大学英语六级考试模拟试卷十八（带答案）

大学英语六级考试模拟试卷十八

（总分:710.00,做题时间：130分钟）

PartIWriting（总题数：1,分数：0.00）

1.Directions:Forthispart,youareallowed30minutestowriteanessay

commentingontheproverb"Hewhomakesnomistakesmakesnothing."Youcan

giveanexampleortwotoillustrateyourpointofview.Youshouldwriteatleast160

wordsbutnomorethan200words.

（分数：106.50）

正确答案：（［范文］

GrowingUpThroughMistakes

Astheoldsayinggoes,"Hewhomakesnomistakesmakesnothing."Making

mistakesisapartofhumannature.Welearnfrommistakesandwecannotgrowup

withoutthem.

Inthecourseofgrowth,everyonemakesmanyamistakefromtimetotime.

Tobeginwith,makingmistakesisanessentialpartofgrowing.Takelearningtowalk

forexample.Whenweweretoddlers,wefelldownagainandagainuntilwecould

walkonourown.Moreover,themistakeswehavemadeinthepastwillbeavital

partofoureducation.Thisistruewhenwe'retryingtolearnEnglish,especially

spokenEnglish.Ifwe'reafraidofmakingmistakes,thenit'salmostimpossibleforus

tomakeprogress.Somakingmistakesisalsoaprocessoflearning.Lastbutnotleast,

everymistakethatwehavemadeinourlifeleadsustoourcurrentstateof

understanding.Aslongaswearenotafraidofmakingmistakes,wearelikelytobe

closertosuccess.

Inshort,ifthereisnolearninginvolved,mistakeswouldhavenoworthatall.

Ascanbeimagined,mistakesmightcausepainorimpatience,andyettheycould

provideopportunitiesforgrowth.）

解析；

PartIIListeningComprehension（总、题数：0,分数：0.00）

SectionA（总题数：8,分数：0.00）

.Questions1to4arebasedontheconversationyouhavejustheard.

1.（分数：28.40）

A.Hewantstomoveintoanotherroom.

B.Hehastoomuchstuff.J

C.Hisfilingcabinetistoooldtobeused.

D.Hecouldn'tdoanythingwithoutafilingcabinet.

解析：［听力原文］

W:Whatareyoudoing?

M:I'morderingsomefilingcabinetsoutofacatalog.

W:Whatdoyouneedthemfor?

M:There'ssomuchstuffpilingupinmydormitoryroom.IfIdon'tdo

somethingsoon,Iwon'tbeabletomoveinthere.

W:Doyouusuallyorderfromacatalog?

M:Sometimes.Why?

W:Oh,it'sjustinthehistoryclasstodaythatweweretalkingabouthowthe

catalogsalesbusinessfirstgotstartedintheUS.AChicagoretailer,Montgomery

Wardstarteditinthelate1800s.Itwasreallypopularamongfarmers.Itwasdifficult

forthemtomakeitfromthebigcitystoressotheyorderedfromcatalogs.

M:WasWardtheonlyoneinthebusiness?

W:Atfirst.ButanotherpersonnamedRichardSearsstartedhisowncatalog

afterheheardhowmuchmoneyWardwasmaking.

M:Whatmadethemsopopular?

W:FarmerstrustedWardandSearsforonething.Theydeliveredthe

productsthefarmerspaidforandevenrefundedthepriceofthingsthefarmers

weren'tsatisfiedwith.Thecatalogsbecamesopopularthatsomecountryschool

teachersevenusedthemastextbooks.

M:Textbooks?

W;Yeah.Studentspracticespellingthenamesandaddingupthepricesof

thingsinthecatalogs.

M:Waseverybodythrilledaboutthem?

W:That'sdoubtful.Theydrovesomesmallstoresoutofbusiness.Searsand

Wardsoldstuffinsuchlargequantities.Theywereabletoundercutthepricesat

somesmallfamily-ownedstores.

Whydoesthemanordersomefilingcabinets?

.Questions5to8arebasedontheconversationyouhavejustheard.

5.（分数：28.40）

A.Aproductdesignedfornewbornbabies.V

B.Acompanyprovidingbabysitterservices.

C.Atelevisionprogramregardingbabies.

D.Atoyfornewbornbabies.

