BBC随身英语｜为什么女生在校学习成绩更好？

Why girls outperform boys in school exams

Around the world, girls do better than boys at school. These are the findings of a recent study that looked at the test results of 1.5 million 15-year-olds in 74 regions across the globe.

The level of gender equality in those regions made no difference to the results. Other factors, such as the income level of the region also had little impact on the findings. In only three regions – Colombia, Costa Rica and the Indian state Himachal Pradesh – was the trend reversed with boys doing better.

So what are the causes of girls' stronger performance? In the UK, girls outperform boys in exams that are taken at the age of 15 or 16, called GCSEs. According to education expert Ian Toone, this is down to the way girls and boys are brought up.

"Boys are encouraged to be more active from an early age, whereas the restless movements of baby girls are pacified… Hence, girls develop the skill of sitting still for longer periods of time, which is useful for academic pursuits like studying for GCSEs."

He goes on to say that boys often cluster together in larger groups than girls. Because of this they are more likely to be influenced by peer pressure and develop a gang mentality. He says that GCSEs require a lot of solo work and are not viewed as 'cool' in a laddish culture.

This is backed up by research in the UK that says girls are out-performing boys at the age of five. So what is the answer? Should girls and boys be educated separately? Or do exams and school curricula need to be changed to better reflect boys' skills? These are the questions facing educators in many countries.

词汇表
gender equality [ˈdʒendər iˈkwɒləti] 性别平等，男女平等
income level 收入水平
the trend reversed [trend rɪˈvɜːst] 趋势逆转，情况反转
outperform [ˌaʊtpəˈfɔː(r)m] vt. 表现优于，胜过，超过
GCSE abbr. 普通中等教育证书（General Certificate of Secondary Education，英国学生16岁左右参加的考试）
be down to 归因于，由…造成
bring up 养育，抚养，教育
restless [ˈrestləs] adj. 好动的，不安宁的，坐立不安的
pacify [ˈpæsɪfaɪ] vt. 安抚，使平静，平息
sit still 静坐，坐着不动
academic pursuit [ˌækəˈdemɪk pəˈsjuːt] 学业，学术追求
cluster together [ˈklʌstə(r)] 聚集在一起，成群结队
peer pressure [pɪə(r)] 同伴压力，同辈压力，同龄人压力
gang mentality [ɡæŋ menˈtæləti] 帮派心态，团伙心理
solo [ˈsəʊləʊ] adj.单独的，独自的
laddish culture [ˈlædɪʃ]（英国俚语）哥们文化，小伙子文化
back up 支持，证实，为…提供证据
school curricula [kəˈrɪkjʊlə] 学校课程（curriculum的复数形式）

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