Question

I don’t ever want to talk about being a woman scientist again. There was a time in my life when people asked constantly for stories about what it’s like to work in a field dominated by men. I was never very good at telling those stories because truthfully I never found them interesting. What I do find interesting is the origin of the universe, the shape of space-time and the nature of black holes.

At 19, when I began studying astrophysics, it did not bother me in the least to be the only woman in the classroom. But while earning my Ph.D. at MIT and then as a post-doctor doing space research, the issue started to bother me. My every achievement—jobs, research papers, awards—was viewed through the lens of gender (性別) politics. So were my failures. Sometimes, when I was pushed into an argument on left brain versus (相對(duì)于) right brain, or nature versus nurture (培育), I would instantly fight fiercely on my behalf and all womankind.

Then one day a few years ago, out of my mouth came a sentence that would eventually become my reply to any and all provocations: I don’t talk about that anymore. It took me 10 years to get back the confidence I had at 19 and to realize that I didn’t want to deal with gender issues. Why should curing sexism be yet another terrible burden on every female scientist? After all, I don’t study sociology or political theory.

Today I research and teach at Barnard, a women’s college in New York City. Recently, someone asked me how may of the 45 students in my class were women. You cannot imagine my satisfaction at being able to answer, 45. I know some of my students worry how they will manage their scientific research and a desire for children. And I don’t dismiss those concerns. Still, I don’t tell them “war” stories. Instead, I have given them this: the visual of their physics professor heavily pregnant doing physics experiments. And in turn they have given me the image of 45 women driven by a love of science. And that’s a sight worth talking about.

Why doesn’t the author want to talk about being a woman scientist again?

A. She feels unhappy working in male-dominated fields.

B. She is fed up with the issue of gender discrimination.

C. She is not good at telling stories of the kind.

D. She finds space research more important.

   From Paragraph 2, we can infer that people would attribute the author’s failures to ________.

A. the very fact that she is a woman

B. her involvement in gender politics

C. her over-confidence as a female astrophysicist

D. the burden she bears in a male-dominated society

What did the author constantly fight against while doing her Ph.D. and post-doctoral research?

A. Lack of confidence in succeeding in space science.

B. Unfair accusations from both inside and outside her circle.

C. People’s stereotyped attitude toward female scientists.

D. Widespread misconceptions about nature and nurtured.

Why does the author feel great satisfaction when talking about her class?

A. Female students no longer have to bother about gender issues.

B. Her students’ performance has brought back her confidence.

C. Her female students can do just as well as male students.

D. More female students are pursuing science than before.

What does the image the author presents to her students suggest?

A. Women students needn’t have the concerns of her generation.

B. Women have more barriers on their way to academic success.

C. Women can balance a career in science and having a family.

D. Women now have fewer problems pursuing a science career.

Answer 1

【小題1】B

【小題2】A

【小題3】C

【小題4】D

【小題5】C

解析:

【小題1】對(duì)于性別歧視問(wèn)題使作者一直非常煩惱,所以她不再喜歡回答這類的問(wèn)題。

【小題2】第二段講的是作者對(duì)性別問(wèn)題的態(tài)度由不在乎轉(zhuǎn)變?yōu)闊崆殛P(guān)注的過(guò)程。19歲時(shí)完全超脫（it did not bother me in the least），麻省理工求學(xué)及之后研究時(shí)開(kāi)始受到干擾（the issue started to bother me），這種干擾就是作者所有的成就：工作、研究論文、獲獎(jiǎng)，都受到性別偏見(jiàn)這副有色眼鏡的過(guò)濾（viewed through the lens of gender politics），而后作者寫了一句So were my failures，so在這里是代指，指代viewed through the lens of gender politics，即my failures were also viewed through the lens of gender politics，意思就是人們是從性別政治的角度看待她的失敗，也就是認(rèn)為她的失敗是由性別偏見(jiàn)引起的。這樣的話，符合這個(gè)意思的只有A。

【小題3】C說(shuō)是人們對(duì)女性科學(xué)家的固有態(tài)度。文中第二段從But while earning my Ph.D. at MIT and then as a post-doctor doing space research, the issue started to bother me這句開(kāi)始，講述了作者面對(duì)世人成見(jiàn)時(shí)如何挺身而出、為女性仗義執(zhí)言。這也就是C 所表達(dá)的意思。

【小題4】追求科學(xué)研究的女生比以前多了。這一描述符合上文的分析。

【小題5】題目問(wèn)作者展示給學(xué)生們的圖景意味著什么。文章的最后一段講到了作者曾給學(xué)生展示過(guò)一個(gè)懷孕教師堅(jiān)持做物理試驗(yàn)的圖景。相關(guān)原文是：I have given them this: the visual of their physics professor heavily pregnant doing physics experiments，身懷六甲的物理教授依然在做物理實(shí)驗(yàn)。而這一行為的前因后果在第四段中也描述得很清楚。在這句話之前，作者給出了原因： I know some of my students worry how they will manage their scientific research and a desire for children，一些學(xué)生擔(dān)心不能很好地處理科研與生育孩子之間的平衡。作者為了消除學(xué)生們的擔(dān)憂，便展示了這個(gè)圖景。而在這句話之后，作者給出了結(jié)果：in turn they have given me the image of 45 women driven by a love of science，45個(gè)學(xué)生完全投入到科學(xué)之愛(ài)中。從這些前因后果可以看出，作者之所以展示這一圖景，就是為了打消學(xué)生對(duì)于生育孩子會(huì)否影響科學(xué)研究的憂慮。C項(xiàng)女性可以在科研和擁有家庭之間很好地平衡。符合前面的分析。