单选题 Researchers are finding that boys and girls really are from two different planets. Boys and girls have different "crisis points", experts say, stages in their emotional and social development where things can go very wrong. Until recently, girls got all the attention. But boys are much more likely than girls to have discipline problems at school and to be diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). Boys far outnumber girls in special-education classes. They're also more likely to commit violent crimes and end up in jail.
Even normal boy behavior has come to be considered pathological (病态的) in the wake of the feminist movement. An abundance of physical energy and the urge to conquer — these are normal male characteristics, and in an earlier age they were good things, even essential to survival. "If Huck Finn or Tom Sawyer were alive today," says Michael Gurian, author of The Wonder of Boys, "we'd say they had ADD." He says one of the new insights we're gaining about boys is a very old one: boys will be boys. "They are who they are," says Gurian, "and we need to love them for who they are. Let's not try to {{U}}rewire{{/U}} them."
But what exactly is the essential nature of boys? Even as infants, boys and girls behave differently. A recent study at Children's Hospital in Boston found that boy babies are more emotionally expressive; girls are more reflective. (That means boy babies tend to cry when they're unhappy; girl babies suck their thumbs) This could indicate that girls are innately more able to control their emotions. Boys have higher levels of testosterone and lower levels of neurotransmitter serotonin, which inhabits aggression and impulsivity. That may help explain why more males than females carry through with suicide or become alcoholics.
There's struggle — a desire and need for warmth on the one hand and a pull toward independence on the other. Boys are going through what psychologists long ago declared an integral part of growing up: individualization and disconnection from parents, especially mothers. But now some researchers think that process is too abrupt. When boys repress normal feelings like love because of social pressure, says William Pollack, head of the Center for Men at Boston's McLean Hospital, "they've lost contact with the genuine nature of whom they are and what they feel. Boys are in a silent crisis. The only time we notice it is when they pull the trigger."

单选题 Which of the following is NOT true according to the first paragraph?

A. Boys and girls are different.
B. Boys need more attention than girls.
C. Girls almost need no help from society.
D. Boys are more difficult to educate than girls.

单选题 What can be inferred about Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn (Para.2)?

A. They were more like today's girls than boys.
B. They suffered Attention Deficit Disorder but were not diagnosed.
C. They were energetic and conquering.
D. They had more problems than today's boy.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[考点] 推断题 [解析] 根据题干信号词Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn以及出处提示Para.2可回文定位到第二段第三句If Huck Finn or Tom Sawyer were alive today...。鉴于此句是举例信息(例子证明的对象往往在上文)，又考虑到推断题往往需要借助上文或下文信息作分析推断，故考生要重点关注本段第二句信息，此句是本题的“题眼”：An abundance of physical energy and the urge to conquer-these are normal male characteristics, and in an earlier age they were good things, even essential to survival(有着充沛的精力和征服欲——这些是正常的男性特征，在早些时候都是优点，甚至对人类的生存至关重要)。据此可知Tom Sawyer和Huck Finn作为紧随其后的举例对象，应具有同样的特征，即“有着充沛的精力和征服欲”，故答案为C。考生注意：energetic对应原文An abundance of physical energy；conquering对应原文the urge to conquer。

单选题 The word "rewire" (Para.2) could best be replaced by ______.

A. restore to a former condition
B. recognize the worth of
C. change the nature of
D. address the problems of

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[考点] 词汇推断题 [解析] 根据题干中的信号词“rewire”以及出处提示语Para.2可回文定位到第二段尾句Let's not try to rewire them(我们不应试图……他们)。鉴于词汇推断题的思路是根据问题词汇的上文或下文信息分析推断词义，故考生须关注本句的上文信息(段尾句使然)，以寻找线索：They are who they are, and we need to love them for who they are(他们就是他们，我们应该爱他们本来的样子)，据此可推知我们不应该试图“改变他们的本质”，故答案为C。