6、       Are Boys Superior to Girls in Mathematics?

       Scientists have tried to come up with biological explanations for the academic（理論的）difference between boys and girls．

       However, none were believable enough to explain the general picture．As one scientist points out, “There are slight genetic differences between the sexes at birth which may affect the subjects boys and girls choose．” But the difficulty is that by the time children reach school age, there are so many other effects that it is almost impossible to tell whether girls are worse at science and math, or whether they’ve been brought up to think of these subjects as boys’ “territory”．

       Statistics（統(tǒng)計數(shù)據(jù)） show that in mathematic, at least, girls are equal to boys．A recent report suggests girls only stop studying mathematics because of social attitudes．One of the reports’ authors says, “While it is still acceptable for women to say that they are ‘hopeless’ at math, our research shows that, although girls get marks which are as good as the boys, they have not been encouraged to do so”．

       The explanation for the difference, which is very clear during the teenage years, goes as far back as early childhood experiences．From their first days in nursery school, girls are not encouraged to work on their own or to complete tasks, although boys are．For example, boys and not girls are often asked to “help” with repair work．This encouragement leads to a way of learning how to solve problems later in the life．Evidence shows that exceptional mathematics and scientists did not have teachers who supplied answers; they had to find out by themselves．

       A further report on math teaching shows that teachers seem to give more attention to boys than girls．

       Most teachers who took part in the study admitted that they expect their male students to do better at mathematics and science subjects than their female students．All of this tends to encourage boys to work harder in these subjects, gives them confidence and makes them believe that they can succeed．

       Interestingly, both boys and girls tend to regard such “male” subjects like mathematics and science as difficult．Yet it has been suggested that girls avoid mathematics courses, not because they are difficult, but for social reasons．

       Mathematics and science are mainly male subjects, and therefore, as girls become teenagers, they are less likely to take them up．Girls do not seem to want to be in open competition with boys．Neither do they want to do better than boys, because they are afraid to appear less female, and so, less attractive．

1．According to scientific studies, __________．

       A．math is not fit for girls to learn

       B．boys have a special sense of math

       C．girls are poor at math because they are the weaker sex

       D．girls can learn math as well as boys, if given enough encouragement

2．Those who made extraordinary contribution in mathematics and science ___________．

       A．usually had good teachers to help them

       B．had the ability to solve problem by themselves

       C．usually worked harder than others

       D．were encouraged to repair things when young

3．Which of the following is not true according to the passage?

       A．It seems socially acceptable for a girl not to be able to read and write

       B．It is a social problem rather than a problem of brains that girls are poor at math

       C．Mathematics and science are not easy subjects for either girls or boys

       D．There is no connection between a girl’s ability in math and her appearance