Reading Comprehension 
从下列每篇短文的问题后所给的四个选择项中选出一个最佳答案。
     Studies of names given to boys and girls have uncovered interesting differences between them. To start with, first names of women tend to be longer than those of men. Men are much more likely to have first names with only one syllable(音节)(Bob, Jim, Fred, Frank and John) and much less likely to have three or more syllables (Christopher and Nicholas). In contrast, women are less likely to be given names of only one syllable (Ann, Joan and May) and more likely to have names with three or more syllables (Katherine, Elizabeth, Amanda and Victoria). This difference between names of men and women can also be found in pet names or shortened forms of names used among family members and friends. Robert, for example, is shortened as Bob, which is definitely a name for men, whereas Bobbie in most cases refers to a woman named Roberta, though you may come across in rare cases men called Bobbie, too.
     For both men and women the stress usually falls on the first syllable of the first name. There are, however, some differences between the two. One study of first names found that only 5% of first names of men carried strong stress on a syllable other than the first (Jerome) compared with 25% in the case of women (Patricia, Elizabeth, Amanda, Rebecca and Michelle). None of the top ten most popular names of men over the last 75 years in England had the stress elsewhere than on the first syllable. What's more, names of women are more likely than those of men to end in spoken vowel sound, as in Linda, Tracy, Patricia, Deborah, Mary and Barbara. If the last sound is not a vowel, it is then very likely to be consonant, especially nasal(鼻音)as in Jean, Kathleen, Sharon and Ann. In contrast, names given to boys are much more likely to end in plosive sound(爆破音), as in Bob, David, Dick and Jack.
     Why there are these differences between the names chosen for boys and girls is a source of imagination. Are the characteristics of boys' names meant to convey an impression of forceful masculinity(男子气概) through being short and sharp? And are those for girls intended to convey gentler qualities?