It is a finding which is certain to be hotly discussed. According to the latest research, women are brighter than men. For the first time in IQ testing, psychologists have found that female scores have risen above those of men. Since IQ testing began a century ago, women have been as much as five points behind. But that gap has been narrowing in recent years and this year women have moved ahead, according to James Flynn, leader of the research. "In the last 100 years the IQ scores of both men and women have risen but women's have risen faster," said Mr. Flynn. "This is a result of modernity, which is making our brains adapt and raising our IQ." One possible explanation is that women's lives have become more demanding as they multitask between raising a family and doing a job. Another is that women have a slightly higher potential intelligence than men and are only now realizing it. Mr. Flynn, who will publish his findings in a book, said more data was needed to explain the trend. "The full effect of modernity on women is only just starting," he added. He compared IQ result from countries in western Europe and from the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Argentina and Estonia. These showed that in westernized countries the gap in scores between men and women had become minimal . The data for making comparison was limited and could be carried out for only a few countries. It included Australia, where male and female IQs were found to be almost the same. In New Zealand, Estonia and Argentina, women scored slightly more than men. Mr. Flynn said, "As the world gets more complex, people are adapting." He added, "I suspect that the same trends are happening in Britain, although the data is too limited to be true." On IQ tests in the past _ . A) women were as bright as men B) women were brighter than men C) men had been five points behind D) men were brighter than women
D
Scientists have always been interested in the high level of organization in ant societies. American researchers have watched ants build life-saving rafts to keep afloat during floods. They also have documented how ant colonies choose their next queen--the female whose job is to produce eggs rather than seek food for others. New technology is helping to improve researchers' understanding of the insects. But there is still a lot to be learned. Fire ants living in Brazilian forests are perfectly at home in an environment where flooding is common. To save themselves, the insects connect their legs together and create floating rafts. Some ant rafts can be up to 20 centimeters wide. David Hu who is a mechanical engineer with the Georgia Institute of Technology, also known as Georgia Tech, says, "If you have 100 ants, which means 600 legs, 99 percent of those legs will be connected to a neighbor. So they're very, very good at maintaining this network." David Hu and other Georgia Tech researchers want to study ants and the secret of their engineering. They freeze ant rafts and then look at them with the help of computed technology, or CT, images. The pictures show that larger ants serve in central positions to which smaller ants hold. The larger ants form pockets of air that keep the insects afloat. Scientists say small robots or materials that can change shape could be programmed in a similar way, working towards a shared goal. Researchers at North Carolina State University are also studying ants. They examined how Indian jumping ants choose the leader of the colony when they lose their top female or queen. What can we know from what David Hu said? A) Ants know the way to keep a good figure. B) Ants know the way to join together tightly. C) Ants know the way to get along with each other. D) Ants know the way to form a harmonious society.
B
Q: Trapped on the 37thFloor Melinda Skaar wasn't expecting any phone calls.Skaar was working late in her office at the First Interstate bank of California.By 10:45 that night she was almost ready to go home when the phone rang. Picking it up,she heard a guard shouting."There is a fire! Get out of there!" Skaar didn't panic.She figured that it was just a small fire.Her office building was huge.There were 62 floors and her desk was on the 37th floor. Skaar called out to office mate Stephen Oksas.who also stayed late to work.But when they got to the hallway, they were met by a cloud of black smoke.Rushing back,Skaar shut the door and filled the space at the bottom of the door with her jacket to keep the smoke out. Then they called 911.Before they could call their families,however, the line went dead.That meant that they were completely cut off from the outside world.All they could do was wait and hope someone would come to rescue them. Minutes ticked by.Smoke began to float into the office.Soon it became hard for them to breathe. Looking around,Skaar noticed a small workroom.It seemed to have cleaner air.So they crowded there.That helped for a while,but in time even the workroom was filled with deadly smoke. Hopeless,they tried to break the windows,but the glass was not breakable.Everything they threw at just bounced back. Defeated,they struggled back to the workroom.They felt weak and dizzy.Soon Skaar found Oksas had passed out. As Skaar and Oksas lay near death,rescuers were rushing to find them.At last,at about 4 a.m.,firefighters found them. Skaar and Oksas knew they were lucky to be alive."Sunday is my birthday,"Skaar told a reporter. She would be turning 29.But she knew she had already got the best present possible--the gift of life. What can we conc1ude from Skaar's action in the fire? A) She is cleverer than Oksas. B) She was trained as a firefighter. C) She remained calm in the face of danger. D) She had had the experience of being caught in fire.
A: C