科学研究证明男性方向感更强

　　For many men, the idea that they have a better sense of direction than women was never in doubt, but now a scientific study has proved it.

　　很多男性都坚信自己的方向感要比女性的强，而现在更有科学研究证实了该说法。

　　Researchers from Norway scanned the brains of volunteers as they completed navigation tasks to discover men are more adept at finding their way because they use a separate part of their brain.

　　Adding fuel to the fire, when women had testosterone dropped onto their tongues, their navigational skills improved.

　　Using 3D goggles and a joystick, a total of 36 participants - 18 men and 18 women - had to orient themselves in a large virtual maze while functional images of their brains were continuously recorded.

　　In the MRI scanner, they were given 30 seconds for each of the 45 navigation tasks. One of the tasks, for example, was to 'find the yellow car' from different starting points.

　　The men solved 50 per cent more of the tasks than the women.

　　According to lead researcher Dr Carl Pintzka from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), women and men have different navigational strategies.

　　Men use cardinal directions – the use of north, south, east and west - during navigation to a greater degree.

　　'Men's sense of direction was more effective. They quite simply got to their destination faster,' he said.

　　'If they're going to the Student Society building in Trondheim, for example, men usually go in the general direction where it's located,' Dr Pintzka explained.

　　'Women usually orient themselves along a route to get there, for example, "go past the hairdresser and then up the street and turn right after the store."'

　　The study shows that using cardinal directions is more efficient because it is a more flexible strategy.

　　1 adept

　　adj.老练的，精通的

　　参考例句：

　　When it comes to photography,I'm not an adept.要说照相，我不是内行。

　　He was highly adept at avoiding trouble.他十分善于避开麻烦。

　　2 goggles

　　n.护目镜

　　参考例句：

　　Skiers wear goggles to protect their eyes from the sun.滑雪者都戴上护目镜使眼睛不受阳光伤害。

　　My swimming goggles keep steaming up so I can't see.我的护目镜一直有水雾，所以我看不见。

　　3 maze

　　n.迷宫，八阵图，混乱，迷惑

　　参考例句：

　　He found his way through the complex maze of corridors.他穿过了迷宮一样的走廊。

　　She was lost in the maze for several hours.一连几小时，她的头脑处于一片糊涂状态。

　　4 functional

　　adj.为实用而设计的，具备功能的，起作用的

　　参考例句：

　　The telephone was out of order,but is functional now.电话刚才坏了，但现在可以用了。

　　The furniture is not fancy,just functional.这些家具不是摆着好看的，只是为了实用。

　　5 cardinal

　　n.(天主教的)红衣主教;adj.首要的，基本的

　　参考例句：

　　This is a matter of cardinal significance.这是非常重要的事。

　　The Cardinal coloured with vexation. 红衣主教感到恼火，脸涨得通红。