Question

Did you know that women’s brains are smaller than men’s? The average women’s brain weighs 10% less than men’s. Since research has shown that the bigger the brain, the cleverer the animal, men must be more intelligent than women. Right? Wrong. Men and women always score similarly on intelligence tests, despite the difference in brain size. Why? After years of study, researchers have concluded that it’s what’s inside that matters, not just the size of the brain. The brain consists of  “grey matter” .

It has been suggested that smaller brain appears to work faster, perhaps because the two sides of the brain are better connected in women. This means that little girls tend to learn to speak earlier, and that women can understand sorts of information from different sources at the same time. When it comes to talking to the boss on the phone, cooking dinner and keeping an eye on the baby all at the same time, it’s women who come out on top every time.

There are other important differences between two sexes. As white matter is the key to spatial(空间的) tasks, men know better where things are in relation to other things. “A great footballer always knows where he is in relation to the other players, and he knows where to go,” says one researcher. That may explain one of life’s great mysteries: why men refuse to ask for directions … and women often need to!

The differences begin when fetuses(胎儿) are about nine weeks old, which can be seen in the action of children and young as one. A boy would try to climb a barrier (障碍物) before him or push it down while a girl would attract help from others. These brain differences also explain the fact that more men take up jobs that require good spatial skills, while more women speech skills. It may all go back to our ancestors(祖先) ,among whom women needed speech skills to take care of their babies and men needed spatial skills to hunt, according to one research.

If all this disappoints you, it shouldn’t. “The brain changes throughout our lives according to what we do with it.” says a biologist.

1.Which of the following is true according to the first paragraph?

A. Women’s brain is 10% less than men’s.

B. Grey matter plays the same role as white matter.

C. Grey matter controls thinking in the brain.

D. Both sexes have the same amount of white matter.

2.What can we infer from the second and third paragraphs?

A. Women prefer doing many things at a time.

B. Men do better dealing with one job at a time.

C. Women do not need to tell directions.

D. Men have weaker spatial abilities.

3.Which of the following do you agree with according to the fourth paragraph?

A. Young boys may be stronger than young girls.

B. More women take up jobs requiring speech skills

C. Women may have stronger feelings than men.

D. Our ancestors needed more spatial skills.

4.What is the writer’s attitude in writing this passage?

A. Defensive.    B. Persuasive.

C. Supportive.   D. Objective.

Answer

1.C

2.B

3.B

4.D

【解析】

试题分析: 本文主要讲了男性的脑子比女性的大但是这并不意味着男性比女性聪明，聪明程度不是由脑子的大小决定的，相反，脑子小的人在语言上要比脑子大的男性有天赋，而男性在方向感，空间上要比女性强。

1.1】C细节理解题。根据文中第一段的最后After years of study, researchers have concluded that it’s what’s inside that matters, not just the size of the brain. The brain consists of “grey matter” .可知，grey matter控制着人的大脑。故选C。

2.2】B细节理解题。根据文中第二段最后that women can understand sorts of information from different sources at the same time. 及When it comes to talking to the boss on the phone, cooking dinner and keeping an eye on the baby all at the same time, it’s women who come out on top every time.可知，女性可以同时做很多工作，而男性一次只能做一个工作，故选B.

3.3】B 细节理解题。根据文中第四段的These brain differences also explain the fact that more men take up jobs that require good spatial skills, while more women speech skills. 可知，更多从事工作的女性都需要语言技巧，故选B。

4.4】D 推理判断题。根据文中最后一段If all this disappoints you, it shouldn’t. “The brain changes throughout our lives according to what we do with it.” says a biologist.可知，作者认为这并不是永久不变的，随着人类的改变，这些也会改变，故选D。

考点：考查教育类短文阅读。