解析：［听力原文］

M:Shakinganinfantoutofangerorfrustrationcanleadtoaseverebrain

damage,evendeath.ANewJerseycompanycalledBouncingBabiesismakingitsafer

thanevertoshakeyourbaby.JoiningusnowisthefounderofBouncingBabies,Kelly

Timmons.Hi,Kelly.

W:Thanksforhavingme.

M:Kelly,tellusaboutthisamazingproductyou'vecreated.

W:Well,it'scalledtheBabySafeBall,anditkeepsyourbabyonehundred

percentsafe,nomatterhowhardyoushakehimorher.

M:Yeah,well,itlookslikeitwillmakeagreatshowergift.

W:Oh,yes.It'sperfectforfirst-timemothers,andIalsorecommenditto

daycarecentersorbabysitters,anyonewho'sworkingwithanewborn.

M:Right,wonderful!So,showushowitworks.

W:Well,itusesatechnologywhichkeepsthebabyuprightnomatterhow

youshoveorthrowit.

M:Sothebaby'sneckwon'tsnapundertheweightofitsskullbeingthrown

backandforth.

W:That'sright,exactly.Andontheoutside,it'sgotathicklayerof

break-resistantmaterial.Soyoucanthrowthisthingagainstthestonewallandit

won'tcrack.

M:OK.Oh,it'sactuallyquitelight.

W:Yes,andit'ssound-proof,andthereareclownspaintedontheinside.

M:Youknow,Kelly,wehavehadavolunteer'sownbabySamtobeusedasa

demonstratoosoyoucanshowusexactlyhowtheBabySafeBallworks.

W:I'llbegladto.

Whatarethespeakerstalkingabout?

SectionB（总题数：7,分数：0.00）

.Questions9to12arebasedonthepassageyouhavejustheard.

1.（分数：28.40）

A.Towinoverthemajorityofpassengersfromairlinesintwentyyears.

B.TbreformrailroadmanagementinwesternEuropeancountries.

C.ToelectrifytherailwaylinesbetweenmajorEuropeancities.

D.TosetupanexpresstrainnetworkthroughoutEurope.V

解析：［听力原文］

InJanuary1989,theCommunityofEuropeanRailwayspresentedtheir

proposalforahighspeedpan-EuropeantrainnetworkextendingfromSwedento

Sicily,andfromPortugaltoPolandbytheyear2020.Iftheirproposalbecomesa

reality,itwillrevolutionizetraintravelinEurope.Journeysbetweenmajorcitieswill

takehalfthetimetheytaketoday.Brusselswillbeonlyoneandahalfhoursfrom

Paris.ThequickestwaytogetfromParistoFrankfurt,fromBarcelonatoMadridwill

bebytrain,notplane.Whenthenetworkiscomplete,itwillintegratethreetypesof

railwayline:todaynewhighspeedlineswithtrainsoperatingatspeedsof300

kilometersperhour,upgradedlineswhichallowforspeedsupto200to225

kilometersperhour,andexistinglinesforlocalconnectionsanddistributionof

freight.Ifbusinesspeoplecanchoosebetweenathree-hourtrainjourneyfrom

city-centertocity-centerandaone-hourflight,they'llchoosethetrain,saysan

executivetravelconsultant.Theywon'tgobyplaneanymore.Ifyoucalculateflight

time,check-inandtraveltoandfromtheairport,you'llfindalmostnodifference.

Andifyourplanearriveslateduetobadweatherorairtrafficjamsorstrikes,then

thetrainpassengerswillarriveattheirdestinationfirst.SinceFranceintroducedthe

first260-kilometer-per-hourhighspeedtrainservicebetweenParisandLyonsin

1981,thetrainshaveachievedhigherandhigherspeeds.Onmanyroutes,airlines

havelostupto90%oftheirpassengerstohighspeedtrains.Ifpeopleacceptthe

CommunityofEuropeanRailways'plan,the21stcenturywillbethenewageofthe

train.

WhatistheproposalpresentedbytheCommunityofEuropeanRailways?

.Questions13to15arebasedonthepassageyouhavejustheard.

5.（分数：21.30）

A.Therecanbenospeedyrecoveryformentalpatients.

B.Approachestohealingpatientsareessentiallythesame.

