16．Most people around the world are right-handed．This also seems to be true in history．In 1799，scientists studied works of art made at different times from 1，500B．C．to the 1950s．Most of the people shown in these works are right-handed，so the scientists guessed that right-handedness has always been common through history．Today，only about 10% to 15% of the world's population is left-handed．
Why are there more right-handed people than left-handed ones？Scientists now know that a person's two hands each have their own jobs．For most people，the hand is used to find things or hold things．The right hand is used to work with things．This is because of the different work of the two sides of the brain．The right side of the brain，which makes a person's hands and eyes work together，controls the left hand．The left-side of the brain，which controls the right hand，is the centre for thinking and doing problems．These findings show that more artists should be left-handed，and studies have found that left-handedness is twice as common among artists as among people in other jobs．
No one really knows what makes a person become right-handed instead of left-handed．Scientists have found that almost 40% of the people become left-handed because their main brain is damaged when they are born．However，this doesn't happen to everyone，so scientists guess there must be another reason why people become left-handed．One idea is that people usually get right-handed from their parents．If a person does not receive the gene（基因） for right-handedness，he/she may become either right-handed or left-handed according to the chance and the people they work or live with．
Though right-handedness is more common than left-handedness，people no longer think left-handed people are strange or unusual．A long time ago，left-handed children were made to use their right hands like other children，but today they don't have to．
34．How many people in the world are left-handed now？A
A．Less than one sixth．
B．More than a half．
C．About 40%．
D．The passage doesn't tell us．
35．Which of the following has the closest meaning to the underlined word"damaged"in this passage？D
A．knocked
B．changed
C．broke
D．harmed
36．According to the passage，which of the following is NOT true？B
A．No one really knows what makes a person become right-handed．
B．Left-handedness is cleverer than right-handedness．
C．Today children are not made to use their right hands only．
D．Scientists think there must be some reason why people become left-handed．
37．The best title for this passage isC．
A．Scientists'New Inventions
B．Left-handed People
C．Which Hand
D．Different Brains，Different Hands．
分析 短文大意：本文讲述在世界上多数人时右手使用者，科学家从历史美术作品中也得到这种结果，就此科学家们针对为什么右手使用者比左手使用者多作的一些发现和推测．
解答 34．A；细节推理题，根据原文句子Today，only about 10% to 15% of the world's population is left-handed．现在，只有大约世界人口的10%-15%是左手使用者．折算成分数少于六分之一，故选A．
35．D；单词意思推理题，根据单词所在的句子Scientists have found that almost 40% of the people become left-handed because their main brain is damaged when they are born．科学家已经发现大约40%的人成为左手使用者因为他们的脑总部被…当他们出生的时候．推测意思为"伤害"harm，被动语态填harmed，故选D．
36．B；文章内容理解题，根据文章内容，左手使用者受右脑控制，使手和眼协调，右手使用者，受左脑控制，是思考和解决问题的中心，并没有相关信息告知左手使用者比右手使用者聪明，故不对的选B．
37．C；给短文选标题，根据内容主要讲述左手使用者和右手使用者的不同和一些发现，所以标题C比较符合．
点评 阅读理解题通常从细节，文章主旨，推测词组大意几个方面考查学生对文章的理解，做题时注意找到文章出处，做到有理有据．
