In 1992, Teen Talk Barbie was released with the controversial voice fragment, “Math class is hard.” While the toy's release met with strong public reaction, this underlying assumption persists, spreading the myth that women do not thrive in science, technology, engineering and mathematic (STEM) fields due to biological inadequacies in math aptitude. However, in 2019 Jessica Cantlon at Carnegie Mellon University led a research team that comprehensively examined the brain development of young boys and girls and found no gender difference in brain function or math ability.
Cantlon and her team conducted the first neuroimaging study to evaluate biological gender differences in math aptitude of young children. Her team used functional MRI（核磁共振）to measure the brain activity in 104 young children (3-to-10-year-old; 55 girls) while watching an educational video covering early math topics, like counting and addition. The researchers compared scans from the boys and girls to evaluate brain similarity. In addition, the team examined brain maturity by comparing the children's scans to those taken from a group of adults (63 adults; 25 women) who watched the same math videos.
After numerous statistical comparisons, Cantlon and her team found no difference in the brain development of girls and boys. In addition, the researchers found no difference in how boys and girls processed math skills and were equally engaged while watching the educational videos. Finally, boys' and girls' brain maturity were statistically equivalent when compared to either men or women in the adult group.
Cantlon said she thinks society and culture are likely steering girls and young women away from math and STEM fields, as previous studies show that families spend more time with young boys in play that involves spatial cognition（空间认知）. “Typical socialization can make worse small differences between boys and girls that can snowball into how we treat them in science and math,” Cantlon said. “We need to be aware of these origins to ensure we aren't the ones causing the gender inequities.”
However, this project is focused on early childhood development using a limited set of math tasks. Cantlon wants to continue this work using a broader scope of math skills, such as spatial processing and memory, and follow the children over many years.
1.What can we infer about the toy’s release?
A.It has raised a storm of applause.
B.Girls perform no worse than boys in math.
C.Math is a subject difficult to every one of us.
D.Women are born with insufficient math abilities.
2.What can we learn from the study conducted by Cantlon?
A.Boys process math skills more quickly than girls.
B.Boys and girls have similar brain in math abilities.
C.Boys and girls have similar interest in math.
D.Adults have better brain than children in math.
3.What will Cantlon most likely agree with?
A.Parents should lengthen the time spent with girls.
B.Society is causing a greater gender difference in math abilities.
C.Culture plays a leading role in children’s brain development.
D.We should cultivate boys’ and girls’ math abilities equally.
4.How will Cantlon further her research?
A.By using a wider range of math skills.
B.By involving a broader scope of subjects.
C.By increasing the complexity of math tasks.
D.By following the children until their adulthood.
A cloudless Southern California sky looms over the Pro Park Course for the Pro Skate Park Series. Here to compete are some of the top female skaters in the world. The women skaters range in age from early adolescence to early 30s, but in a sport that embraces youth, there is one who stands out. At 8 years old, Sky Brown, would be the youngest skater, male or female, ever to compete at this series.
She is known to some — a minor star of the viral age. When her first video was posted to YouTube, Sky initially gained a little internet fame as a premature and level-headed 4-year-old — highly intelligent, well-spoken beyond her years, hugely talented, and yet grounded. Four years later, it was announced that she would be competing at Huntington Beach. Still, the question remains: Is she truly ready, or will this be another case where reality comes crashing down hard on all the hype?
And then, it turns out to be anything but. Sky goes out and presents one surprise after another. Commentators Neal Hendrix and Chris Pastras are left in awe, “Half of the pros can't do.” The only thing that makes the prodigy look like a kid is her size. In every other regard, she holds her own with skaters 10 and 20 years her senior. Before the competition at Huntington, Sky was a curiosity. After, she is a competitor.
Sky's first memory of a skateboard is seeing her father, Stuart, doing a few tricks in front of the family home. “It always looked really fun,” says Sky. “I just kept begging to try it.” Sky progressed quickly, although she never had a formal coach. Somehow she just had the knack. Every movement, every shift in weight, every push and pull of body on board, she absorbed. Then, she did it herself.
“You get so close to making it,” she says of her process, “and think you're about to land it, and then it takes you 100 more times. I'm always saying to my parents, 'Just one last try.'” If anyone was pushing, striving to get better, it was Sky herself, learning new tricks the same way everyone else does — by trying, failing, falling, and getting back up again.
1.What does the author intend to do in Paragraph 2?
A.To show Sky’s early experience.
B.To show Sky’s talents from varied aspects.
C.To show the public’s doubt about Sky’s competence.