C.Themindandbodyshouldbetakenasanintegralwhole.J

D.Thereisnocleardivisionoflaborinthemedicalprofession.

解析：［听力原文］

Westerndoctorsarebeginningtounderstandwhattraditionalhealershave

alwaysknow-thebodyandthemindareinseparable.Untilrecently,modernurban

physicianshealthebody,psychiatriststhemind,andprieststhesoul.However,the

medicalworldisnowpayingmoreattentiontoholisticmedicine,whichisan

approachbasedonthebeliefthatpeople'sstateofmindcanmakethemsickor

speedtheirrecoveryfromsickness.Severalstudiesshowthattheeffectivenessofa

certaindrugoftendependsonthepatient'sexpectationsofit.Forexample,inone

recentstudy,psychiatristsatamajorhospitaltriedtoseehowpatientscouldbe

madecalm.Theydividedthemintotwogroups.Onegroupwasgivenadrugwhile

theothergroupreceivedaharmlesssubstanceinsteadofmedicinewithouttheir

knowledge.Surprisingly,morepatientsinthesecondgroupshowedthedesired

effectthanthoseinthefirstgroup.Instudyafterstudy,there'sapositivereactionin

almostone-thirdofthepatientstakingharmlesssubstances.Howwasthispossible?

Howcansuchasubstancehaveaneffectonthebody?Evidencefroma1997studyat

theUniversityofCaliforniashowsthatseveralpatientswhoreceivedsuchsubstances

wereabletoproducetheirownnaturaldrug,thatis,astheytookthesubstancetheir

brainsreleasednaturalchemicalsthatactlikeadrug.Scientiststheorizedthatthe

amountofthesechemicalsreleasedbyaperson'sbrainquitepossiblyindicateshow

muchfaiththepersonhasinhisorherdoctor.

Accordingtothespeaker,whatarewesterndoctorsbeginningto

understand?

SectionC（总题数:10,分数：0.00）

.Questions16to19arebasedontherecordingyouhavejustheard.

1.（分数：56.80）

A.Itcanbrightensomeoneelse'slife.V

B.ltcanhelpanalyzethecausesofairpollution.

C.ltmayforcepeopletodonatetheirshoesandclothes.

D.ltcanensurepeople'sphysicalfitness.

解析：［听力原文］

Haveyoutriedrecycling?Sometimesrecyclingcaninvolveputtingthingsto

goodusethatyounolongerwant.Insteadofthrowingsomethingout,thinkabout

thewaysthatyoucanrecycleitandbrightensomeoneelse'slife.

AsAmericans,wesometimestakesomethingasimportantasshoesfor

granted.Whenwedon'tlikethepairwehaveortheygetasmallholeinthem,we

willusuallythrowthemoutandbuynewones.Butinsteadofthrowingthemout,

youcanrecycleyourshoesandevensavealife.Whenyoudonateyouroldshoesto

charity,youarehelpingnearly300millionchildrenaroundtheworldwhodonot

haveanyshoesatall.Itisestimatedthatthelackofproperfootwearcausesthe

deathsofuptoonemillionofthosechildren.Thatishowyourrecycledshoescan

savelives.

Technologychangesrapdlythesedays,andmanypeopledowhattheycanto

keepup.Acommonpracticeisforpeopletothrowanoldlaptopsorcellphonesina

drawerandthenmoveontobuyinganewone.Butyoucansellthatoldcellphone

orcomputerandusethatmoneytobuyanewiPhone.Thereareplentyofplaces

thatwillbuythatolddeviceandletyourecycleitintocash.Therearealso

non-for-profitorganizationslikeCellPhonesforSoldiersthatcollectdonatedcell

phones.Whenupgradingyourelectronics,lookforpositivewaystodiscardtheold

alternatives.

Whennon-rechargeablebatteriesdie,mostpeopleusuallythrowthemaway.

Thebatteriesthatcontainmetalssuchasnickelarerecyclable.Asamatteroffact,

themorehazardousthebatterymaterialis,themorelikelyyouv/illbeabletohaveit

recycled.Insteadofthrowingoutthosedeadbatteriesandunleashingharmful

materialsintotheenvironment,findoutifyourretailerhasabatteryrecycling

program.Ifyoucannotrecyclethemlocally,thentherearecompaniesyoucanmail

thebatteriestoforproperrecycling.

