阅读理解
Why Don''t Girls Think Like Boys?
Do you believe that only boys do well in science? Does it seem to you that girls have better vocabularies than boys? In your opinion, are boys better at building things? If your answer to each of those questions is "Yes", you are right, according to an article in Current Science. There are exceptions, but here are the facts.
On the average, males score higher on tests that measure mathematical reasoning, mechanical ability, and problem-solving skills. Females show superior ability in tests measuring vocabulary, spelling and memory. But these differences will probably not always exist. In the future, a person''s abilities may not be determined by sex. As one scientist says, "Nothing is impossible for a person to be or do."
In several recent studies, young babies have been observed and tested to discover how different abilities are developed. A scientific team headed by Jerome Kanga, a psychologist at Harvard University, is studying the thinking ability of children 11 months old. The test is a simple one. The baby, while seated on its mother''s lap watches "show" on a small theater stage.
In act 1 of the show, an orange-colored block is lifted from a blue box and moved slowly across the stage. Then it is returned to the box. This is repeated six times. Act 2 is similar, except that the orange block is smaller, but girls immediately become excited and begin to make noises that sound like language. They seem to be trying to talk.
It is known that bones, muscles, and nerves develop faster in baby girls. Usually, too, baby girls talk at an earlier age than boys do. Scientists think there is a physical reason for this. They believe that the nerve endings in the left side of the brain influences an individual''s ability to use words, to spell, and to remember things.
By the time they start to school, therefore, little girls have an advantage that boys do not have. Girls are physically more ready to remember facts, to spell, and to read. There, of course, are skills that are important in elementary school.
But what have the boys been doing in the years before starting school? They have been developing something called aggression. An aggressive person has courage and energy. He feels strong and independent. He is often the first one to start a fight.
What produces aggression in little boys? It has long been assumed that aggression is caused by male hormones. Scientists today believe that male hormones are not the only part of the explanation, however. They say aggressiveness in boys is also caused by mothers.
A team of psychologists discovered this by placing mothers and their one-year-old babies in a room filled with toys. The room had a wall through which the scientists could observe what happened without being seen. They took notes on everything the mothers and babies did.
Here is a sample of those notes, taken during the observation of a baby boy and his mother: "Baby leans against mother. Looks up at her, she speaks to him. She turns him around. He walks away, picks up a toy cat, Goes to mother drops the cat, and leans against her. Looks up at her, she turns him around."
From such observations and from conversations with mother, the scientists learned something about the treatment of baby boys and baby girls. While the mother keeps her daughter close to her, she unconsciously trains her son to move away from her, to develop independence, and to explore his surroundings. She trains him to become aggressive and to be a problem solver.
Consequently, it is easy to understand why little girls often perform school tasks more satisfactorily than boys, especially if the task requires sitting still, obeying few grades. While boys of her age bring home low marks, the girl may easily get good grades. Girls seem to have "better brains" in school. Why, then, do so few girls become great scientists? Why is the most important thinking in adult society done by men?
According to scientists, the answer is aggression. Because boys are aggressive, they refuse to accept other people''s solutions: they insist upon solving problems for themselves. Thus, while little girls are getting high marks in school for remembering what the teacher had told them, little boys are learning to think in more independent ways.
In the adult world, the aggressive person is usually the one who gets the big salary, the great responsibility, the powerful job. And since males are trained at an early age to be aggressive, males are more often chosen for key positions.
Many people believe this situation is wrong. They think women could be successful in science and industry if their early training included some "aggression lessons," if they were rewarded for independence and problem-solving, as boys are.
Furthermore, some psychologists believe that boys may get too much training in aggression. Perhaps little boys should be permitted to learn more on their mothers. It might make them more gentler. The world needs gentleness as much as aggressive strength.
单选题
It is usually the case that girls learn better in vocabularies than boys.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】本题译文:在词汇学习方面女孩通常比男孩强。题干中出现了一个比较级,这通常是题解的出发点,以learn in vocabularies为关键词我们可以定位到文章第一段。第一段指出,根据Current Science的一篇文章,在大部分情况下,女孩子在单词方面比男孩子掌握得好,由此可知题干符合原文内容。
单选题
Sex will not always determine a person''s ability.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】本题译文:性别通常不会决定一个人能力。根据题干中的关键词sex我们可以把该题定位到第二段,该段倒数第二句指出a person''s abilities may not be determined by sex。由此可知题干与原文相符。
单选题
In the show mentioned above, baby boys seem to notice the difference in the size of the block earlier than the girl babes.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】本题译文:在上面提到的表演中,男婴看上去比女婴更早地发现障碍物大小的不同。根据题干中的关键词show,我们可以把该题定位到第四段。第四段倒数第二句指出Baby boys do not seem to notice the difference in the size of the block,由此可知题千不符合原文意思。
单选题
The nerve endings in the lift side of the brain develop faster in boys than in girls.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】本题译文:男孩的大脑左侧的神经末端的发育速度要比女孩快。根据题干中的专有名词nerve endings,我们可以把该题定位到第五段。第五段第四句指出the nerve endings in the left side of the brain develop faster in girls than in boys,而题干表达的意思与原文正好相反,因此答案为N。
单选题
Male hormones are not the only reason that boys are aggressive.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】本题译文:男性荷尔蒙并不是导致男孩具有攻击性的惟一原因。根据题干中的关键词aggressiveness,我们可以把该题定位到第八段最后一句,该句指出aggressiveness in boys is also caused by mother,由此可知男性的荷尔蒙并不是男孩子好胜的惟一原因,题干符合原文。
单选题
In scientists'' observation, the mother trains her son to develop independence consciously.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】本题译文:在科学家的观察中,母亲有意识地训练儿子的独立性。根据胚干中的关键词independence。我们可以把该题定位到文章第十二段。文章第十二段指出she unconsciously trains her son to move away from her,to develop independence。由此可知母亲是不知不觉地培养男孩子的独立性的,题干与原文不符。
单选题
Teachers tend to like girls because they can get better grades and accept the teachers'' ideas faster.