Two new studies have investigated why fewer women, compared to men, study and work in the so-called STEM subjects in the United States: science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
The American Association of University Women(AAUW) examined existing research. Its report “Why So Few?” suggested ways to interest more girls and women in the STEM fields. The researchers found that cultural and environmental factors make a difference.
Researcher Christiane Corbett says more boys than girls score very high on math tests in most countries, but Iceland and Thailand are exceptions. “This is something that we point out in our report—that cultural factors and societal factors can make a difference in who achieves at the very high levels and whether girls are achieving or not.”
Another study carried out by the Campos Company for the Bayer Corporation in the United States asked more than 1,000 women and minority members of the American Chemical Society about their experiences. 77% said not enough women and minorities are working in STEM today, because they were not encouraged to study those subjects in school.
The study, producing results similar to the AAUW research showed there’s still a lot of work to be done. “They say their interest in science begins before the age of eleven. So we need programs that get in front of kids while they’re young in elementary school.”
Increasing diversity in professions leads to better products, better science. And developing this science and engineering workforce is important to the nation’s economic development.
“No matter what career you go into, whether it’s accounting, human resources or science career, it’s important that you can think creatively, you can work in teams, you can adapt to change and that’s important for everybody,” says Rebecca Lucore.
1. Which of the following is true about the situation in Iceland and Thailand?| A．Boys score higher in math tests than girls. |
| B．Girls are given more exceptional attention than boys. |
| C．More girls score higher in math than boys. |
| D．Boys are more creative than girls. |
| A．Gender and age. | B．Culture and environment. |
| C．Study and work experience. | D．Family background. |
| A．Women can help men in science and engineering work. |
| B．Women are wiser and more cooperative than men. |
| C．Women play a more important part in scientific research. |
| D．Having both women and men in science and engineering can produce better scientific achievement. |
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【推荐1】Kindness is seen as a true strength, and the success of civilizations relies on kindness. As parents and teachers, we also teach children from a young age to “be kind to one another” and “treat others the way you want to be treated.”
In addition to being helpful to our interpersonal relationships, research has shown that kindness can even contribute to our well-being. According to the Mayo Clinic, when we perform acts of kindness, the pleasure center in our brain is activated, releasing the stress-reducing hormone (激素). Individuals who volunteer on a regular basis report greater life satisfaction. And what is even greater is that kindness rarely stops with just one person. There can be a positive contagion (扩散) effect, where other people are motivated to be nice if they receive a random act of kindness. The question then arises: Could kindness be harmful to us when it has such clear benefits? Let’s think about this in the workplace or in an organization.
You are the new person on the team and you want to be well-liked and respected by your colleagues. You are a kind person and tell your team, “Let me know how I can help you; I’m always available to help.” Though you may truly mean this, there are unfortunately people in this world who can see your kindness as a weakness. This can lead to you being taken advantage of by others.
Let’s fast forward a year. You have been in your position now for one year, and you are working with the same team. You are noticing that your colleagues continue asking for your help over and over again. In fact, the only time they communicate with you is when they need something. You have been so helpful to your colleagues and there has rarely been any return from them.
In a very broad sense, it is advantageous to be kind to others, and your kind acts will be appreciated and, perhaps, paid forward. However, you need to be willing to say “no”. Recognize when your plate is already too full. When people ask you a favor, assess if you have the time, energy, and attention to give to them. To truly be kind, sometimes you need to be more comfortable saying “no” to others and saying “yes” to yourself.
1. What has the Mayo Clinic found concerning kindness?| A．It does good to our mind. |
| B．It reduces hormone levels. |
| C．It adds years to people’s life. |
| D．It leads to the success of civilizations. |
| A．Grateful. | B．Bored. | C．Disappointed. | D．Energetic. |
| A．When you’re too full to eat anything. |
| B．When your kind acts get appreciated. |
| C．When you should ask others a favor. |
| D．When you’re physically and mentally tired. |
| A．Your kindness counts for your well-being! |
| B．Are we tiring ourselves with kindness? |
| C．Why are random acts of kindness important? |
| D．Never underestimate the power of kindness at work! |
【推荐2】Thousands of taxi drivers in Shenyang, Liaoning province, reportedly blocked streets with their vehicles on Sunday in protest against unlicensed vehicles using taxi-hiring apps (打车软件) and apps-based car rental companies providing passenger services, including high-end cars. Although the drivers also complained about the withdrawal of the fuel subsidy by the government, their main complaint was the loss of business because of the rising number of Internet-based car services companies.
On Wednesday, news reports came that Beijing transport authorities will take measures to stop the illegal “taxi business” of private cars through the newly rising Internet apps, following the footsteps of Shenyang and Nanjing.
It is not yet clear how the Shenyang city government will handle the issue and whether it will declare the services offered by market leaders such as Didi Dache, a taxi-hiring app provider backed by Tencent Holdings, and Kuaidi Dache illegal. But Shanghai transport regulators have set a rule, by banning Didi Zhuanche, or car services offered by Didi Dache in December.
Such regulations will cause a setback to the car-hiring companies and investors that are waiting to cash in on the potentially booming business. Just last month, Didi Dache got $700 million in funding from global investors, including Singapore state investment company Temasek Holdings, Russian investment company DST Global and Tencent. Moreover, the market is uncertain that Kuaidi Dache is about to finalize its latest round of funding after getting $800 million from overseas investors.
Regulatory uncertainties, however, could cast a shadow on the future of the Internet-based car-hiring services, which have become popular in most of China’s big cities. To be fair, these companies’ business model is anything but bad. For example, Didi Zhuanche works side by side with established car rental companies to provide high-end car service mainly for business people through the Internet and mobile phone apps.
Every link in this business model chain has legal companies and services. Hence, it is hard to define it as illegal and ban it.
1. Why did taxi drivers in Shenyang block the streets with their vehicles?| A．Because they wanted the authority to increase their driving allowances. |
| B．Because they wanted to be taught how to use the taxi-hiring apps. |
| C．Because they wanted to make their main complaints known to the authority. |
| D．Because they wanted to attract passengers not to hire the private cars. |
| A．positive | B．negative |
| C．neutral | D．unclear |
| A．The problem referred to in the passage exists in all cities. |
| B．App-based car rental is functional to some degree. |
| C．The government should regulate the app-based car rental market. |
| D．Didi Dache is a China-foreign joint company. |
| A．Shenyang forbade apps-based car rental companies. |
| B．Shanghai is the second city banning Didi Zhuanche. |
| C．Some investment companies have confidence in apps-based car rental companies. |
| D．It is not difficult to picture the apps-based car rental companies illegal. |
【推荐3】Let’s take a minute to think about the water we use. The human body is 60% water and we need to drink lots of water to be healthy. When we are thirsty we just go to the kitchen and fill a glass with clean water. We use water indirectly too. For example, farmers, who produce the food we eat, use water to make the plants grow.
In 1993 the United Nations decided that March 22nd is the World Day for Water. On this day every year, countries around the world hold events to educate people about the problems of dirty water and that clean water is something that everyone should have around the world.
People give them money to do this and all the money helps get clean water to as many people as possible around the world.
| A．When we turn on a light or switch on a TV or a computer we use energy and we need water to produce this energy |
| B．If it is such a long distance to get water for them |
| C．It is to inspire people to learn more about water-related problems |
| D．If we drink dirty water, we can catch diseases from the bacteria and become ill |
| E．The truth is that we are lucky enough to have clean water whenever we want |
| F．If children walk many hours a day to get water |
| G．At one school in the UK, children between the ages of 10 and 15 walk 6km with six liters of water |
