Read the dialogue and choose the correct options

Pam: Hey, Mandy! What have you been up to lately?

Mandy: Hi, Pam. Well, I've read a very interesting article which inspired me to surf the internet for several hours searching for additional information.

Pam: Really? What was the topic?

Mandy: Physiognomy.

Pam: What is that?

Mandy: Well, in short, it's a study of how our appearance correlates with our character.

Pam: Wow, is it a science?

Mandy: Not really. Nowadays, it's considered to be pseudoscience and even more—charlatanry.

Pam: But why? The concept sounds rather reasonable.

Mandy: It does. Physiognomy was once very popular. In ancient times people thought they could judge the traits of character by facial expressions, lines and body build. For example, people with dog-like sharp noses were claimed to be irritable like dogs, and big round lion-like noses demonstrated courage.

Pam: Did it turn out to be wrong later?

Mandy: More precisely, it didn't turn out to be true. In the 18th and 19th centuries, this study gained popularity again and drew much attention from both scientists and artisans. The latter admired the great culture of Ancient Greece where animals were a subject of worship and mistakenly decided that the sculptures of that period reflected what the ideal human looked like. People with the non-European look, like Asians and Africans, were regarded as less intelligent. This idea later began to promote the superiority of one nation over the others, led to racism and discrimination based on outer appearance only.

Pam: Wow, I see you've studied this topic in-depth!

Mandy: I have. It's incredibly interesting, isn't it?

Pam: It is. What do you think is the reason for people to try and, so to speak, classify each other according to their look?

Mandy: Hmm, I think it's natural to judge a book by its cover when we have nothing else to judge by. They say, when we meet a stranger, it takes our brain a split second to decide what this stranger is like—if they are friendly or aggressive, smart or not. I guess it has its roots in ancient times when human beings faced many threats and had to make quick decisions to survive.

Pam: Oh, that's a deep thought. What about aesthetics? They say attractive people are more successful and have more opportunities. They are even thought to possess better traits of character. I've heard in South Korea employers judge by appearance. It's necessary to have a good photo in your CV. If they choose between two candidates with almost equal qualities, they always choose the good-looking one.

Mandy: Oh, that sounds not very fair.

Pam: Yes, lookism is a serious problem nowadays.

Mandy: What is lookism?

Pam: It's a kind of discrimination. But not based on the race or nationality. Instead, people are judged by their appearance only: if they're attractive or not.

Mandy: Sounds awful.

Pam: I agree with you. Don't judge, and you won't be judged.

Mandy spent much time

• reading one article
• surfing in the ocean
• researching some topic

Pam hasn't heard about

• lookism
• physiognomy
• aesthetics

Today, physiognomy is thought to be

• a pseudoscience
• a science
• an art

The ancient Greeks based their judgement on

• race
• attractiveness
• admiration of some animal

Physiognomy

• was popular during several periods of time
• was popular only in ancient times
• was initially considered to be false

The one who thinks that the desire to classify people goes back to ancient times is

• an ancient Greek
• Mandy
• Pam

According to Pam, in South Korea

• people tend to suffer from lookism
• only attractive people get a job
• physiognomy is very popular

Both girls

• have experienced lookism
• disapprove of the discrimination by appearance
• are eager to study physiognomy