Men have always believed that they are smarter than women. Now, a study has found that while this is certainly true, men also have to deal with the fact that they are also more stupid than the fairer sex.
In the study, scientists measured the IQ of 2500 brothers and sisters and they found an uneven number of men not only in the top two percent, but also in the bottom two percent.
The study's participants were tested on science, maths, English and mechanical abilities.
Though there were twice as many men as women in the smartest group, there were also twice as many men among the dolts.
The aggregate scores of men and women were similar.
One of the study's authors, psychology professor Timothy Bates, said that the phenomenon may be because men have always been expected to be high achievers and women have been restricted to spend more time taking care of their home.
"The female developmental program may be tilted more towards ensuring survival and the safety of the middle ground.," the Daily Mail quoted Professor Bates, of Edinburgh University, as saying.
The research tallies with past results that men were more likely than women to receive first class University degrees or thirds and women secured the seconds.
It has been said that men are more ready to take risk when it comes to academics. Women have always found to be steadier in their learning.
A past study has shown that women are securing more firsts and seconds, while men are continuing to receive more thirds.
The argument for the change is that the increase of coursework at the cost of exams favors women's steady approach.
51. The purpose of the passage is to tell us that ________.
A. man are smarter then women
B. man are more stupid the women
C. a new fact about the IQ of men and women has been found
D. men are more likely to receive first class university degrees
52. According to Timothy Bates, less women are in the smartest group because _________.
A. they are born stupid
B. they have to spend more time to tale care of their home than men
C. they don’t like to take risk
D. they are not expected to be high achievers
53. The underlined word tallies with in the eighth paragraph means________.
A. agree with B. deal with C. go against D. go with
54. It can be inferred from the passage that______.
A. Women are steadier in their learning.
B. men are more ready to take risk in everything
C. women are securing more firsts and seconds
D. women are doing much better in academy
55. Which of the following questions has NOT been discussed in the passage?
A. Why are men smarter than women?
B. Why are men more stupid than women?
C. How does the result go along with the past research?
D. How can we help the men in the bottom?
Choose Your Virginia
Rock House Museum
Rock House Museum. Take a journey through history with a visit to the exciting museum and historic sites of Wytheville. The Rock House Museum offers glimpses into daily life in the 19th century. The museum is part of the 50 structures featured in Wytheville's Historic Walking Tour. 540/223-3330.
Natural Bridge of Virginia
Natural Bridge of Virginia, one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. Caverns of Natural Bridge, guided tours of underground wonders; Natural Bridge Inn & Conference Center, Indoor Heated Pool, largest Gift & Souvenir Shop in the East. Information 800/533-1410.
Grand Caverns
Grand Caverns is America's oldest showcave. Beautiful and massive formations. Union troops visited the caverns. Thomas Jefferson visited—you should too! Open weekends in March, daily April~October, 9 am~5 pm. Hour tours leave every 30 minutes. 703/249-5705.
The News Museum
The News Museum in Arlington, the world's only interactive (互动) museum of news. Visitors can be reporters or television newscasters, see today's news as it happens on a block-long video news wall, and be takenbehind the scenes to see how news is made. The news museum is open Wednesday through Sunday from 10 am~5 pm. 888/NEWSEUM.www.Newsmuseum. Org
Kenmore Plantation & Gardens
Kenmore Plantation & Gardens, visit over two hundred years of history from the Revolutionary War, Civil War and into the 21st century. Home of Betty Washington, George Washington's only sister, and Patriot Col, Fielding Lewis. Explore this historic building and city block of restored gardens. Tea and ginger cookies served.540/373-3381.
Virginia Beach
Virginia Beach offers 11,000 hotel/motel rooms, plus cottages and campgrounds. Enjoy miles of clean beaches and a variety of family attractions. Fine restaurants, various shopping areas, exciting nightlife, and special events are offered throughout the year. 800/ 822-3224.What is the author's purpose in writing this passage?
| A.To attract tourists to Virginia. |
| B.To encourage people to settle in Virginia. |
| C.To introduce historic sites in Virginia. |
| D.To give people a general description of Virginia. |
What way is the News Museum different from Rock House Museum?
| A.It is larger. |
| B.It is more exciting. |
| C.Visitors can act in it. |
| D.Visitors can see more in it. |
If you want to enjoy yourself in the evening, you may go to __________.
| A.The News Museum |
| B.Kenmore Plantation & Gardens |
| C.Grand Caverns |
| D.Virginia Beach |
Which of the following places is not open in the winter months?
| A.Natural Bridge of Virginia. |
| B.Grand Caverns. |
| C.Virginia Beach. |
| D.Kenmore Plantation & Gardens. |
Which of the following is NOT true about Virginia Beach?
| A.Tourists can camp in the open air. |
| B.Tourists can enjoy some special events there. |
| C.Tourists can not go there in their own cars. |
| D.Tourists can enjoy themselves on the clean beach. |
"Our aim is to take our art to the world and make people understand what it is to move," said David Belle, the founder of parkour (跑酷).
