Scientists have tried to come up with biological explanations for the difference between boys and girls. However, none were believable enough to explain the general picture. As one scientist points out, "There are slight genetic differences between the sexes at birth which may affect the subjects boys and girls choose. But the difficulty is that by the time children reach school age, there are so many other effects that it is almost impossible to tell whether girls are worse at science and maths, or they've been brought up to think of these subjects as boys' 'territory' ". Statistics show that in mathematics, at least, girls are equal to boys. A recent report suggests that girls only stop studying mathematics because of social attitudes. One of the reports' authors says, "While it is socially unacceptable for people not to be able to read and write, it is sill acceptable for women to say that they are 'hopeless' at maths. Our research shows that, although girls get marks which are as good as the boys' , they have not been encouraged to do so." The explanation for the difference, which is very clear during the teenage years, goes as far back as early childhood experiences. From their first days in nursery school, girls are not encouraged to work on their own or to complete tasks, although boys are. For example, boys and not girls, are often asked to 'help' with repair work. This encouragement leads to a way of learning how to solve problems later on in life. A further report on maths teaching shows that teachers seem to give more attention to boys than to girls. Most teachers who took part in the study admitted that they expect their male students to do better at mathematics and science subjects than their females students. All of this tends to encourage boys to work harder in these subjects, gives them confidence and makes them believe that they can succeed. Interestingly, both boys and girls tend to regard such 'male' subjects like mathematics and science as difficult. Yet it has been suggested that girls... Which of the following is true according to the text? A) It seems socially acceptable for a girl not to be able to read and write. B) It is a social problem rather than a problem of brains that girls are poor at maths. C) Mathematics and science are no easy subjects to women. D) Male scientists have stronger ability in maths.
B


A metaphor is a poetic device that deals with comparison. It compares similar qualities of two dissimilar objects. With a simple metaphor, one object becomes the other: Love is a rose. Although this does not sound like a particularly rich image, a metaphor can communicate so much about a particular image that poets use them more than any other type of figurative language. The reason for this is that poets compose their poetry to express what they are experiencing emotionally at that moment. Consequently, what the poet imagines love to be may or may not be our understanding of love. Therefore, the poet's job is to enable us to experience it, to feel it the same way as the poet does. Let's analyze this remarkably simple metaphor concerning love and the rose to see what it offers. Because the poet uses a comparison with a rose, first we must examine the characteristics of that flower. A rose is impressive in its beauty, its petals are nicely soft, and its smell is pleasing. It's possible to say that a rose is actually a feast to the senses of sight, touch, and smell. The rose's appearance seems to border on perfection, each petal seemingly equal in form. Isn't this the way one's love should be?A loved one should be a delight to one's senses and seem perfect. However, there is another dimension added to the comparison by using a rose. Roses have thorns. The poet wants to convey the idea that roses can be tricky. So can love, the metaphor tells us. When one reaches out with absolute trust to touch the object of his or her affection, ouch, a thorn can cause great harm! "Be careful," the metaphor warns, "Love is a feast to the senses, but it can overwhelm us, and it can also hurt us and cause acute suffering." This is the poet's understanding of love--an admonition  . What is the point?Just this: It took almost 14 sentences to clarify what a simple metaphor communicates in only four words! That is the artistry and the joy of the simple metaphor. As is meant by the author, thorns of a rose   _  . A) add a new element to the image of love B) protect the rose from harm C) symbolize reduced love D) cause acute suffering
A


Q: A traveler hurried down to the hall of an American hotel and went to the cash-desk. He had just 15 minutes to pay his bill and get to the station. Suddenly he remembered that he had left something in his room. "Look here, boy," he said to the bellboy, "run up to my room and see if I have left a parcel on the table there. Be quick about it." The boy ran upstairs. Five minutes passed. The traveler was walking up and down the hall, looking very angry. At last the boy appeared. "Yes, sir," he reported to the traveler," you have left the parcel there, it's right on the table in your room." According to the passage, a bellboy is    _   . A) a boy whose work is to ring the bell B) a boy who plays with a bell C) a boy whose work in a hotel is to help guests with their bags D) the hotel owner's boy
A: C


(Q).
If you've ever seen the way dog people interacted with their pets, it comes as no surprise that there's some germ-exchanging going on there. A new study indicates that dog ownership specifically may be one of the biggest single contributors to what kinds of microbes live on your skin. A team of researchers led by Se Jin Song at the University of Colorado, Boulder, took swabs  of the tongues, palms, forehead and feces  of members of 60 family households. Some of the families had children or household pets and some did not; dogs were the only pets swabbed. Researchers then analyzed the DNA of the bacteria they found to determine how diverse the bacteria populations were. Not surprisingly, family members who lived together had more bacteria in common than members of separate households. Bacteria on the skin were especially similar within households, probably because we pass microbes through the air, through direct contact, and via the surfaces we touch. The most surprising finding, however, was the large bacteria contribution Fidonad made. The skin bacteria of dog owners from different households was almost as similar as if they'd cohabited without a dog. Put another way, you and a friend across town who both own dogs share a skin ecosystem as alike as a married couple does. The reason for this appears to be that dogs harbor some kinds of bacteria that are rare on human skin. One in particular, a family of bacteria called Methylophilaceae, was abundant in the mouths of dogs sampled as well as the skin of their owners--indicating "a common occurrence of oral-skin transfer between dogs and their owners," according to the results published in the journal eLife. What does this passage mainly tell us? A) It is unsafe to keep dogs because of microbes. B) How many kinds of bacteria live on people's skin because of dog ownership. C) Dog ownership affects the kinds of microbes living on people's skin. D) What are the similarities between people who keep dogs and those who don't.
(A).

C