Part Ⅲ Reading Comprehension (40 minutes)
Section A
Directions: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to select one word for each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage. Read the passage through carefully before making your choices.Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter. Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once.
Questions 26 to 35 are based on the following passage.
Many men and women have long bought into the idea that there are “male” and “female” brains, believing that explains just about every difference between the sexes. A new study 26 that belief,questioning whether brains really can be distinguished by gender.
In the study, Tel Aviv university researchers 27 for sex differences throughout the entire human brain.
And what did they find? Not much. Rather than offer evidence for28brains as “male” or “female,” research shows that brains fall into a wide range, with most people falling right in the middle.
Daphna Joel, who led the study, said her research found that while there are some gender-based 29 , many different types of brain can’t always be distinguished by gender.
While the “average” male and “average” female brains were 30 different, you couldn’t tell it by looking at individual brain scans. Only a small 31 of people had “all-male” or “all-female” characteristics.
Larry Cahill, an American neuroscientist ( 神经科学家), said the study is an important addition to a growing body of research questioning 32 beliefs about gender and brain function. But he cautioned against concluding from this study that all brains are the same, 33 of gender.
“There’s a mountain of evidence 34 the importance of sex influences at all levels of brain function,” he told The Seattle Times.
If anything, he said, the study 35 that gender plays a very important role in the brain—“even when we are not clear exactly how.”
A.abnormal
B.applied
C.briefly
D.categorizing
E.challenges
F.figure
G.percentage
H.proving
I.regardless
J.searched
K.similarities
L.slightly
M.suggests
N. tastes
O.traditional
答案及解析：
26. E 根据后文“questioning whether brains really can be distinguished by gender”可知，这项新研究对那种认为大脑有“男性”和“女性”之分的观点提出了质疑，也就是挑战了这种观点，所以选E。
27. J 根据语境，在这项研究中，特拉维夫大学的研究人员应该是“搜寻”了整个大脑中的性别差异，“search for”表示“搜寻，寻找”，符合文意，所以选J。
28. D 根据后文“brains fall into a wide range, with most people falling right in the middle”可知，研究并没有提供将大脑按性别“分类”为“男性”或“女性”的证据，“categorize...as...”表示“将……归类为……”，所以选D。
29. K 根据后文“many different types of brain can’t always be distinguished by gender”可知，虽然存在一些基于性别的“相似之处”，但很多不同类型的大脑不能总是通过性别来区分，“similarities”表示“相似之处”，符合语境，所以选K。
30. L 根据语境，“平均”男性和“平均”女性的大脑是“略微”不同的，“slightly”表示“略微，稍微”，符合文意，所以选L。
31. G 根据语境，只有一小“比例”的人具有“全男性”或“全女性”的特征，“percentage”表示“比例”，符合语境，所以选G。
32. O 根据前文提到的这项研究对传统观点的挑战，以及后文“the importance of sex influences at all levels of brain function”可知，这项研究是对越来越多质疑关于性别和大脑功能的“传统”观点的研究的重要补充，“traditional”表示“传统的”，符合文意，所以选O。
33. I 根据语境，但他告诫人们不要从这项研究中得出所有大脑都相同，“不管”性别的结论，“regardless of”表示“不管，不顾”，符合语境，所以选I。
34. H 根据语境，有大量证据“证明”性别影响在大脑功能的各个层面的重要性，“proving”表示“证明”，符合文意，所以选H。
35. M 根据语境，他说，这项研究“表明”性别在大脑中起着非常重要的作用，“suggests”表示“表明，暗示”，符合语境，所以选M。
