试题详情

共用题干 Mad Scientist Stereotype Outdated

Do people still imagine a physicist as a bearded man in glasses or has the image of the
mad scientist changed?The Institute of Physics set out to find out whether the stereotype of
a physics"boffin"（科学家）still exists by conducting a survey on shoppers in London. The
people were asked to identify the physicist from a photograph of a line-up of possible
suspects.98 percent of those asked got it wrong.The majority of people picked a white
male of around 60,wearing glasses and with a white beard.
While this stereotype may have been the image of an average physicist fifty years ago,
the reality is now very different. Since 1 960 the number of young women entering physics
has doubled and the average age of a physicist is now 31.
The stereotype of the absent-minded scientist has lasted a long time because the media
and Hollywood help promote the image of men in white lab coats with glasses sitting by
blackboards full of equations（等式）or working with fizzing（嘶嘶响）test tubes. These
stereotypes are really damaging to society.Very good school children are put off studying
science because they don"t see people like themselves on television or in magazines doing
science.They simply don"t relate to the media"s image of the mad scientist.
This is one reason why fewer young people are choosing to do science at university.If
we want to encourage more young people to study science subjects,we need to change
this image of the scientist and make science careers more attractive.But we must also
develop children"s interest in science.
In an attempt to change this negative image,an increasing number of science festivals
are being organized.Thousands of people from secondary schools are also encouraged to
take part in nationwide science competitions of which the most popular are the national
science Olympiads.Winning national teams then get the opportunity to take part in the
International Science Olympiads which are held in a different country every year.These
events are all interesting for the young people who take part but they only involve a small
proportion of students who are already interested in science.It seems that there is a long
way to go before science becomes attractive as subjects like computer studies or fashion
and design. The media and the cinema have played a role in promoting the image of the mad scientist.