SECTION SUMMARY

SECTION SUMMARY

The XEDS is the only X-ray spectrometer currently used in TEMs. It is remarkably compact, efficient, and sensitive. A combination of Si(Li) and Ge detectors can detect Kα, lines from all the elements, from Be to U. However, the XEDS has limits in terms of its need for cooling, its poor energy resolution, and the many artifacts that appear in the spectra. The XEDS is simple to run and maintain if you take care to perform certain basic procedures and refrain from certain others that can damage the detector. Sometimes, it may be too simple; beware. You need to:

Measure your detector resolution weekly at the Mn or Cr Kα, line (typically, 130-140 eV for Si(Li) and 120-130 eV for IG).

Measure the ICC defined by the FWTM/FWHM ratio of the Cr Kα, line (ideally 1.82) on a monthly basis.

Monitor any ice build-up via the Ni (or Cr) Kα/Lα= ratio on a weekly basis.

Check the calibration of the energy range of your MCA display every few months.

Check the dead-time correction circuitry by the linearity of the output count rate versus beam current, every six months.

Check the counts in a fixed clock time as a function of beam current, to determine the maximum output count rate, every six months.

Be aware of artifacts in all your spectra.

For the sake of completeness, Table 6.1.1 below shows you the relative merits of the various detectors that we have discussed in this section.

Table 6.1.1. Comparison of X-ray Spectrometers

Intrinsic Ge Lithium-drifted Si WDS Characteristic energy resolution

Typical value 140 eV 150 eV 10 eV

Best value 114 eV 127 eV 5 eV Energy required to form

electron-hole pairs (77 K)

2.9 eV

3.8 eV n.a.

Band-gap energy (indirect) 0.67 eV 1.1 eV n.a.

Cooling required LN2

or thermoelectric LN2

or thermoelectric

none

Typical detector active area 10-30 mm2 10-30

mm2 n.a. Typical output counting rates 5-10,000 cps 5-10,000 cps 50,000 cps Time to collect full spectrum 1 min 1 min 30 min Collection angle 0.03-0.20 sr 0.03-0.30 sr 10-4-10-3 sr Take-off

angle 0°/20°/72° 0°/20°/72° 40°-60°

Artifacts Escape peaks Sum peaks Ge K/L internal Fluorescence peaks Escape peaks

Sum peaks

Si K internal

Fluorescence

peaks

High-order lines

REFERENCES

General References

Goldstein, J.I., Newbury, D.E., Echlin, P., Joy, D.C., Romig, A.D. Jr., Lyman, C.E.,

Fiori, C.E., and Lifshin, E. (1992) Scanning Electron Microscopy and X-ray Microanalysis, 2nd edition, Plenum Press, New York.

Heinrich, K.EJ., Newbury, D.E., Myklebust, R.L., and Fiori, C.E., Eds. (1981) Energy

Dispersive X-ray Spectrometry, NB S Special Publication 604, U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, DC.

Russ, J.C. (1984) Fundamentals of Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis, Butterworths,

Boston, Massachusetts.

Williams, D.B., Goldstein, J.I., and Newbury, D.E., Eds. (1995) X-Ray Spectrometry

in Electron Beam Instruments, Plenum Press, New York.

Specific References

Goldstein, J.I., Lyman, C.E., and Williams, D.B. (1989) Ultramicroscopy 28, 162.

Joy, D.C. (1995) in X-Ray Spectrometry in Electron Beam Instruments (Eds. D.B.

Williams, J.I. Goldstein, and D.E. Newbury), p. 53, Plenum Press, New York. Land, M.W. (1995) ibid., p. 21.

Lyman, C.E., Newbury, D.E., Goldstein, J.I., Williams, D.B., Romig, A.D. Jr.,

Armstrong, J.T., Echlin, P.E., Fiori, C.E., Joy, D.C., Lifshin, E., and Peters, K.R. (1990) Scanning Electron Microscopy, X-Ray Microanalysis and Analytical Electron Microscopy; A Laboratory Workbook, Plenum Press, New York.

