The low percentage of women in science ，technology，engineering，and mathematics(STEM) careers is often attributed (归因于) to men being believed to be better at the sort of thinking those fields require. Though studies have debunked the view,they have largely been based on results acquired from various several standardized tests. Now, researchers from Pennsylvania' S Carnegie Mellon University have found evidence that is hard to overlook; MRI (磁共振成像) proves that young girls and boys use the same mechanisms and networks in the brain to solve math problems.
The groundbreaking study to evaluate the biological gender differences in the math talent of young children was led by the university' s professor of neuroscience, Jessica Cantlon. For their study ,the team selected 104 young children, between 3 and 10 years old, divided almost equally by gender. The scientists used a functional MRI to observe their brain activity as they engaged in math tasks. These included watching age appropriate educational videos and doing math exercises such as counting and addition,as well as reading for comparison.
“We looked at which areas of the brain respond more strongly to mathematics content in the videos and tasks, compared to non math content like reading or the alphabet, Cantlon said.“When we do that in lite girls, we see a particular network of the brain respond,and when we do that same analysis in boys, we see the exact same regions.”
So why do girls and young women tend to avoid math and STEM careers in general? Cantlon thinks it may be rooted in social and cultural conventions. Previous studies have indicated that parents tend to spend more time with young boys in play that inspire spatial cognition (空间认知)-such as toys that involve learning number skills and shapes and solving puzzles. Educators were also observed to spend more time with boys during math class.
8. What does the underlined word“debunked” in paragraph 1 mean?
A. Disproved. B. Supported.
C. Confirmed. D. Overlooked.
9. What does paragraph 2 mainly focus on?
A. The purpose of the research.
B. The process of the research.
C. The participants of the research.
D. The findings of the research.
10. What contributes to the lack of women in STEM careers?
A. Mental capacity. B. Gender difference.
C. Traditional prejudice. D. Family background.
11. What can be a suitable title for the text?
A. MRI- A Great Helper in Research
B. Toys- Boosters for STEM Potential
C. Boys and Girls: Equally Talented in Math
D. STEM Careers: Calling for More w omen
【答案】8. A    9. B    10. C    11. C
【解析】
【分析】
这是一篇说明文。研究表明，年轻男孩和女孩大脑中使用相同的机制和网络来解决数学问题。并介绍了研究的过程以及解释了女孩和年轻女性一般都倾向于避开数学和STEM职业的原因。
【8题详解】
词义猜测题。第一段中的“The low percentage of women in science ，technology，engineering，and mathematics(STEM) careers is often attributed (归因于) to men being believed to be better at the sort of thinking those fields require.”女性在科学、技术、工程和数学职业上的低比例往往归因于男性被认为更擅长这些领域需要的思考方式。“young girls and boys use the same mechanisms and networks in the brain to solve math problems.”年轻男孩和女孩大脑中使用相同的机制和网络来解决数学问题。根据句意，并且though表示转折，可以推断出前后观点不一致，所以，研究结果驳斥了前面的观点。由此可知“debunked”的意思是反驳，故选A项。
【9题详解】
细节理解题。根据第二段的内容“the team selected 104 young children, between 3 and 10 years old, divided almost equally by gender. The scientists used a functional MRI to observe their brain activity …”在他们的研究中，研究小组选择了104名年龄在3到10岁之间的儿童，他们的性别几乎相同。科学家们使用功能性核磁共振成像来观察……可知，第二段讲述了研究对象，观察的方法，研究的内容等，所以第二段关注了研究的过程。故选B项。
【10题详解】
细节理解题。根据最后一段的内容“it may be rooted in social and cultural conventions. Previous studies have indicated that parents tend to spend more time with young boys in play that inspire spatial cognition (空间认知)—such as toys that involve learning number skills and shapes and solving puzzles. Educators were also observed to spend more time with boys during math class.” Cantlon认为这可能根植于社会和文化习俗。之前的研究表明，父母倾向于花更多的时间和小男孩一起玩能激发他们空间认知能力的游戏，比如学习数字技能、形状和解决谜题的玩具。研究还发现，教育工作者在数学课上花更多的时间和男孩在一起。可知，传统的偏见导致了STEM职业中缺少女性。故选C项。
【11题详解】
主旨大意题。文章第一段中的“young girls and boys use the same mechanisms and networks in the brain to solve math problems”（年轻男孩和女孩大脑中使用相同的机制和网络来解决数学问题。）是全文的主题句，后文解释了研究的过程以及女孩和年轻女性一般都倾向于避开数学和STEM职业的原因。可知，所以这篇文章最合适的题目是“男孩和女孩:在数学方面同样有天赋”，故选C项。
【点睛】概括主旨的方法是：先看首尾或各段开头再看全文找主题句，若无明显主题句，就通过关键词句来概括(如议论文中寻找表达作者观点态度的词句，记叙文寻找概括情节和中心的动词或反映人物特点的形容词)。文中出现两种或两种以上的不同观点时，务必牢记作者的观点才是体现全文中心的。该文是介绍一个研究结果的，该类文章的中心一般就在第一段。因此，考生直接抓住第一段中的“young girls and boys use the same mechanisms and networks in the brain to solve math problems”即可找到文章中心。