Would the world be more peaceful if women were in charge? A challenging new book by the Harvard University psychologist Steven Pinker says that the answer is“yes”．
In The Better Angels of Our Nature, Pinker presents data showing that human violence, while still very much with us today, has been gradually declining．Moreover, he says, “over the long sweep of history, women have been and will be a peaceful force．Traditional war is a man's game：tribal women never band together to attack neighboring villages．”As mothers, women tend to maintain peaceful conditions in which to bring up their children．
Skeptics(怀疑者)immediately reply that women have not made war simply because they have rarely been in power．If they were empowered as leaders．the disorder of the world would force them to make the same waxlike decisions that men do．Margaret Thatcher, Golda Meir, and Indira Gandhi were powerful women；all of them led their countries to war．
But it is also true that these women rose to leadership by playing according to the political rules of“a man's world．”It was their success consistent with male values that enabled their rise to leadership in the first place．In a world in which women were in the majority of leadership positions, they might behave differently in power．
So we are left with the broader question：does gender(性别)really matter in leadership? In terms of traditional opinion, various psychologieM studies show that men tend towards the hard power ofcommand, while women are cooperative and naturally understand the soft power of attraction and persuasion．
The key choices about war and peace in our future will depend not on gender, but on how leaders combine hard and soft power skills to produce smart policies．Both men and women will make those decisions．
(1)
Which of the following does Pinker agree?
[ ]
A．
Human violenee has been increasing．
B．
Men play a vital role in traditional war．
C．
Women have not made war due to their powerlessness．
D．
Women prefer to take care of their babies at home．
(2)
The author mentions Margaret Thatcher, Golda Meir, and Indira Gandhi to say ________．
[ ]
A．
they were all women
B．
they also acted as leaders
C．
they were all heroes
D．
they also made war
(3)
How did these women rise to leadership?
[ ]
A．
By entering a famous university．
B．
By following values similar to men's．
C．
By showing their good character．
D．
By playing political games．
(4)
In terms of traditional opinion, ________．
[ ]
A．
men prefer cooperation
B．
men are wiser than women
C．
women know well about soft power
D．
women are excellent leaders
(5)
What does the writer intend to tell us?
[ ]
A．
War and peace depend on wise policies made by men or women．
B．
We had better choose women as our leaders if we want peace．
C．
Women are more likely to nlake smart policies than men．