Do you love running? It is a good exercise, yet many people find it boring. But what if making your morning jog a creative one? Like jumping from walls and over gaps, and ground rolls? Just like the James Bond in the movie Casino Royale, Bond jumps down from a roof to a windowsill and then runs several blocks over obstacles on the way. It is just because of Bond's wonderful performances that the sport has become popular worldwide.
Yes, that's parkour, an extreme street sport aimed at moving from one point to another as quickly as possible, getting over all the obstacles in the path using only the abilities of the human body. Parkour isconsidered an extreme sport. As its participants dash around a city, they may jump over fences, run up walls and even move from rooftop to rooftop.
Parkour can be just as exciting and charming as it sounds, but its participants see parkour much more than that.
Overcoming all the obstacles on the course and in life is part of the philosophy (理念) behind parkour. This is the same as life. You must determine your destination, go straight, jump over all the barriers as if in parkour and never fall back from them in your life, to reach the destination successfully. A parkour lover said, "I love parkour because its philosophy has become my life, my way to do everything."
Another philosophy we've learnt from parkour is freedom. It can be done by anyone, at any time, anywhere in the world. It is a kind of expression of trust in yourself that you earn energy and confidence.Parkour has become popular throughout the world because of __________.
| A.its founder, David Belle |
| B.the film Casino Royale |
| C.its risks and tricks |
| D.the varieties of participants |
The underlined word "obstacles" in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to "__________".
| A.streets |
| B.objects |
| C.barriers |
| D.roofs |
Which of the following is true of parkour?
| A.It challenges human abilities. |
| B.It is a good but boring sport. |
| C.It needs special training. |
| D.It is a team sport. |
As its participants move around a city, __________.
| A.they can ask for help |
| B.they may choose to escape |
| C.they should run to extremes |
| D.they must learn to survive |
STRANGERS parties go wild these days. The main idea of them is to never let the people know who their matches are until the last minute. These are some popular practices that are storming the world’s youth on this V-day.
Speed dating
It's exactly what the name implies. Complete with a timer, a whistle and 50 willing singles, speed dating is not the traditional dinner and a movie type of first date. Singles pay US MYM35 for three minutes with more than two dozen future dates. They ask questions and try to get to know each other. At the sound of a whistle, they do the same thing all over again—25 times in all.
Lock and key party
Women are given a lock and men are given a key, upon arriving at the party. Each key and lock has several matches. One can hunt for his/her laterto-be sweetheart in various groups, and try out the key or lock. Each time a lock and key matching the pair are entered into a ballot (票数) for top prizes!
Dinner in the dark
Waiters wearing night vision glasses guide the guests through the pitch-black dining room. They are seated at the table and familiarized with the wine glass and plate. Food is handled with the fingers. People will not see the food they are eating or the guests at their table until the dessert course. At that moment, dining partners will appear.
Message party
Have A Cocktail, Leave A Message! When you arrive, you get a tag with a number and a pad of post it notes. If you see someone you like, write a message on the message board. But wait... You've got a message... Go and collect it! You can make newfriends and win lots of gifts. The more messages you leave on the bulletin board, the more chances you have of winning prizes.What do you think the similarities of these parties are?
| A.All the parties have very strict rules for their members. |
| B.If you want to go to any of the parties, you have to buy a ticket. |
| C.All the parties are aimed at strangers who want to be lovers. |
| D.All the parties are suitable not only for the young but for the old. |
In which party does a participant have to be careful with the time?
| A.Speed dating. |
| B.Lock and key party. |
| C.Dinner in the dark. |
| D.Message party. |
If you go to the Dinner in the dark, __________.
| A.you have to wear night vision glasses |
| B.you have to eat with your hands |
| C.guests eat all the courses in the darkness |
| D.your dining partners will help you choose the food |
How many of the parties offer gifts or prizes?
| A.1. |
| B.2. |
| C.3. |
| D.4. |
Robots have proved to be valuable tools for soldiers, surgeons and homeowners hoping to keep the carpet clean. But in each case, they are designed and built specifically for the job. Now there is a movement under way to build multipurpose machines—robots that can move about in changing environmentssuch as offices or living rooms and work with their hands.
