Section A

　　Directions: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to select one word for each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage. Read the passage through carefully before making your choices. Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter. Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once.

　　Many men and women have long bought into the idea that there are “male” and “female” brains, believing that explains just about every difference between the sexes. A new study   26   that belief, questioning whether brains really can be distinguished by gender.

　　In the study, Tel Aviv University researchers   27    for sex differences the entire human brain.

　　And what did they find? Not much. Rather than offer evidence for   28   brains as “male” or “female,” research shows that brains fall into a wide range, with most people falling right in the middle.

　　Daphna Joel, who led the study, said her research found that while there are some gender-based   29   , many different types of brain can’t always be distinguished by gender.

　　While the “average” male and “average” female brains were   30   different, you couldn’t tell it by looking at individual brain scans. Only a small   31    of people had “all-male” or “all-female” characteristics.

　　Larry Cahill, an American neuroscientist (神经科学家),said the study is an important addition to a growing body of research questioning   32    beliefs about gender and brain function. But he cautioned against concluding from this study that all brains are the same,   33   of gender.

　　“There’s a mountain of evidence   34   the importance of sex influences at all levels of brain function,” he told The Seattle Times.

　　If anything, he said, the study   35   that gender plays a very important role in the brain “even when we are not clear exactly how.”

　　A) abnormal            I) regardless

　　B) applied              J) searched

　　C) briefly               K) similarities

　　D) categorizing          L) slightly

　　E) challenges            M) suggests

　　F) figure                N) tastes

　　G) percentage            O) traditional

　　H) proving