D.To show the public’s recognition of Sky’s performances.
2.What do we know about Sky?
A.She equals the senior skaters in the competition.
B.She looks like a professional skater in terms of her figure.
C.She participates in a competition inappropriate for the young.
D.She has already become a household name before the competition.
3.What is the main reason for Sky’s achievements?
A.Her parents push her too hard.
B.She practices hard and never quits.
C.Her coach is very strict with her.
D.Her father exerts a strong influence on her.
4.What is the best title for the text?
A.A Rocky Road Leads to Internet Fame
B.A Strong Competitor Stands out from Crowd
C.An 8-year-old Skater Amazes the World
D.A Wonder Shows at the Pro Skate Park Series
With all the attention Thanksgiving and Christmas get from travellers, it’s easy to overlook Halloween as a destination holiday. While a few cities provide a ghostly atmosphere all year round, annual festivals, theme park pop-up events and other haunted happenings elsewhere have helped make the holiday a travel mini-season all its own.
New Orleans
Home to year-round cemetery walks, New Orleans is among the cities that naturally harmonize with Halloween. Worth noting every October is the family-friendly Halloween parade, happening this year on Oct. 21, with floats devoted to themes like werewolves and vampires. Float riders throw locally made candies to the crowd. New Orleans hosts plenty of after-event-parties, but the procession itself draws all ages in costume.
Whitby, England
This picturesque town on England’s Yorkshire coast is considered to be the home of Dracula, though in a different way. Bram Stoker spent just a month in Whitby, but those four weeks in July and August 1890 were important in the creation of his most famous book, “Dracula”, which was published in 1897. Whitby celebrated the 125th anniversary of Stoker’s visit in 2015, but this year you can see the skeletal remains of Whitby Abbey illuminated throughout the final week of October.
Salem, Massachusetts
Home to the infamous witch trials of the early 1690s, it should come as no surprise that this town is a hotbed for Halloween activity. One way Salem builds on its spectral past is with the nearly month-long festival of the Dead. Events starting from mid-October this year include psychic readings, mourning-themed tea and on Halloween night, a witches gathering.
Orlando, Florida
The home of Disney World and Universal Studios goes all-out with huge Halloween events. Universal this year will hold its 27th Halloween Horror Night on Oct. 30, a seasonal pop-up featuring haunted houses and “scareactors” employed to frighten visitors. Plus, there are many other activities like trick-or-treating, Disney character encounters, a Halloween ball and fireworks.
1.Which of the following is most recommended for a family going together?
A.New Orleans. B.Whitby, England.
C.Salem, Massachusetts. D.Orlando, Florida.
2.Where do Halloween activities last the longest this year?
A.New Orleans. B.Whitby, England.
C.Salem, Massachusetts. D.Orlando, Florida.
3.What can you do in Orlando, Florida ?
A.Have mourning-themed tea. B.Enjoy dancing.
C.Watch Disney movies. D.See skeletal remains.
Google’s self-driving car is designed to work without a gas pedal(踏板)or steering wheel(方向盘). Now, the company has confirmed that the car doesn’t have any windscreen wipers either, because there’s no need for passengers to see where they are being driven.
The car requires no input from a driver, other than telling it the destination. There is no driving in the way we know it and all people inside the cars will be passengers who can spend their time paying no attention to the road. While the car may not need windscreen wipers, the lack of them may make passengers feel helpless if they are unable to see where they are going clearly.
Google’s two-seater “bubble” cars have buttons to begin and end the drive, but no other controls. An on-board computer uses data from sensors, including radar(雷达)and cameras, to make turns and navigate its way around pedestrians and other vehicles. Under the vision made public by Google, passengers might set their destination by typing it into a map or using commands. The new car can’t go faster than 25 miles per hour(40 km/h). It is electric and has to be recharged after 80 miles(129 km). They can only be used in areas that have been thoroughly mapped by Google.
Google has been testing its self-driving cars since 2009 and its steering wheel-less sample since early this summer. It intends on making its driverless cars available to consumers in the next five years. The ultimate goal of the project is computer-controlled cars that can get rid of human error, which results in about 90 percent of the 1.2 million road deaths that occur worldwide each year and it was also inspiring to start with a blank sheet of paper.
1.Why may people feel helpless riding in Google’s self-driving car?
A. They have no idea of the destination. B. There are no other controls.
C. They are unable to see the road clearly. D. The car is traveling too fast.
2.What’s the main idea of the third paragraph?
A. The tests the car needs to pass.
B. What the drivers need to drive the car.
C. The development of the new car.
D. How Google’s self-driving car works.
3.How long can Google’s self-driving car travel before being recharged?