All-purpose robots are not, of course, a new idea. "It's been five or 10 years from happening for about 50 years, " says Eric Berger, co-director of the Personal Robotics Program at Willow Garage, a Silicon Valley organization. The delay is in part because even simple tasks require a huge set of capabilities. For a robot to fetch a mug, for example, it needs to make sense of data gathered by a variety of sensorslaser scanners identifying potential blocking objects, cameras searching for the target, force feedback in the fingers that grasp the mug, and more. Yet Berger and other experts are confident that real progress could be made in the next decade.
The problem, according to Willow Garage, is the lack of a common platform for all that computational effort. Instead of enlarging the capabilities of a single machine, everyone is designing robots and the software to control them, from the ground up. To help change this, Willow Garage is currently producing 25 copies of its model PR2 (for "Personal Robot 2"), a two-armed, wheeled machine that can switch off the electricity, open doors and move through a room. Ten of the robots will stay in house, but 10 more will go to outside research groups, and everyone will share their advances. This way, Berger says, if you want to build the robotic equivalent (等同物) of a Twitter (推特网站), you won't start by constructing a computer. "You build the thing that's new."The robots are mentioned to do some specific jobs EXCEPT in __________.
| A.battle fields |
| B.operation room |
| C.people's houses |
| D.wild fields |
The multipurpose robot may be identified as a machine that __________.
| A.can move about in changing environments and work with their hands |
| B.can make sense of data gathered by a variety of sensors |
| C.has a huge set of abilities to finish all the simple tasks |
| D.has identifying laser scanners, searching cameras and force feedback |
According to Willow Garage, we will make realprogress in building all-purpose robots if __________.
| A.everyone is designing robots and the software to control them |
| B.they can produce 25 copies of its model PR2 |
| C.people can enlarge the capabilities of a single machine |
| D.people can start by constructing a computer |
Ed Viesturs grew up in Rockford, Illinois, where the tallest thing on the horizon was the water tower. But on Thursday, Viesturs became the only American to climb to the top of the world's 14 highest mountains.
His last hike was up Mount Annapurna, in Asia's snowcapped Himalayas. At 26, 545 feet, its peak is the 10th highest in the world. It is the mountain that inspired him to start climbing.
"It tends to be the trickiest, the most dangerous, said Viesturs."There's no simple way to climb it. There are threatening avalanches (雪崩) and ice falls that protect the mountain."
In high school, Viesturs read French climber Maurice Herzog's tale of climbing the icy Annapurna. Herzog's story was of frostbite (冻伤) and difficulty and near-death experiences. Viesturs was hooked right away.
Viesturs got his start on Washington's Mount Rainier in 1977, guiding hikes in the summer. Fifteen years ago, he set out to walk up to the world's highest peaks. Finally, he's done.
The pioneering climber talks about mountains as if they were living creatures that should be treated with respect. "You have to use all of your senses, all of your abilities to see if the mountain will let you climb it," said Viesturs. "If we have the patience and the respect, and if we're here at the right time, under the right circumstances, they allow us to go up, and allow us to come down."
What's next for a man who can't stop climbing? "I'm going to hug my wife and kids and kind of kick back and enjoy the summer," says Viesturs. But for a man who's climbed the world's 14 tallest mountains, he will probably soon set off on yet another adventure.What record has Ed Viesturs set?
| A.He has succeeded in climbing to the world's 14th highest mountain. |
| B.He has been to the top of the world's 14 highest mountains. |
| C.He has become the first to climb to the height of 26, 545 feet. |
| D.He has become the first man to climb to the top of 14th highest mountains in the world. |
The underlined word "hooked" in Paragraph 4 can be replaced by "__________".
| A.frightened |
| B.discouraged |
| C.interested |
| D.upset |
The author used Viestures' words in Paragraph 6 to support a view that __________.
| A.mountain climbing is a dangerous sport |
| B.mountains should be regarded as living creatures |
| C.mountain climbing needs more skills than physical energy |
| D.those who like mountain climbing won't stop climbing |
What's the next probable plan of Viestures?
| A.Stopping climbing and staying with his family. |
| B.Climbing to the top of the world's 14 tallest mountains again. |
| C.Climbing another one of the highest mountains. |
| D.Writing down the experiences about his adventure. |