When the leaders of the Class of 2003 assemble in Lawrence High’s fluorescent-lit1 meeting rooms, most of the boys are nowhere to be seen. The senior class president? A girl. The vice -president? Girl.

　　Head of student government? Girl. Captain of the math team, chief of the yearbook, and editor of the newspaper? Girls. The female lock on power at Lawrence is emblematic of a stunning gender reversal in American education. From kindergarten to graduate school, boys are fast becoming the second sex.

　　It may still be a man’s world . But it is no longer, in any way, a boy’s. From his first days in school, an average boy is already developmentally two years behind the girls in reading and writing. Yet he ’s often expected to learn the same things in the same way in the same amount of time. While every nerve in his body tells him to run, he has to sit still and listen for almost eight hours a day. Biologically, he needs about four recesses a day, but he ’s lucky if he gets one, since some lawsuit-leery schools have banned them altogether. Hug a girl, and he could be labeled a“ toucher”and swiftly suspended — a result of what some say is an increasingly anti-boy culture that pathologizes their behavior.

　　Overall, more boys and girls are in college than a generation ago. But when adjusted for population growth, the percentage of boys entering college , master’s programs, and most doctoral programs — except for PhDs2 in fields like engineering and computer science — has mostly stalled out, whereas for women it has continued to rise across the board. The trend is most pronounced among Hispanics, African Americans, and those from low-income families.

　　Instead of catering to boys’learning styles, others argue, many schools are force-fitting them into an unnatural mold. The reigning sit-still-and-listen paradigm isn’t ideal for either sex.

　　Experts say educators should focus on helping boys feel less like misfits. Experts are designing new developmentally appropriate, child-initiated learning that concentrates on problem-solving, not just test-taking. This approach benefits both sexes but especially boys, given that they tend to learn best through action, not just talk. Activities are geared toward the child’s interest level and temperament. Boys, for example, can learn math through counting pinecones, biology through mucking around in a pond. They can read Harry Potter instead of Little House on the Prairie , and write about aliens attacking a hospital rather than about how to care for people in the hospital.

　　Indeed, brain research shows that boys are actually more empathic, expressive, and emotive at birth than girls. But the boy code , which bathes them in a culture of stoicism and reticence, often socializes those aptitudes out of them by the second grade .“We now have executives paying 10 , 000 a week to learn emotional intelligence, ”says Pollock.“These are actually the skills boys are born with. ”

　　A new world has opened up for girls, but unless a symmetrical effort is made to help boys find their footing, it may turn out that it’s a lonely place to be.

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　　練習題：

　　Ⅰ. Complete th e following sen te nces with the word s give n:

　　banned geared labeled revealed

　　1. Would you please hand me the bottle wisdom.

　　2. Many classical books were once criticized and thus by the authorities.

　　3. Research has how huge the gap between the poor and the rich is.

　　4. This game is toward a better and faster response.

　　Ⅱ. Question :

　　Why did experts design new developmentally appropriate, child-initiated learning?

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　　參考答案

　　Ⅰ. 1. labeled 2. banned 3. revealed 4 . geared

　　Ⅱ. Because that concentrates on problem-solving, not just test-taking.

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　　參考譯文：

　　男孩女孩, 孰為第二性?

　　在 勞倫斯中學里, 當2003 屆的學生干部在燈火通明的會議室開會時, 男生們大都無處可覓。畢業班班長是女生, 副班長是女生, 學生自治會主席是女生, 數學組組長、年鑒主編、校報編輯也是女生。

　　女生在勞倫斯中學掌權, 這反映出美國教育界令人吃驚的陰盛陽衰現象。從幼兒園到研究生院, 男生正迅速淪為從屬性別。

　　這也許依然是男人的世界。但無論從哪個方面看, 這個世界都不是男孩的世界。從踏入校門開始, 男孩在閱讀和寫作上就已經比女孩平均落后了兩年, 因為男孩發育較晚。然而, 人們卻往往期望男孩在同樣多的時間里以同樣的方式學習同樣的東西。男孩身上的每根神經都使他想要四處跑動, 可他卻不得不一動不動地坐著, 每天聽差不多8 小時的課。

　　從生物學的角度看, 他每天大約需要4 節游戲課, 可他能有一節游戲課就算萬幸了, 因為有些學校違反規定, 完全取消了游戲課。如果他擁抱了一名女孩, 可能會背上“ 色狼”的惡名, 動輒被學校開除。之所以造成這種結果, 正如有人所說, 是因為存在著一種越來越違背男孩本性的文化, 從而造成男孩的行為異常。

　　從整體上看, 大學中男生和女生的人數比上一代人增加了。但是, 如果把人口增長因素考慮進去, 那么, 男孩讀大學、碩士和博士( 在工程和計算機科學等少數學科讀博士的男孩 除外) 的比例, 基本上已停止增長。而女孩讀大學、碩士和博士的比例卻繼續全面增長。

　　在西班牙裔美國人、非洲裔美國人和來自低收入家庭的美國人中, 女孩的這種增長趨勢最為明顯。

　　有人認為, 許多學校不是去適應男孩的學習方式, 而是強迫他們接受違背其天性的做法。讓孩子一動不動地坐著聽老師講課, 這種盛行的做法無論對男孩還是女孩都不是最好方法。

　　專家們說教育工作者應重點幫助男孩逐步消除認為自己不適應學習的感覺。他們正 在根據兒童自己的意見, 設計符合兒童發育規律的新的學習方法。這種方法重視培養解決問題的能力, 而不是一味強調考試。它使男孩和女孩都能從中受益, 但男孩受益更大, 因為他們通過動手而不只是動嘴的方法能取得最好的學習效果。這種方法專門針對孩子的興趣和性情安排相應的活動。例如, 男孩可采取數松果的方式學習數學, 通過在池塘邊玩耍的方式學習生物。他們閱讀的書可以是《哈利· 波特》, 而不是《大草原上的小木屋》; 他們作文的內容可以是外星人襲擊一所醫院, 而不是如何在醫院里照顧病人。

　　的確, 大腦研究表明, 實際上男孩生來就比女孩更富有同情心, 更善于表達, 也更容易受感動。但是, 人們給男孩樹立的標準卻要求他們寵辱不驚, 沉默寡言。所以, 他們到二年級時就被社會化了, 從而喪失了這些天性。波拉克說:“ 現在, 一些公司高層管理人員不惜每周花費1 萬美元, 去培養情感能力。實際上, 對男孩來說這些能力是與生俱來的。”一個新的世界已展現在女孩面前。但是, 如果不下功夫幫助男孩在這個世界里找到自的位置, 那么, 這個世界終將是一個孤獨的世界。