Lyman, C.E., Goldstein, J.I., Williams, D.B., Ackland, D.W., von Harrach, S., Nicholls,

A.W., and Statham, P.J. (1994) J. Microsc. 176, 85.

McCarthy, J.J. (1995) in X-Ray Spectrometry in Electron Beam Instruments (Eds. D.B.

Williams, J.I. Goldstein, and D.E. Newbury) p. 67, Plenum Press, New York. Michael, J.R. (1995) ibid ., p. 83.

Mott, R.B. and Friel, J.J. (1995) ibid ., p. 127.

Newbury, D.E. (1995) ibid ., p. 167.

Sateen, R.A. (1995) ibid ., p. 33.

Spence, J.C.H. and Lund, M. (1991) Phys. Rev. B44, 7054.

Statham, P.J. (1995) in X-Ray Spectrometry in Electron Beam Instruments (Eds. D.B.

Williams, J.I. Goldstein, and D.E. Newbury), p. 101, Plenum Press, New York. Zemyan, S.M. and Williams, D.B. (1994) J. Microsc. 174, 1.

Zemyan, S.M. and Williams, D.B. (1995) X-Ray Spectrometry in Electron Beam Instruments (Eds. D.B. Williams, J.I. Goldstein, and D.E. Newbury), p. 203, Plenum Press, New York.

summary 范文

Original: My neighbor's children love playing hide-and-seek as all children do, but no one imagine that a game they played last week would be reported in the local newspaper. One afternoon, they were playing in the vacant lot down the corner. Young Paul, who is only five years old, found the perfect place to hide. His sister, Natalie, had shut her eyes and was counting to ten when Paul noticed the storage mail box at the corner and saw that the metal door was standing open. The mailman had just taken out several sacks of mail and had carried them to his truck which was standing at the curb a few feet away. Paul climbed into the storage box and pulled the door closed so hard that it locked. Soon realizing what he had done, he became frightened and started crying. Meanwhile, Natalie was looking for him everywhere but could not find him. It was lucky that she happened to pause at the corner for a minute and heard her brother's cries. She immediately ran to tell the mailman who hurried back from his truck to unlock the metal door. Paul was now free, but he had had such a bad scare that he could not stop crying. The mailman, however, soon found a way of making him laugh again. He told him that the next time he wanted to hide in a mail box, he should remember to put a stamp on himself! Summary: The children were playing hide-and-seek in a vacant lot one afternoon. Finding that the storage mailbox had been left open, Paul hid and locked himself in it accidentally. His sister, Natalie, heard his cries and realized where he was hiding, so she immediately told the mailman to unlock the metal door. After letting him out, the mailman made him stop crying by telling him to put a stamp on himself the next he wanted to hide in a mailbox. Original: Why do some animals die out? In the past two hundred years people have caused many kinds of animals to die out--to become extinct. People keep building houses and factories in fields and woods. As they spread over the land, they destroy animals' homes. If the animals can't find a place to live, they die out. Sixteen kinds of Hawaiian birds have become extinct for this reason. Other animals, such as the Florida Key deer, may soon die out because they are losing their homes.Hunters have caused some animals to become extinct, too. In the last century, hunters killed all the passenger pigeons in North America and most of the buffalos. Today they are fast killing off hawks and wolves. Pollution is killing many animals today, too. As rivers become polluted, fish are poisoned. Many die. Birds that eat the poisoned fish can't lay strong, healthy eggs. New birds aren’t born. So far, no animals have become extinct because of pollution. But some, such as the bald eagle and the brown pelican, have become rare and may die out. Scientists think that some animals become extinct because of changes in climate. The places where they live become hotter or cooler, drier or wetter. The food that they eat cannot grow there any more. If the animals can't learn to eat something else, they die. Dinosaurs may have died out for this reason. Summary:

