The idea that women are hunting for rich husbands while men choose wives for their beauty is a long way from the truth，suggests a new study．
While some celebrity marriages may fit this pattern，most men and women are seeking a mate who is similar to them in qualities such as income，beauty，and desire to have children．①
The new study flouts the traditionally accepted views that，to maximise our ability to reproduce， men are seeking youn9，attractive women who are likely to hear them children while wonlen are seeking older，successful men who have the resources to support and protect their young．
“Our results fly in face of these studies，”says Stephen Emlen，a behavioural ecologist at Cornell University·who conducted the study with Peter Buston， now at the University of California， Santa Barbara．
Buston and Emlen’s study suggests most men and women in Western soeiety look for partners with qualities on a par with their own． Attractive females， for example， are much more likelv to seek a similarly healthy and good—looking mate than a rich one． And wealthy males are more likelv to seek a rich wife than a pretty one．
Unions of“l(fā)ike”individuals are more advantageous from an evolutionary perspective，says Emlen， because they are more stable．This is beneficial because humans require long—term relationships both to produce a lot of children and to ensure that they survive to adulthood．③
The researchers gave questionnaires to almost l000 men and women aged l8 t0 24．The volunteers were first asked to rank the desirability of loattributes in a long-term partner，and then rank themselves on the same loattributes．④Analysing the results，Buston and Emlen found a consistent match between the qualities ranked as highly desirable in a partner and in an individual themselves．
The new study confirms that before setting out to search for a mate，people assess their own assets and then look for a mate“in their league”．The implication， says Emlen， is that long and happy marriages are most likely for couples sharing similar values，education，physical appearance and intellectual interests．
Choosing a partner with far superior qualities would risk a future breakup，because such a Dartner would eventually be tempted away by a higher quality mate．
However，Robin Dunbar，an evolutionary psychologist at the University of Liverpool，UK，warns against oversimplifying human mate choice．“It like a poker game，"he says． “You have to halance vour preferences against those of your partner and the other players in the game．[419 words]
1．It is generally believed that______
A．every person is seeking a healthy mate
B．most women are seeking wealthy husbands
C．few men choose wives only for their beauty
D．only attractive women have good—looking husbands
2．According to the traditional view，______
A．young women tend to hunt for older men
B．only older men are able to support their children
C．a(chǎn)ttractive women are likely to bear more children
D．the ability to reproduce proves the success of a marriage
3．The new study conducted by Buston and Emlen______．
A．100ks down upon the traditionally accepted views
B．puts forward a consistent pattern for mate seeking
C．is a breakthrough in the development of sociology
D．a(chǎn)rgues for unions of individuals with similar attributes
4．Robin Dunbar suggests that______
A．a(chǎn) wealthy male should seek a rich w．ife
B．couples with similar attributes tend to 1ive happily
C．oversimplifying should be avoided in mate seeking
D．a(chǎn)n attractive woman should marry a good-looking man
5．It can be inferred from the text that______．
A．opposites do not attract in mating game
B．everyone desires to seek a higher quality mate
C．beauty is the most desirable quality for everyone
D．a(chǎn)ttractive women rarely marry good—looking men
While some celebrity marriages may fit this pattern，most men and women are seeking a mate who is similar to them in qualities such as income，beauty，and desire to have children．①
The new study flouts the traditionally accepted views that，to maximise our ability to reproduce， men are seeking youn9，attractive women who are likely to hear them children while wonlen are seeking older，successful men who have the resources to support and protect their young．
“Our results fly in face of these studies，”says Stephen Emlen，a behavioural ecologist at Cornell University·who conducted the study with Peter Buston， now at the University of California， Santa Barbara．
Buston and Emlen’s study suggests most men and women in Western soeiety look for partners with qualities on a par with their own． Attractive females， for example， are much more likelv to seek a similarly healthy and good—looking mate than a rich one． And wealthy males are more likelv to seek a rich wife than a pretty one．
Unions of“l(fā)ike”individuals are more advantageous from an evolutionary perspective，says Emlen， because they are more stable．This is beneficial because humans require long—term relationships both to produce a lot of children and to ensure that they survive to adulthood．③
The researchers gave questionnaires to almost l000 men and women aged l8 t0 24．The volunteers were first asked to rank the desirability of loattributes in a long-term partner，and then rank themselves on the same loattributes．④Analysing the results，Buston and Emlen found a consistent match between the qualities ranked as highly desirable in a partner and in an individual themselves．
The new study confirms that before setting out to search for a mate，people assess their own assets and then look for a mate“in their league”．The implication， says Emlen， is that long and happy marriages are most likely for couples sharing similar values，education，physical appearance and intellectual interests．
Choosing a partner with far superior qualities would risk a future breakup，because such a Dartner would eventually be tempted away by a higher quality mate．
However，Robin Dunbar，an evolutionary psychologist at the University of Liverpool，UK，warns against oversimplifying human mate choice．“It like a poker game，"he says． “You have to halance vour preferences against those of your partner and the other players in the game．[419 words]
1．It is generally believed that______
A．every person is seeking a healthy mate
B．most women are seeking wealthy husbands
C．few men choose wives only for their beauty
D．only attractive women have good—looking husbands
2．According to the traditional view，______
A．young women tend to hunt for older men
B．only older men are able to support their children
C．a(chǎn)ttractive women are likely to bear more children
D．the ability to reproduce proves the success of a marriage
3．The new study conducted by Buston and Emlen______．
A．100ks down upon the traditionally accepted views
B．puts forward a consistent pattern for mate seeking
C．is a breakthrough in the development of sociology
D．a(chǎn)rgues for unions of individuals with similar attributes
4．Robin Dunbar suggests that______
A．a(chǎn) wealthy male should seek a rich w．ife
B．couples with similar attributes tend to 1ive happily
C．oversimplifying should be avoided in mate seeking
D．a(chǎn)n attractive woman should marry a good-looking man
5．It can be inferred from the text that______．
A．opposites do not attract in mating game
B．everyone desires to seek a higher quality mate
C．beauty is the most desirable quality for everyone
D．a(chǎn)ttractive women rarely marry good—looking men