Recyclingisoneofthebestwaysforanyonetohelptheenvironment.You

shouldalwayscheckandseeifthereisawaytorecyclesomethingandpreserveour

naturalresourcesbeforethrowingitintothegarbage.Rememberthatoneman's

trashisanotherman'streasure.

Whatdoesthespeakersayaboutrecycling?

.Questions20to22arebasedontherecordingyonhavejustheard.

5.（分数：42.60）

A.Theycouldmovearoundthecountry.V

B.Theycouldfast-tracktheirbusiness.

C.Theypaidattentiontotheirpurposes.

D.Theygotopportunitiestomakemoney.

解析：［听力原文］

TrainandrailwayexpressionsworkedtheirwayintoAmericanEnglishovera

centuryago.Manyofthosetermsarestillbeingusedtoday.

RailroadschangedthelookoftheUnitedStates.Theyalsogavemany

Americansthechancetomovearoundthecountry.

Sometimesrailroadtrackswouldnotjoinupinatownbutdivideintotwo.If

yousaysomeoneisfromthewrongsideofthetracks,itmeanstheyarefromthe

badsideoftown.Togooffthetrackmeanstomoveawayfromone'sintended

purposeorgoal.

Forexample,youcouldsayyourcareerwentwayofftrackifyouwantedtobe

alawyerbutbecameanactorinstead.Butifyougotolawschoolandcompleteyour

studies,yourcareerisbackontrack.Let'ssayyoufinishedlawschoolveryquickly

becauseyoutookdoublethecourseload.Youthencouldsayyoufast-trackedyour

waytobecomingalawyer.Intheworldofbusiness,itiscommontosayaprojecthas

beenfast-trackedorisonafasttrack.

Tostayontrackmeanstopayattentiontoyourgoalorpurpose.Butgetting

sidetrackedisjusttheopposite.Atrainthatissidetrackedgetssenttoadifferent

stationordownadifferentline.

Talkingabouttraintracks,arailisasinglepieceofsteelthatispartofthe

largerrailway.Somerailsaredangeroustotouch.Thethirdrailisalsoanissuewhich

canfuelaheateddebate.Ataparty,religionorpoliticscouldbethethirdrailtopics.

Talkingaboutthemcouldkillyoursociallife!Whensomethinggoesofftherails,itis

alwaysabadthing.Togoofftherailsmeansaperson'sprojectorlifeisawreck,or—

pardontheexpression——atrainwreck.Whenatrainreachesitsfinalstop,wesayit

hasreachedtheendoftheline.Ifyoureachtheendofthelineyouhavecometothe

endofsomething.Ofteninoldfilms,thisiswhatthebadguysaysjustbeforehekills

someone.

HowdidAmericansbenefitfromtherailway?

.Questions23to25arebasedontherecordingyouhavejustheard.

8.（分数：42.60）

A.Collegegraduateshavedifficultyinfindingjobs.

B.Peopleoverlookthecorrelationbetweeneducationandincome.

C.Thenumberofbetter-educatedgraduatescannotsatisfytheeconomy.

D.Theeconomyfailstoabsorbbetter-educatedgraduates.J

解析：［听力原文］

Historically,thecorrelationbetweeneducationandincomehasbeenstrong.

Butintheearly1970s,acontradictiondevelopedbetweeneducationandthe

economy.Ourvalueofeducationandouraverageeducationalattainment

outstrippedthecapacityoftheeconomytoabsorbthegraduates.

Expertshavearguedthatthiscontradictionisattheheartoftheproblemof

publiceducationtoday.Itisnot,asbusinessleadersclaim,thattheschoolsarefailing

toproperlyeducatestudents,orthattheyareturningoutyoungpeoplewhoare

inadequatelypreparedtofunctionintheworkplace.Therealproblemisalackof

economicopportunitiesforstudentswhoarenotcontinuingontocollege.

Collegegraduatesarealsohavingdifficultyfindingjobs.Evenwhentheydo,

thejobsmaynotbeinproportiontotheirtrainingandexpectations.Partofthe

problemisthattoomanyyoungAmericansaspiretohaveprofessionaljobs,making

disappointmentandfrustrationinevitableforthem.Manystudentsassumethat

whatistrueofanindividual-thatthehighertheeducation,thebetterthejob

opportunities—willalsobetruefortheentiresociety.Butwhenthenumberof

better-educatedyoungpeoplebecomestoogreat,theeconomycouldnolonger

absorbthem.

