Who’s Afraid of Maths Anyway?(10) Scientists have tried to come up with biological explanations for the difference between b

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问题                     Who’s Afraid of Maths Anyway?(10)
    Scientists have tried to come up with biological explanations for the difference between boys and girls. However, none were convincing enough to explain the general picture. As one scientist points out, " There are slight genetic differences between the sexes at birth which may influence the subjects boys and girls choose. But the difficulty is that by the time children reach school age, there are so many other influences that it is almost impossible to tell whether girls are worse at science and maths, or whether 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 report’ s authors says, "While it is socially unacceptable for people not to be able to read and write, it is still 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 apparent 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. Evidence shows that exceptional mathematicians and scientists did not have teachers who supplied answers; they had to find out for themselves.
    A further report on maths teaching reveals that teachers seem to give more attention to boys than to girls. Most teachers who took part in the study claimed that they expect their male students to do better at mathematics and science subjects than their female students. All of this tends to encourage boys to work harder in these subjects, and gives them confidence and convinces them that they can succeed.
    Interestingly, both boys and girls tend to regard such "masculine" subjects like mathematics and science as difficult. Yet it has been suggested that girls avoid mathematics courses, not because they are difficult, but for social reasons.
    Mathematics and science are mainly masculine subjects, and therefore, as girls become teenagers, they are less likely to take them up. Girls do not seem to want to be in open competition with boys. Neither do they want to do better than boys because they are afraid to appear less feminine and so, less attractive.
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George didn’ t______to hurt you when he told us your story.

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