研究生英语上Summary

Unit1 How to read a book “Some books are to be tasted ,others to be swallowed, and some to be chewed and digested.” Francis Bacon warned readers several hundred years ago. However, what are the criteria for those books to be “chewed and digested?” How to tell good literature form bad literature? On these issues, people don’t seem to have reached an agreement. In the article, Joseph Brodsky first states that people’s life is generally much shorter than books, and that it is important for people to select good books to read. Yet, the author further argues that selecting good books from the ocean of literary works is no easy job; even book reviewers can’t help much. In the end, the author suggests that reading poetry is the way to develop good taste in literature, because it is the supreme form of human locution, the moist concise way of conveying the human experience, and offers the highest possible standards for any linguistic operation. Unit2 Recession-proofing Your Career In the text, Dr. Barbara Moses describes a new career development paradigm for today’s employees, that is, guaranteed jobs have already become history and it’s high time to engage in a lifelong, self-monitored process which can help to promote and prepare oneself fro a change, esp. during periods of recession. She then suggests some skills which are

英文Summary写作方法、范例及常用句式

摘要是对一篇文章的主题思想的简单陈述。它用最简洁的语言概括了原文的主题。写摘要主要包括三个步骤：（1）阅读；（2）写作；（3）修改成文。 第一步：阅读 A．认真阅读给定的原文材料。如果一遍不能理解，就多读两遍。阅读次数越多，你对原文的理解就越深刻。 B．给摘要起一个标题。用那些能概括文章主题思想的单词、短语或短句子作为标题。也可以采用文中的主题句作为标题。主题句往往出现在文章的开头或结尾。一个好标题有助于确定文章的中心思想。C．现在，就该决定原文中哪些部分重要，哪些部分次重要了。对重要部分的主要观点进行概括。 D．简要地记下主要观点——主题、标题、细节等你认为对概括摘要重要的东西。 第二步：动手写作 A. 摘要应该只有原文的三分之一或四分之一长。因此首先数一下原文的字数，然后除以三，得到一个数字。摘要的字数可以少于这个数字，但是千万不能超过这个数字。 B. 摘要应全部用自己的话完成。不要引用原文的句子。 C. 应该遵循原文的逻辑顺序。这样你就不必重新组织观点、事实。 D. 摘要必须全面、清晰地表明原文所载的信息，以便你的读者不需翻阅原文就可以完全掌握材料的原意。 1 / 19

E. 写摘要时可以采用下列几种小技巧： 1) 删除细节。只保留主要观点。 2) 选择一至两个例子。原文中可能包括5个或更多的例子，你只需从中筛选一至二个例子。 3) 把长段的描述变成短小、简单的句子。如果材料中描述某人或某事用了十个句子，那么你只要把它们变成一两句即可。 4) 避免重复。在原文中，为了强调某个主题，可能会重复论证说明。但是这在摘要中是不能使用的。应该删除那些突出强调的重述句。 5) 压缩长的句子。如下列两例： “His courage in battle might without exaggeration be called lion-like.” 可以概括为：”He was very brave in battle.” “He was hard up for money and was being pressed by his creditor.” 可以概括为：“He was in financial difficulties.” 6) 你还可以使用词组代替整句或者从句。请看下面的例子：“Beautiful mountains like Mount Tai, Lushan Mountain, and Mount Huang, were visited by only a few people in the past. Today, better wages, holidays with pay, new hotels on these mountains, and better train and bus services, have brought them within reach of many who never thought of visiting them ten years ago.” 2 / 19

Summary的写作技巧和常见句型

S u m m a r y 的写作技巧和常见句型 、概括原文 一）阅读 1. 读懂文章读文章的时候，要养成良好的阅读习惯，划划写写，英文阅读的时候，用铅笔轻轻划出重点词汇。 认真阅读给定的原文材料。如果一遍不能理解，就多读两遍。阅读次数越多，你对原文的理解就越深刻。 2. 拆分文章按照作者的思路，把文章分段，每个段落用几个词，几个短语概括。尽量简短，精 炼。 段落中心句，在段落的开头或末尾。有时也会变态的在当中。 3. 概括主旨写出文章的thesis, 一句话概括文章的主旨。 二）基本结构和技巧 1.重新拟定标题给summary 起一个标题。用那些能概括文章主题思想的单词、短语或短句子作为标题。也可以采用文中的主题句作为标题。 2. 阐述观点 摘要应全部用自己的话完成。不要引用原文的句子。写概述的时候，如果能够明确是他人写作的文章，注意要把作者的名字放在第一句（或者是接着写出要阐述的main ideas （主要观点）和supporting points （对主要观点的the author .. ）。

