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  3. Scientists have been interested for years in the observation that ratios of

Scientists have been interested for years in the observation that ratios of

游客2024-02-04  25
问题     Scientists have been interested for years in the observation that ratios of finger lengths differ in men and women. In men, the ring(fourth)finger is usually longer than the index(second); their so-called 2D : 4D ratio is lower than 1. In females, the two fingers are more likely to be the same length. Because of this sex difference, some scientists believe that a low ratio could be a marker for higher prenatal hormone(激素)levels, although it’s not clear how the hormone might influence finger development. The 2D:4D ratio has also been fingered in connection with brain-related characteristics—most often in males—such as depression, left-handedness, musical ability, and homosexuality.
    In the latest such study, psychologist Mark Brosnan and colleagues at the University of Bath in the United Kingdom photocopied the hands of 74 boys and girls aged 6 and 7. They compared the measurements of the second and fourth fingers with the children’s scores on a standard UK test of math and literacy. In boys, the lower the ratio, the better their math scores, the team reports in the May issue of the British Journal of Psychology. The boys with the lowest ratios also were the ones whose abilities were most skewed in the direction of math rather than literacy. These differences are small but significant, says Brosnan. With the girls, there was no correlation between finger ratio and numeracy, but those with higher ratios—presumably indicating low hormone levels—had better scores on verbal abilities.
    These sex-specific correlations show how tricky it is to define the roles of sex hormones, says psychologist S. Marc Breedlove of Michigan State University in East Lansing. The range of normal levels of the hormone is different in males and females, so comparable levels would have very different meanings depending on the sex of the individual. And the timing of hormone surges is as important as the levels.
    Nonetheless, Brosnan believes finger measurements might be useful for predicting cognitive abilities—although he acknowledges that "we are not suggesting that finger length measurements could replace SAT tests." Others are more cautious, pointing out that scientists still have not confirmed that finger ratio is a reliable marker for prenatal hormone levels. [br] According to the last paragraph, ______.
选项 A、all researchers support Brosnan’s thoughts
B、all researchers confirm that finger ratio is a reliable marker
C、many people believe finger length measurements could replace SAT tests
D、many people think the result of this research should be proven by further experiments
答案 D
解析 推理判断题。由定位段可知，不是所有的人都很肯定地支持Brosnan的研究结果，很多人则更为谨慎，他们指出科学家还没有证实手指的比例是否是测量产前激素水平的一个可靠指标。由此推断，有很多人认为需要进一步的研究，因此选择D)。
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