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 bottom. 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 homes. "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 _ 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. 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 homes than men C) they don't like to take risk D) they are not expected to be high achievers
B
The State of Rhode Island has become a popular family seaside destination. In addition to beach activities and water sports, kids can participate in supervised activities at cultural centres and tourist attractions around the state. The Kayak Centre of Rhode Island The Kayak Centre of Rhode Island offers Oceanplay to kids, a program for children between 9 and 14 years old. The course teaches basic kayak skills and safety protocol on the waters around historic Wickford Village. The all-day program includes games and skill-building activities at all skill levels. The package includes equipment, instructions and lunch. The Courthouse Centre for the Arts The Courthouse Centre for the Arts offers summer camp educational workshops and fine arts programs to kids who want to learn about theatre, dance, classical music and different art mediums. Kids and families can also enjoy concerts, film screenings and theatre performances. The Providence Children's Museum The Providence Children's Museum hosts daily drop-in programs for kids between 5 and 11 years of age and museum adventure classes. Kids can learn how water moves in the Water Ways exhibit, listen to music and learn about plants in the Children's Garden exhibit. The RISD Museum The RISD Museum hosts family workshops and activities for kids between 5 and 12 years of age on alternating Sunday afternoons. Kids can learn different types of art techniques and work with different mediums in a supervised setting. Families taking a self-guided tour of the museum can see exhibits. Where does this text probably come from? A) A science textbook. B) A tourist guide. C) A museum handbook. D) A news report.
B
Q: Mr. Jackson lived in the center of London but he had a hotel near the airport. There a lot of foreigners stayed for night. He didn't know any other language but English and he found it difficult for him to understand the foreign visitors. Sometimes he had to use the gesture to talk with them, and tried his best to make himself understood. But he was often misunderstood and it brought him a lot of trouble. A friend of his who taught a few foreign languages in a university would teach him. He was happy and studied hard. At first he learned some, but soon he found it wasn't very easy to remember the words and expressions. His friend advised him to write down the useful expressions in his notebook so that he could use them when necessary. He did as he was told. He found it helpful for him to do so. One evening there were plenty of people in the dining-room. They were all busy eating something except a Japanese. He was wandering there and waiting for his wife who was dressing herself up upstairs. Mr. Jackson thought to himself, " The man wants to eat something but he doesn't know any English. Let me help him." As he knew only a little Japanese, he had to bring out his notebook and showed it to the man, pointing to the sentence "I'm hungry." The Japanese had a look at it and gave him two pounds and left. As not all foreign visitors understand his gesture, sometimes Mr. Jackson _ to communicate with them. A) succeeded B) lost heart C) failed D) gave up
A: C
(Question)
There are now about 376 million people who speak English as their first language and about the same number who have learnt it in addition to their mother tongue. There are said to be one million people learning English now and about 80% of the information on the Internet is in English. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Should we celebrate the fact that more and more of us can communicate, using a common language, across countries and cultures? Or should we worry about dangers of "non-culturalism", a world in which we all speak the same language, eat the same food and listen to the same music? Does it matter if an increasing number of people speak the same language? Not necessarily, I have never agreed that if only we all understood each other better, there would be fewer wars. Ask the people ofprefix = st1 /India, where many of them speak at least some English, andPakistan, the same situation withIndia... If we all speak English, will we then all start eating McDonald's burgers? Surely not. If English becomes more dominant , will it kill other languages? I doubt it. When I travel in Africa or Asia, I am always surprised by how many people can speak not only their own language but often one or more other related languages, as well as English and perhaps more French or German as well. When we discussed this on Talking Point a couple of years ago, we received a wonderfully poetic e-mail from a listener inIreland. "The English language is a beautiful language. Maybe it's like a rose," he said. "But who would ever want their garden just full of roses?" Well, I love _ and I think they make a beautiful addition to any garden. But the way I see it, just by planting a few roses, you don't necessarily need to pull out everything else. If more and more people want to plant English roses, that'll be fine by me. This passage is mainly about _ . A) why English has become a global language B) how many people in the world speak English C) how people in the world learn English as a foreign language D) whether we need to worry about English being a world language
(Answer)
D