支持）。 3. 词汇运用 注意概述的cohere nee （连贯性），运用好tran siti on words （过渡 词） , like however, furthermore, nonetheless, besides, therefore etc. 4. 删除细节 只保留主要观点。 5. 选择一至两个有代表性的例子 原文中可能包括5 个或更多的例子，你只需从中筛选一至二个例子。 6. 把长句变成短句，把长段的描述变成短小、简单的句子。 He was hard up for money and was being pressed by his creditor. 可以概括为：“ He was in finan cial difficulties. His courage in battle might without exaggeration be called lion- like. ” 可以概括为：” He was very brave in battle. He was hard up for money and was being pressed by his creditor. 可以概括为：“ He was in finan cial difficulties. 6）你还可以使用词组代替整句或者从句。请看下面的例子： Beautiful mountains like Mount Tai, Lushan Mountain, and Mount Huang, were visited by only a few people in the past. Today, better wages, holidays with pay, new hotels on these mountains, and better train and bus services, have brought them within reach of many who never thought of visiting them ten years ago. ” 可以概括为：” Beautiful mountains like Mount Tai, once visited by only a few people, are today accessible to many, thanks to better wages, paid holidays,

一篇英语summary范文英语Summary写

一篇英语summary范文英语Summary写第一步：阅读 A.认真阅读给定的原文材料。如果一遍不能理解，就多读两遍。阅读次数越多，你对原文的理解就越深刻。 B.给摘要起一个标题。用那些能概括文章主题思想的单词、短语或短句子作为标题。也可以采用文中的主题句作为标题。主题句往往出现在文章的开头或结尾。一个好标题有助于确定文章的中心思想。 C.现在，就该决定原文中哪些部分重要，哪些部分次重要了。对重要部分的主要观点进行概括。 D.简要地记下主要观点——主题、标题、细节等你认为对概括摘要重要的东西。 第二步：动手写作 A. 摘要应该只有原文的三分之一或四分之一长。因此首先数一下原文的字数，然后除以三，得到一个数字。摘要的字数可以少于这个数字，但是千万不能超过这个数字。

B. 摘要应全部用自己的话完成。不要引用原文的句子。 C. 应该遵循原文的逻辑顺序。这样你就不必重新组织观点、事实。 D. 摘要必须全面、清晰地表明原文所载的信息，以便你的读者不需翻阅原文就可以完全掌握材料的原意。 E. 写摘要时可以采用下列几种小技巧： 1) 删除细节。只保留主要观点。 2) 选择一至两个例子。原文中可能包括5个或更多的例子，你只需从中筛选一至二个例子。 3) 把长段的描述变成短小、简单的句子。如果材料中描述某人或某事用了十个句子，那么你只要把它们变成一两句即可。 4) 避免重复。在原文中，为了强调某个主题，可能会重复论证说明。但是这在摘要中是不能使用的。应该删除那些突出强调的重述句。

5) 压缩长的句子。如下列两例： “His courage in battle might without exaggeration be called lion-like.” 可以概括为：”He was very brave in battle.” “He was hard up for money and was being pressed by his creditor.”可以概括为：“He was in financial difficulties.” 6) 你还可以使用词组代替整句或者从句。请看下面的例子： “Beautiful mountains like Mount Tai, Lushan Mountain, and Mount Huang, were visited by only a few people in the past. Today, better wages, holidays with pay, new hotels on these mountains, and better train and bus services, have brought them within reach of many who never thought of visiting them ten years ago.”