Anotherpartoftheproblemistheassumptionthatgreatereducational

attainmentguaranteescareeradvancement.Infact,employersdonotroutinely

rewardeducationalattainment;rather;theyrewarditonlywhentheybelieveitwill

contributetotheemployee'sproductivity.

Weshouldnotoverlookthefactthatthereisstillastrongcorrelation

betweeneducation,occupationandincome.Collegegraduateshaveastrong

advantageoverthosewithlesseducation.Butthepayoffisneitheraslargenoras

certainasitoncewas.

Unfortunately,Americanshavefocusedsostronglyontheeconomicpayoff

thatmanyconsidertheircollegeeducationuselessifitdoesnotyieldadesirable,

well-payingjob.Onlyinthissensecanwespeakofan"oversupply"ofcollege

graduates.WecouldarguethatalloratleastthemajorityofAmericanswouldprofit

bysomedegreebecausehighereducationcanenabletheindividualtothinkmore

deeply,exploremorewidely,andenjoyagreaterrangeofexperiences.

Whatisthecontradictionbetweeneducationandtheeconomysincethe

early1970s?

PartIIIReadingComprehension（总题数：0,分数：0.00）

SectionA（总题数：10,分数：0.00）

.Waffles?Frenchtoast?Bacon?Bigbreakfastsmaybeathingofthepast.

AccordingtotheAssociatedPress,moreAmericansareconsumingbreakfastin

stagesthankstoon-the-golifestylesandthebeliefthatmultiple,smallermeals

are1thanthreelargeones.

Serialeatingisonlyexpectedtoincreaseinthecomingyears.TheNPD

Group,amarketresearchcompany,2thatthenumberoftimespeoplewill

snackinthemorningswillincrease23%inadecade,3with20%and15%

increasesinafternoonandeveningsnacking,4.

Unliketheireveningalter-egos,morningsnackerstendtobemore

health5,lookingforlow-caloriefoodswithmorefiber,antioxidants（抗氧化

物）andwholegrains.Forinstance,GeneralMillsintroducedits140-calorieFiberOne

barsin2007,butrecentlyaddedthreemoreflavorsaswellas90-calorieversions.

ThismaybenewintheUS,butasecondbreakfastis6incountries

suchasGermany.InBavaria,atraditionalsecondbreakfast7ofwhite

sausages,pretzels（椒盐卷饼）,sweetmustardand,ofcourse,beer.

Butsnackers,beware:Thoughspreadingcaloriesacrossseveralmealsis

generallyacceptedtobehealthier;itcanactuallycausepeopletoover-consumeand

gainweight,DavidLevitsky,aprofessorofnutritionandpsychologyatCornell

University,toldtheAP.

Maybethetrendtowardportable,quick-hitbreakfastswill8more

peopletoeatinthemorning.AccordingtotheHuffingtonPost,a9bythe

NPDGroupfoundthat31millionAmericans10themostimportantmealof

theday.

