中国网站品牌栏目（频道）
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 Fitting the stereotype: According to the latest research, American Idol judges Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul demonstrate typical gender characteristics when it comes to decision making. While Cowell would often see contestants 'in black and white' and stick to his decision, Abdul was prone to indecision. |
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It will come as no surprise to any man who has waited for his wife to choose what to wear for a night out. But scientists have now proved that women are the less decisive sex. While, of course, the tendency is not always a helpful one, the study found that men are more likely to leap to ‘black-or-white’ judgments. Women, on the other hand, tend to be open minded and ‘see more shades of grey’. In the study, more than 100 people were asked whether each of 50 objects fitted partially, fully or not at all into categories. Women were 23 per cent more likely to select the ‘partial’ option. Their ‘indecisive’ responses were to questions likely to stimulate debate, such as ‘Is paint a tool?’ or ‘Is a tomato a fruit?’ Most men were happy to decide, for example, that a tomato is either a fruit or not, while women say it can ‘sort of’ belong in the fruit category. Researcher Dr Zachary Estes, of Warwick University, said: ‘Of course, simply because we have found a significant sex difference in how men and women categorise does not mean that one method is intrinsically better than the other. ‘For instance, male doctors may be more likely to quickly and confidently diagnose a set of symptoms as a disease. ‘Although this brings great advantages in treating diseases early, it obviously has massive disadvantages if the diagnosis is actually wrong. In many cases, a more open approach to categorising or diagnosing would be more effective.’ In a conclusion that may explain why Lord Sugar is so at ease with his role choosing which candidate to fire on his show The Apprentice, Dr Estes added: ‘Men, it would seem, are more suited to occupational environments that require decisive action whereas women are better at jobs where a considered approach is most important.’ Dr Estes said the gender difference is also consistent with women’s use of tentative language. He said: ‘In general, women tend to use more tentative language such as hedges, for example ‘sort of’ and disclaimers like I’m not sure.’ (Read by Renee Haines. Renee Haines is a journalist at the China Daily Website.) (Agencies) |
对于那些曾经因为妻子要挑选晚上出门穿的衣服而苦苦等待的男人来说，这一研究结果并不会让他们惊讶。 现在科学家已证实女人是比较不善于决断的那一方。 但是，男人的决断力并非总是有利的，研究发现，男性更可能做出“非黑即白”的绝对化的判断。 而女人的思维一般会更开阔，能“看到更多的灰色地带”。 在这项涵盖了100多人的研究中，研究人员让被调查者判断50种物体是“部分”、“完全”还是“完全不”符合既定的类别。 女性选择“部分符合”选项的可能性要高出23%。 她们对于一些容易引起争议的问题会做出“不确定”的反应，例如“颜料是一种工具吗？”，或“西红柿是一种水果吗？”。 在回答西红柿是不是水果这类问题时，大部分男性都很乐意给出确定答案，而女性会说西红柿“大概”属于水果类。 华威大学的研究人员扎克里•埃斯蒂斯博士说：“当然，我们不能仅仅因为在归类这方面发现两性的重大差异就认为其中一种思维方式就比另一种强。 “例如，男医生也许更能够快速、确定地对一系列病症做出诊断。 “尽管这非常有助于及早对疾病进行治疗，但是如果诊断错误的话，显然也会造成严重损害。在许多情况下，对于归类或诊断采用更开放的思维方式会更有效。” 这一结论也许可以解释为什么Lord Sugar在他的《学徒》真人秀中决定哪个候选人被解雇时可以如此得心应手。埃斯蒂斯博士说：“研究表明，男性会更适合需要做出决断性举动的职业环境，而女性更善于从事那些需要三思而后行的工作。” 埃斯蒂斯博士说，这一性别差异和女性喜欢运用不确定的语言也是相一致的。 他说：“总体来看，女性一般会用更多不确定的语言，说一些模棱两可的话，例如‘大概’和‘我不确定’等免责性的话。” 相关阅读 （中国日报网英语点津 陈丹妮 编辑： 冯明惠） |
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Vocabulary: intrinsically: 本质上 tentative: not definite or certain because you may want to change it later（不确定的；不肯定的；暂定的） hedge: 模棱两可的话 disclaimer: a statement in which somebody says that they are not connected with or responsible for something, or that they do not have any knowledge of it（免责声明） |
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