Page 40 - index

2021 ‫מועד חורף‬ - 39 - ‫ פרק ראשון‬- ‫אנגלית‬

Reading Comprehension

This part consists of two passages, each followed by several related questions. For each
question, choose the most appropriate answer based on the text.

Text I (Questions 13-17)

(1) There is a common misconception – even among parents and teachers – that
academic success among girls is due to hard work, while among boys it is an outcome
of natural ability. A recent study found that many girls also share this view. According
to New York University's Andrei Cimpian, a co-author of the study, girls as young as six

(5) believe that brilliance is a male trait.

Most children are exposed to and influenced by gender stereotypes from an early
age. To determine how young children think about gender, intelligence, and grades, the
researchers conducted a series of exercises involving 200 boys and 200 girls aged five
and six. The results showed that about 70 percent of the time, five-year-old boys and

(10) girls described people of their own gender as being smart. By the age of six, however,
girls associated smartness with females only 48 percent of the time, while boys linked
intelligence with males 65 percent of the time. It was also found that although boys and
girls were equally interested in playing a game that they were told was for children who
"try really, really hard", girls were less interested than boys in playing a game that they

(15) were told was for children who "are really, really smart". Additionally, while girls were
more likely than boys to associate their own gender with good grades, they did not
attribute these good grades to intelligence. "Already by this young age," said Cimpian,
"girls are discounting the evidence that is in front of their eyes."

The belief that they are not naturally smart can have implications for the
(20) educational and professional paths that young women choose. For example, they may

opt out of academic disciplines that are commonly considered difficult, such as math
and physics, despite having high grades in these subjects in high school. Indeed, studies
suggest that the low proportion of women in such fields could be a result of women not
believing that they have the intelligence to succeed in them. It is Cimpian's hope that
(25) his research will contribute to the emergence of interventions that prevent stereotypes
from affecting women's career choices.

Questions

13. An appropriate title for this text would be -

(1) How to Overcome Stereotypes in Education
(2) Smart or Hardworking? How Girls View Themselves
(3) Trying Really, Really Hard: The Key to Success in Childhood
(4) The Close Link between Gender and Ability

)‫© כל הזכויות שמורות למרכז ארצי לבחינות ולהערכה (ע"ר‬
.‫ בלא אישור בכתב מהמרכז הארצי לבחינות ולהערכה‬- ‫ כולה או חלקים ממנה‬- ‫ או ללמדה‬,‫אין להעתיק או להפיץ בחינה זו או קטעים ממנה בכל צורה ובכל אמצעי‬