A.comparedF.estimatesK.particularly

B.connectedG.healthierL.respectively

C.consciousH.inspireM.skip

D.consists1.madeN.supervision

E.easierJ.necessaryO.survey（分数：35.50）

1.（分数：3.55）

填空项1：（正确答案：G）

解析：形容词辨析题。该空格位于比较级指示词than之前，且空格前面是

are,据此推断空格处应填形容词比较级。根据句意，美国人早餐形式的改变一

是由于生活方式的变化，二是人们认为少食多餐比三顿大餐o所给形容词

中，是比较级形式的有easier和healthier。easier意为“更容易的”，与文章意思

不符，故排除。选项中只有healthier“更健康的”符合句意，故为答案。

2.（分数：3.55）

填空项1：（正确答案：F）

解析：动词辨析题。该空格位于名词短语之后，that引导的从句之前，从

句子结构，判断空格所在句为主谓宾结构，囚此空格处应填入动词作谓语。根据

that引导的从句的内容可知，此处表达的是NPD组织对少食多餐这种生活方式

的未来情况进行的预测，因此应选择estimates“估计”。

3.（分数:3.55）

填空项1：（正确答案：A）

解析：动词辨析题。根据句意，人们在早上吃点心的次数在未来十年将会

增加23%,而在下午和晚上吃点心的次数则会增加20%和15%。此处是对在不同

时段吃点心的次数增加状况进”的比较，并且该空格位于介词with之前，因此

空格处应填入compared,构成短语comparedwithsth.“与某物相比二connected

作动词时意为“联系；连接”，与句意不符，故排除。

4.（分数：3.55）

填空项1：（正确答案：L）

解析：副词辨析题。句中20%和15%两个数字分别对应下午和晚上两个时

间段人们吃点心的次数增加的百分比，因此空格处应填入respectively”各自地,

依次地”。particularly意为“尤其，特别”,与句意不符，故排除。

5.（分数：3.55）

填空项上（正确答案：C）

解析：形容词辨析题。该空格位于系动词be和比较级指示词more之后,

且空格之前的health是名词，故空格处应填一个形容词和more搭配构成比较级。

根据句意，早上吃点心的人会选择热量低、纤维和抗氧化物含量高的食物和全麦

食物，由此推断这一类人更具有健康意识，因此选择conscious“有意识的”。

6.（分数：3.55）

填空项1:（正确答案：J）

解析：形容词辨析题。该空格位于系动词is之后，由此推断空格处应填入

形容词作表语。由句意可知，早上加餐在美国很新鲜，但在其他很多国家，如德

国，却是o结合所给形容词，只有necessary"必要的”符合题意，故为

答案。

7.（分数：3.55）

填空项1：（正确答案；D）

解析：动词辨析题。空格位于breakfast和ofwhitesausages之间，且句子

缺少谓语动词，由此推断空格处应填入动词构成主谓宾结构，且所填动词能够与

介词。f搭配。根据句意，巴伐利亚传统的早上加餐白香肠、椒盐卷饼等，

由此推断空格处应填入consists,和of构成短语consistsof...,意为*'由...组成

bemadeof可表示"由...构成”，但此空格前并无系动词,故排除made。

8.（分数：3.55）

填空项1：（正确答案：H）

解析：动词辨析题。该空格位于will之后，再结合句子结构，推断此处应

填入动词原形。由文章可知，便携快捷的早餐会更多人吃早饭。所给动词

中只有inspire“激励”符合题意，故为答案。inspiresb.todosth.意为“激励打

某人做某事二

9.（分数：3.55）

填空项1：.（正确答案：。）

解析：名词辨析题。该空格位于冠词a之后，由此判断空格处应填入名词。

由空格后的by可知，实施者为NPD组织，结合本句的谓语found,可推断空格

处应填入survey"调查”。supervision意为"监督”，与句意K符，故排除。

10.（分数：3.55）

填空项上（正确答案：M）

解析：动词辨析题。空珞位于宾语从句中，空格前后均为名词词组，由此

推断此处应填入动词作宾语从句的谓语。由本段第一句可知，便携快捷的早餐会

激厉打更多人吃早饭。由此推断，以前应该有很多美国人不吃早饭，因此空格处

应填入skip“不做（本来应做的事）

SectionB（总题数：10,分数：0.00）

HowCanGirlsWininMathandScience?

A.Mathisacumulativesubject,unlikesayhistory,whichcanbelearnedin

discreteunits.Collegealgebra（代数）isbasicallyacourseinthelanguageof

mathematics.Somemightsaythatalgebraisthemechanicsofmathematics.The

examplesincludedatthislevelaresimple,designedtoreinforcethatthestudenthas

learnedthe"how".Thenextlayerofcoursesteacheshowtousethislanguage,or

thissetoftools,todescribeandmodeltherealworld.Beingabletodothisshould

leavenodoubtinthestudent'smindthattheyaremathematicallycompetent.

B.Foryears,feministshavelamented（悲叹）thesorrystateofgirlsinmath

andscience,astheylagbehindtheirmalepeersintestscoresandshyawayfrom

careersinengineeringandtechnology.Yetperhapsthemostfrustratingrecent

developmentonthetopicisthatsomeoftheveryprogramsdesignedtohelpgirls

getaheadmaybeholdingthemback一oraresimplymisguided.Takesingle-sexmath

andscienceclasses.Whiletheyseemlikealogicalwaytogivegirlsajump-startin

thesesubjects,newresearchsuggeststhisinitiative—championedoverthepasttwo

decadesasapossiblesolution-maybackfire.

