Reading Comprehension Quiz

Stephen Jay Gould, “Women’s Brains”

Read “Women’s Brains” and check your comprehension by answering the following questions. Click the submit button when finished.

Question 8.1 In paragraph 2, Gould uses a parenthetical aside to make a point. What does the aside do for Gould’s argument?

Question 8.2 Gould writes that “Numbers, by themselves, specify nothing. All depends upon what you do with them” (par 2). What does this mean?

Question 8.3 Gould notes that L. Manouvrier was a “black sheep in Broca’s fold” (par. 2). What does he mean by a “black sheep”?

Question 8.4 Gould employs parenthetical asides throughout the course of the essay. What do these asides provide to the reader that could not be incorporated into the essay as main parts of the paragraph?

Question 8.5 Gould notes that Le Bon’s article appeared in “France’s most respected anthropological journal” (par. 6). What does Gould wish for his audience to understand about this misogynistic attack?

Question 8.6 The rhetorical question that ends paragraph 7 — “Sound familiar?” — is asking the audience a question that Gould already knows the answer to and assumes his audience will also know. What might Gould want his audience to remember and acknowledge about the 1980s, the time when he published this article?

Question 8.7 In paragraph 11, Gould acknowledges that “modern students of brain size still have not agreed on a proper measure for eliminating the powerful effect of body size.” How does admitting that he doesn’t have all the answers affect Gould’s argument?

Question 8.8 Why does Gould include the study conducted by Maria Montessori, a name that people in the modern world are still familiar with?