according to a 2022 paper in the Aesthetic Surgery Journal.
⑦ The procedure can cost anywhere from $8,500 to $200,000. That’s enough for a potential down payment on a home, a car, a vacation, years of psychoanalysis or a sizable donation to the National Center to Reframe Aging.
⑧ Moreover, facelifts also perpetuate ageist, classist, all-around-oppressive beauty norms. And since “individual acts of conformity can strengthen these norms”, in the words of philosopher Dr Clare Chambers, “individual acts of resistance really can matter”.
⑨ Ultimately, between the pull of mimetic desire and the push of real risks, the choice to resist conformity is a powerful act.
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1.1.The phenomenon described at the beginning of the text is characterized by a surge in facelifts coupled with ______.
A younger patient demographics
B significantly lower costs
C guaranteed natural results
D complete elimination of risks
解析：选A。
A细节理解题。文章开头描述的现象不仅包括拉皮手术数量增加和搜索量翻倍，还明确指出了一个关键特征：患者年龄层的变化。Robert Schwarcz医生指出，患者年龄比疫情前“年轻了10岁”，从40多岁变为30多岁。因此，该现象的特点是手术激增，同时伴随着更年轻的患者人群。选项A正确。B（成本显著降低）、C（保证自然效果）、D（完全消除风险）均未在首段提及。故选A。
3.3.What is stated as the direct cause of the skyrocketing demand for facelifts?
A The theory of instinctive desire.
B The celebrity endorsement.
C The lowered barrier to entry.
D The reframing of aging.
解析：选C。
C细节理解题。题干问的是导致需求激增的直接原因。第三段明确指出，新的拉皮手术创新（如技术、效果、恢复期等）“降低了入门门槛”，紧接着说“需求飙升”。这里存在直接的因果关系。因此C“入门门槛的降低”是原文陈述的直接原因。A“模仿欲望理论”是前文解释欲望来源的理论；B“名人代言”是后文另一个因素；D“重新定义衰老”在文中未作为原因出现。故选C。
4.4.What does the underlined word “destigmatize” most probably mean?
A To make illegal.
B To remove disgrace from.
C To complicate procedures.
D To increase profitability of.
解析：选B。
B词义猜测题。“destigmatize”的宾语是“cosmetic work”（整形手术）。原文说名人公开分享经历，其作用是“destigmatize cosmetic work and provide people with the blueprints...”。通常，整形手术可能带有一定的社会污名或羞耻感，名人的公开分享能够“消除这种负面印象”，使其变得更可接受。因此，“destigmatize”意为“去除污名”。选项B“移除不名誉”最接近此意。A“使其非法”、C“使过程复杂化”、D“提高其利润”均不符合语境逻辑。故选B。
5.5.Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage as a reason to refuse a facelift?
A Potential financial burden.
B Risks of physical complications.
C Lack of professional surgeons.
D Reinforcement of oppressive norms.
解析：选C。
C细节理解题。第⑥-⑧段详细列出了不做拉皮手术的理由：财务负担“足够支付房屋首付、汽车等”；身体并发症风险，列举了“血肿、感染、神经损伤”等；强化社会不良规范“拉皮手术也延续了年龄歧视、阶级歧视等压迫性审美标准”。故选C。
