life’s great mysteries：why men refuse to ask for direction 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 as young as one.A boy would try to climb a barrier 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，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．The passage mainly tells us .

A．the difference between men’s and women’s brains B．the changes in brain throughout our lives C．that men are better at spatial tasks

D．that brain differences are related to our ancestors 答案 A

解析 主旨大意题。第一段即交代了文章的主要内容：男人和女人大脑结构存在差异。 2．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”． 答案 C

解析 正误判断题。根据第一段最后两句可知，男人大脑中的“白质”较女人多，而两者大脑中负责思考的部分(“灰质”)则是一样的。

3．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. 答案 B

解析 推理判断题。由第二段和第三段可推知，女人善于同时处理多个任务，而男人由于大脑中“白质”较多，空间思维能力较好，更善于一次处理一个任务。

4．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. 答案 B

解析 细节理解题。由第四段第三句可知，女人的语言能力较好，多从事与之相关的工作。

B

Shirley Temple (1928～2014)，an American actress，was considered among the most successful child stars in the history of film.Born by an ambitious mother，Temple first appeared in a film at the age of three，and at six she starred in Stand Up and

Cheer (1934)．Known and recognized for her ability to sing and tap dance in several

films，Temple became a famous figure in 1934.At the end of that year，she was given a special Academy Award “in grateful recognition of her outstanding contribution”．

During the Great Depression of the 1930s，Temple was celebrated by an adoring public.At the height of her popularity，from 1935 to 1938，Temple was the biggest box-office attraction in Hollywood.Temple made a number of films as a teenager，but her appeal had faded，and the films were not successful.In 1949，Temple departed elegantly from Hollywood.

Two decades later，she reappeared into the spotlight by announcing her qualification as a candidate for Congress.She lost the election，but Temple displayed her determination and went on to enjoy a long and successful career with the United Nations and the State Department.

After retirement，she reported that she was at peace with her life and proud of her accomplishments in two of the nation’s most influential areas.“If I had to do it all over again，”Shirley Temple once declared，“I wouldn’t change anything.” 5．Temple became famous at the age of . A．3 C．10 答案 B

解析 细节理解题。从第一段第二句中的“...and at six she starred in Stand Up and Cheer (1934)．..”以及第三句中的“...Temple became a famous figure in 1934.”可知，应选B项。star表示“使成为明星，在电影/戏剧中担任主角”。 6．What do we learn from Paragraph 2?

B．6 D．21

A．Temple was still popular in 1949. B．Temple was a failure as a child star.

C．Hollywood made a big fortune because of Temple. D．People became tired of Temple in the Great Depression. 答案 C

解析 推理判断题。从第二段第二句“At the height of her popularity，from 1935 to 1938，Temple was the biggest box-office attraction in Hollywood.”可推知，应选C项。 7．Temple attracted people’s attention again when . A．she entered Congress B．she worked for the UN

C．she went on with the political life

D．she announced to participate in the election 答案 D

解析 细节理解题。从第三段第一句“Two decades later，she reappeared into the spotlight by announcing her qualification as a candidate for Congress.”可知选D项。

8．We know from the last paragraph that Temple . A．wanted to lead a different life B．regretted having left Hollywood C．was content with her experiences D．was sorry about her election failure 答案 C

解析 推理判断题。从最后一段可知，应选C项。