12．Baby girls make their way directly for dolls as soon as they can crawl，while boys will head for the toy cars，a study has shown．The findings，the first to show differences in very young babies，suggest there is a biological basis to their preferences．
Psychologists Dr Brenda Todd from City University London carried out an experiment involving 90 infants aged nine months to 36 months．The babies were allowed to choose from seven toys．Some were stereotypically boys'toys-a car，a digger，a ball and a blue teddy．The rest were girls'toys：a pink teddy，a doll and a cooking set．They were placed a meter away from the toys，and could pick whichever toy they liked．Their choice and the amount of time they spent playing with each toy were recorded．
Of the youngest children （nine to 14 months），girls spent significantly longer playing with the doll than boys，and boys spent much more time with the car and ball than the girls did．Among the two-and three-year-olds，girls spent 50 percent of the time playing with the doll while only two boys briefly touched it．The boys spent almost 90 percent of their time playing with cars，which the girls barely touched．There was no link between the parents'view on which toys were more appropriate for boys or girls，and the children's choice．
Dr Brenda Todd said："Children of this age are already exposed to much socialization．Boys may be given‘toys that go'while girls get toys they can care for，which may help shape their preference．But these findings agree with the former idea that children show natural interests in particular kinds of toys．There could be a biological basis for their choices．Males through evolution have been adapted to prefer moving objects，probably through hunting instincts（本能），while girls prefer warmer colors such as pink，the color of a newborn baby．"
53．Baby boys and girls have different toy preferences probably becauseD．
A．baby boys are much more active
B．baby girls like bright colors more
C．their parents treat them differently
D．there is a natural difference between them
54．Both baby boys and baby girls like to play withBaccording to the study．
A．a(chǎn) ball B．a(chǎn) teddy C．a(chǎn) car D．a(chǎn) doll
55．What can we infer from Paragraph 3？C
A．Nine-month-old baby boys don't play with dolls at all．
B．Two-year-old baby girls sometimes play with cars and balls．
C．The older the babies are，the more obvious their preference is．
D．Parents should teach their babies to share each other's toys．
56．What conclusion did Dr．Brenda Todd draw from the results of the study？B
A．Adults purposely influence their babies preference．
B．Babies'preference isn't affected by social surroundings．
C．Baby boys preferring to moving toys will be good at hunting．
D．Baby girls preferring warmer colors will be warm-hearted．
57．We may read this article in aAsection of a newspaper．
A．science B．health C．education D．entertainment．
分析 本文屬于說明文閱讀，作者通過這篇文章向我們介紹了嬰兒男孩和女孩的不同，一項研究顯示嬰兒男孩和女孩對于玩具的喜好是不同的，但是他們都喜歡泰迪熊，而隨著年齡的增長，他們對玩具的偏好就越加突出．
解答 53．D 細節(jié)理解題，根據(jù)第一段The findings，the first to show differences in very young babies，suggest there is a biological basis to their preferences．可知嬰兒男孩和女孩有不同的玩具偏好可能是因為這是他們天生的不同，故選D．
54．B 細節(jié)理解題，根據(jù)第二段Some were typically boys'toys：a car，a digger，a ball and a blue teddy． The rest were girls'toys：a pink teddy，a doll and a cooking set．可知男孩子和女孩子都喜歡玩泰迪熊，故選B．
55．C 推理判斷題，根據(jù)第三段可知男孩和女孩隨著年齡的增長，他們對玩具的偏好就越加突出，故選C．
56．B 推理判斷題，根據(jù)最后一段Dr Brenda Todd said："Children of this age are already exposed to much socialization．Boys may be given‘toys that go'while girls get toys they can care for，which may help shape their preference．可知Brenda Todd博士從研究結果中得出嬰兒的偏好不受社會環(huán)境的影響這一結論，故選B．
57．A 推理判斷題，根據(jù)第一段Baby girls make their way directly for dolls as soon as they can crawl（爬），while boys will head for the toy cars，a study has shown．可知這是一篇研究報告類文章，屬于報紙中的科學部分內容，故選A．
點評 考查學生的細節(jié)理解和推理判斷能力．做細節(jié)理解題時一定要找到文章中的原句，和題干進行比較，再做出正確選擇．在做推理判斷題時不要以個人的主觀想象代替文章的事實，要根據(jù)文章事實進行合乎邏輯的推理判斷．
