D．Humorous．

　　　 They say the average person makes 35， 000 decisions a day． Yet in her new book， How Woman Decide， Therese Huston explores a widespread phenomenon that many women fail to notice． "There's a huge double standard when it comes to how men and women are viewed as decision﹣makers，" explains Therese， a psychologist from Seattle University． Therese decided to write the book after looking at her bookshelf： At one end， there were bestselling books about how to be a clever decision﹣maker ﹣ all written by men and featuring interviews with men like athletes． At the other end were books aimed at women on gaining leadership skills and confidence．

　　　"Once those women are at the table， will their decisions be taken as seriously as men's？" Therese wondered． "Men are respected as decision﹣makers more than women， especially in the workplace， largely because there's this cultural belief that women are unable to make smart choices at work． "

　　　So， Therese set out to pick apart the stereotypes（固有印象）to see what scientific research had found． "Scientific research shows that men and women struggle with decision﹣making equally． The only disadvantage I found was that during the teenage years﹣teenage girls are more indecisive than teenage boys． Otherwise， there's little difference between the genders（性别）． "

　　　However， there are some differences． "Women are more collaborative（协作的）， "says Therese． "A female boss is more likely to ask the opinions of those around her when making a choice． Women ask for input， which helps make better decisions． However， this is often seen as a weakness rather than a strength． "

　　　Therese also found that during times of stress， men and women make different choices， and the outcomes are often better when women are involved．

　　　Study after study backs this view up． Neuroscientists Mara Mather and Nicole Lighthall from the University of Southern California studied the way men and women make decisions and found that in times of stress， they react very differently．

　　　During their study， which involved playing a virtual gambling（赌博）game， they found that when the females became stressed， they made smart decisions ﹣ quitting while they were ahead or taking safe bets． But when the men became stressed， they did the opposite， risking everything for a slim chance of a big win．

　　　5．Why did Therese Huston write her book How Women Decide？

　　　A．Women are less respected as decision﹣makers．

　　　B．Women are not equally treated in workplaces．

　　　C．Women are unable to make smart choices．

　　　D．Women are poor at making big decisions．

　　　6．What is women's weakness in decision﹣making according to Therese Huston？

　　　A．Men can make quicker decisions than women．

　　　B．Women easily get stressed when making decisions．

　　　C．Women are likely to ask for input when making decisions．

　　　D．Teenage girls are less able to make decisions than teenage boys．

　　　7．What can we infer from the last paragraph？

　　　A．Women show less confidence in times of stress．

　　　B．Men tend to make risky decisions in times of stress．

　　　C．Men show great courage in times of stress．

　　　D．Women quit making decisions when ahead in games．

　　　8．What's Therese's final conclusion according to the text？

　　　A．Women are skillful as decision﹣makers．

　　　B．Men are weaker in making smart decisions．

　　　C．We should give up all cultural beliefs about gender（性别）．

　　　D．Great difference exists between the two genders in decision﹣making．

　　　 The idea of progress started to flower in the 17th century． At that time， many wise thinkers believed that man liberated（解放） by reason would rise to greater heights of achievement． The many expressions of human nature would be the engines of progress： language， business， science， and moral sensibility （道德感）． Unfortunately， most of those engines have failed to bring the desired human progress．

　　　The modern age has belonged to material progress and its main source has been science． Science gives people huge power to change the world． But can people be trusted to use it always for good？ Think of biotechnology and information technology． And it is not just that scientific progress does not deliver the emotional good． People also fear that mankind is failing to manage science properly． The forests are disappearing； the ice is melting； privacy is leaking； life is becoming a depressing march in an ugly world．

The point is not that science is harmful， but that scientific progress needs to be mapped tidily onto human progress． That relies on moral sensibility in its widest sense． This liberal force offers hope for a better future． The very idea of moral sensibility probably sounds out﹣of﹣date． Bur researchers find that people desire a sense of moral purpose which would give life dignity （尊严）． People want to determine