I don’t ever want to talk about being a woman scientist again. There was a time in my life when people asked constantly for stories about what it’s like to work in a field dominated by men. I was never very good at telling those stories because truthfully I never found them interesting. What I do find interesting is the origin of the universe, the shape of space-lime and the nature of black holes.
At 19, when I began studying astrophysics, it didn’t bother me in the least to be the only woman in the classroom. But while earning my Ph.D. at MIT and then as a post-doctor doing space research, the issue started to bother me. My every achievement-jobs, research papers, awards-was viewed through the lens of gender(性别) politics. So were my failures. Sometimes, when I was pushed into an argument on left brain versus right brain, or nature versus nurture(培育), I would instantly fight fiercely on my behalf and all womankind.
Today I research and teach at Barnard, a women’s college in New York City. Recently, someone asked me how many of the 45 students in my class were women. You cannot imagine my satisfaction at being able to answer, 45. I know some of my students worry how they will manage their scientific research and a desire for children. And I don’t dismiss those concerns. Still, I don’t tell them “war” stories. Instead, I have given them this: the visual of their physics professor heavily pregnant doing physics experiments. And in turn they have given me the image of 45 women driven by a love of science. And that’s a sight worth talking about.
1. Why doesn’t the author want to talk about being a woman scientist again?
A. She feels unhappy working in male-dominated fields.
B. She is fed up with the issue of gender discrimination
C. She is not good at telling stories of the kind
D. She finds space research more important
2. Form Para 3, we can infer that people would attribute (归结于) the author’s failures to___
A. the very fact that she is a woman
B. her involvement in gender politics
C. her over-confidence as a female astrophysicist
D. the burden she bears in a male-dominated society
3. How does the author feel when talking about her class?
A. worried B. satisfied C. excited D. concerned
4. What does the image the author presents to her students suggest?
A. Women students needn’t have the concerns of the generation
B. women have more barriers on their way to academic success
C. Women can balance a career in science and having a family
D. Women now have fewer problems in pursuing a science career
