2014高考英语阅读理解冲刺提升全程训练（六）及答案.docVIP

2014高考英语阅读理解冲刺提升全程训练（6）及答案 阅读理解 (2013·海淀区期末，C) The early lack of exposure to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) can be harmful to achieving gender (性别) balance in these fields. It begins when we are young and continues throughout our time in high school. While at home, girls generally dont get to experience the level of exposure or encouragement in STEM fields that their male counterparts do. It is often subtle, but its the first hurdle that faces and confuses so many women. Boys, on the other hand, get on their path, and are encouraged to do so, generally earlier than girls. For example, boys are more often given science sets as toys, which spark an interest in these subjects. In school, boys are often pushed to take the more challenging math and science classes. So if we want to attract the best and brightest minds into the fields that will advance us as a people, a country, and a planet, we can no longer look to only half of the population. Young girls cannot possibly consider opportunities they do not know exist. If girls are not exposed to certain subject and career paths, they are highly unlikely to choose to follow them in college. Our bias (偏见) toward girls, either from families or from schools, is so rooted in our culture that we often dont even recognize it. Although the situation has changed greatly in the past 20 or 30 years, there is still a sense, that girls arent as good at math, for instance, even though there is almost no evidence to support such a belief. It is important that as a society we deal with gender stereotypes long before young people are faced with a decision to declare or choose a major in college. Without making efforts to break them, we are limiting the potentials of our youth, both male and female. Providing the necessary resources, exposure, and encouragement would help young women understand that their gender shouldnt determine the career path they choose, and that pursuing a STEM career does not make them les