A. 25 miles. B. 40 miles. C. 80 miles. D. 129 miles.
4.What can we learn from the last paragraph?
A. Google began to test self-driving cars this summer.
B. The majority of the road deaths are caused by drivers.
C. Driver less cars will be available to consumers next year.
D. Google’s computer controlled cars fire the drivers’ inspiration.
Do you ever find yourself spending time on product reviews when you buy something online, only to find that the product you bought is junk(废物)? New research led by Dr. Powell of Stanford University may explain why this happens: it boils down to the number of reviews a product has.
The study found that when choosing between two products online, people tend to favor the one with more reviews despite the fact that the more reviewed product is of lower quality. This is because when shopping online, consumers engage(从事)in a type of “social learning”, where they learn from observing the decisions of other people and the results of those decisions. People attach more importance to the choices of others. When evaluating online products, the item’s rating and number of reviews can be helpful to an unsure customer. But a new study, published in the journal Psychological Science, found that consumers don’t check those figures to learn their true meaning enough. So they fail to do a simple task when viewing online rating and reviews, leading them to purchase products of poor quality. When shopping online, consumers engaging in social learning become informed from the decisions of others. For example, you’re more likely to buy a book at the top of the New York Times’ best-sellers list or buy an app that’s been downloaded millions of times. But looking at other people’s choices is only a part of social learning. However, how people understand or fail to understand this data is affecting their decision-making in a negative way. Overcoming this bias(偏见)is difficult because consumers find comfort in popularity.
Powell and his colleagues also found evidence of this trend beyond the study. “It doesn’t necessarily mean that better things don’t become more popular, but as a consumer, when you’re looking at the number of reviews, it’s not telling you anything,” said Dr. Powell.
1.What does the underlined phrase “boils down to” probably mean?
A. is equal to B. results in C. is due to D. focuses on
2.What belief do unsure consumers hold when purchasing products?
A. Rating determines quality. B. Popularity is good.
C. Bad reviews should be ignored. D. More-reviewed products is poor.
3.What do Dr. Powell’s words mean in the last paragraph?
A. The product’s rating often fails to reflect true quality.
B. Usually consumers will find much comfort in popularity.
C. Consumers should distinguish good things and bad things.
D. Consumers should follow others when buying things online.
4.What is probably the best title of the text?
A. How to Purchase Online B. Why We Buy Junk Online
C. Why We Ignore Bad Reviews D. How to Review a Product
Some African schools are adding programs that teach what officials are calling “soft skills” to students. Soft skills are personal qualities that help a person relate effectively to others. Officials say this kind of training can help students succeed in the job market and in life.
The training is being offered at the St. Bernadette Kamonyi Secondary School in Kigali, Rwanda. For weeks, its students have been visiting neighborhood businesses. The goal of these field trips is for the young people to learn what is necessary to secure a job.
For the secondary school students, this information is important. In a few months, they’ll complete their studies and try their best to find work. One of the Rwandan students is 22-year-old Aminadab Niyitegeka. He says he will look for any job available. He hopes that what he learns in his work readiness class will help. Traditionally, secondary schools in Africa have spent more time on subjects like mathematics and science, largely ignoring areas like public speaking and teamwork. But that is changing. Schools are exploring new teaching models to offer soft skills and professional training. It is part of an effort to perpare students to become better communicators, problem solvers and citizens(公民).
Rwanda has started a work readiness training program called Akazi Kanoze Access. It means “work well done” in Kinyarwanda, the official language of Rwanda. The program has trained more than 20,000 students to help make them more appealing to employers.
Emmanuel Ntagungira is a teacher and works as a trainer for Akazi Kanoze Access. He often visits employers who have given jobs to high schools. The employers are very happy because the graduates are ready to work. He says he hopes the program will help lower unemployment, which stands at over 13 percent nationwide. He also explains that the graduates have a healthy mindset and employers are satisfied with the job they’ve been doing.
1.Why do St. Bernadette Kamonyi Secondary School students visit neighborhood businesses?
A. To find some suitable jobs for them.
B. To explore new learning methods.
C. To help the neighbors with daily affairs.
D. To learn some skills to get a job.
2.What do secondary schools in Africa traditionally focus on?
A. Subjects like mathematics and science.
B. Public speaking and teamwork.
C. Communicating skills with employers.
D. New teaching models and skills.
3.What does Emmanuel Ntagungira think of the program?
A. Instructive. B. Beneficial. C. Persuasive. D. Controversial.