C.Inastudypublishedlastyear;psychologistHowardGlasseratBrynMawr

Collegeexaminedteacher-studentinteractioninsex-segregatedscienceclasses.Asit

turnedout,teachersbehaveddifferentlytowardboysandgirlsinawaythatgave

boysanadvantageinscientificthinking.Whileboyswereencouragedtoengagein

back-and-forthquestioningwiththeteacherandfellowstudents,girlshadmany

fewersuchexperiences.Glassersuggeststheydidn'tlearntoargueinthesameway

asboys,andargumentisthekeytoscientificthinking.Glasserpointsoutthat

sex-segregatedclassroomscanconstructdifferencesbetweenthesexesbygiving

themunequalexperiences.Unfortunately,suchdifferencescanimpactkids'choices

aboutfuturecoursesandcareers.It'sworthnotingthatthegirlsandboysinthese

scienceclasseshadsimilargrades,whichmaskedtheunevendynamic.Itwasonly

whenresearchersreviewedvideotapesofthelessonsthattheygotadeeperanalysis

ofwhatwasactuallygoingon,andwhatthekidswerereallylearning.

D.Glasser'sresearchgotaboostlastSeptemberwhenthejournalScience

publishedascathing俨厉的）reportonthelargerissueofsingle-sexeducation,

titled"ThePseudoscienceofSingle-SexSchooling".Inthearticle,eightleading

psychologistsandneuroscientistsdebunked（揭穿...的真相）researchsupporting

single-sexeducation,andarguedthatsexsegregation"increasesgenderstereotyping

andlegitimizesinstitutionalsexism".

E.Anothermisguided——or;mistimed——efforttoimprovegirls'performance

isthe"youcandoit"messagingdirectedtowardgirlsinmiddleschool,theperiod

whentheirscoresstartlagging.Newresearchshowsthatevenwhenpreteengirls

saytheybelievethismessage,"stereotypethreat"——whennegativecultural

stereotypesaffectagroup'sbehavior—hasadampeningeffectontheiractual

performance.

F.Ina2009study,psychologistPascalHuguetofFrance'sAix-Marseille

Universityfoundthatmiddle-schoolgirlsscoredhighestontestsmeasuring

visual-spatialabilities—whicharekeytosuccessinengineering,chemistry,medicine,

andarchitecture,fieldsthatpromisehigh-paying,prestigiousjobsdowntheroad—

whentheywereledtobelievethattherewerenogenderdifferencesonthetasks.

Notsurprisingly,whentheyweretoldthatboysdobetteronthesetasks,theydid

poorly.Butcuriously,whentheyweregivennoinformation,allowingcultural

stereotypestooperate,theyalsodidpoorly.Thestereotypeswerealreadyfirmly

established.Theauthorsdiscovered;Bymiddleschoolit'stoolittle,toolate.

G.Todisarmstereotypes,wemustactivelyarmgirlsagainstthem—starting

ataveryyoungage.Byfirstorsecondgrade,bothgirlsandboyshavethenotionthat

mathisa"boything".Buta2011studybypsychologistAnthonyGreenwaldofthe

UniversityofWashingtonfoundthatthere'sawindowofopportunityduringthese

earlyyearsinwhich,whilegirlsdoseemathlargelyasamalepreserve,theyhaven't

yetmadetheconnectionthat"becauseIamagirl,mathisnotforme".Duringthis

shortperiod,girlsarerelativelyopentotheideathattheycanenjoyanddowellat

math.

H.Onestrategy?Researcherssuggestwetakegenderoutoftheequationin

teachingaboutoccupations.Ratherthansaying"girlscanbescientists",weshould

talkaboutwhatscientistsdo.Forexample,kidsmaybeespeciallyinterestedtoknow

thatscientistsstudyhowtheworldaroundthemreallyworks.PsychologistsRebecca

BigleroftheUniversityofTexasatAustinandLynnLibenatPennStatesaythatwhen

girlsareencouragedtothinkthisway,they'remuchmorelikelytoretainwhat

they'retaughtthantheywouldbeiftheywerejustgiventhegeneric"girlscando

science"message.

I.Finally,whilewom