My Summary(个人工作总结英文版)

My Summary Gradualy ,it has been six months since I graduated from the university. Now I can still remember how I found this job. When I got lost on my way finding a work,xxxxx gives me the olive branch. So luckily , I’m doing what I want to do and what I like to do. Besides,the workmates are kind to me so that we can work in harmony. It’s a long way for a fresh graduate who wants to work well to go ,cuz things are not as easy and simple as they were in the school. My work is not only about the daily administrative work,which gives me more chances to try new get to know how to design the company websites,how to write the bid documents,how to deal with social security,and how to apply for registration of copyright,and so ’m learning what I can’t learn from the textbooks,which makes me become more and more confident and skillful. But no one is perfect,so am I. There are some mistakes that I shouldn’t make,especially when the work is related to Staff Salaries. So I should pay more attention to avoid the same mistake & be more careful. Moreover, I need to improve my work efficiency. In a word,this is a company that I want to stay. I’m full

新高考英语作文新题型(summary writing)

2019级高一英语学案 新高考英语作文新题型——概要写作 一. 概要写作题型特点 概要写作（summary），《牛津高阶英语词典》（第8 版）对它的定义如下:“A summary is a brief statement that gives only the main points of something not the details”。也就是要求考生在整体把握原文的前提下，用自己简洁、精练的语言，对原文的主旨大意进行高度的浓缩，写出一篇语义连贯的短文，也可称之为摘要。这一题型一方面考查学生通过阅读获取文章主旨大意和关键词的能力，另一方面也考查学生的写作能力即用简洁的语言概括文章重要信息的能力以及对文章整体结构的把握能力。因此，概要写作是基于阅读理解和书面表达的，是二者的有机结合体，是阅读理解和书面表达的沟通桥梁。 从《考试说明》上对概要写作的评分原则以及各档次的给分范围和要求的规定中，我们可以发现概要写作有以下特点： 客观性：概要写作其实是一种客观的复述，在正确理解原文的基础上，用自己的语言忠实地再现作者的思想，写作内容要全面，既不能漏掉任何要点，也不能随意增加内容；写作时要尽可能避免使用原文中的字句。考生应通过释义的方式，用自己的语言呈现原文主要内容。需要注意的是，考生不能对原文进行解释和评论，也不能掺杂任何个人想法，或做出任何评判，因此不能出现“I believe”, “I think”等字句。 简洁性：简洁是概要写作的一个显著特点。概要写作是一种对原文“浓缩”后产生的新语篇，通过删除原文中的细节减少例证，简化描述内容以及去除重复来实现语言的简洁性，但是简洁的同时还要做到意义的完整。 连贯性：概要写作并不是写提纲那样只是要点的罗列。写概要时，必须在各要点之间增加一些体现逻辑的关系词，使概要衔接紧密、脉络清晰。写出的概要读起来要完整连贯、独立成篇。 二. 评分原则 《考试说明》中关于概要的评分原则中第一条：本题总分为25分，按5个档次给分；评分时，先根据所写概要的内容和语言初步确定其所属档次，然后以该档次的要求衡量、确定或调整档次，最后给分。其中最高档次第五档（21-25分）的给分描述如下：理解准确，涵盖全部要点；能准确使用相应的语法结构和词汇；有效地使用了语句间的连接成分，使所完成的概要结构紧凑；完全使用自己的语言。 三. 解题思路 1. 通读全文，确定文体，明确文章结构，标出关键信息。（注意区分事实和观点，重要和次要，普遍与特殊，相关和不相关信息，原因和结果等逻辑关系） 2. 改写，重组关键词。用同义表达替换；分词短语，从句，语态转换整合信息；关键词可以不变。（注意语言简练，客观） 3. 润色全文，连句成篇。（尽可能恰当使用功能连接词） 从不同文体入手，解题思路如下： 记叙文： 1. 通读全文，寻词，摘句，定要素。 把握六要素who,when,where,what,how,why (5w1h) 和故事情节plot (引入---发展---高潮---结局---尾声) 引入（Exposition）: 作为故事的开端，主要交代故事的背景（时间，地点，人物，矛盾冲突）； 发展（Rising action）: 故事矛盾不断变化发展的过程； 高潮（Climax）：故事矛盾冲突的转折点，故事最紧张的部分; 结局（Falling action）: 故事发展的结局，矛盾最终的解决； 尾声（Resolution）: 故事结局的影响以及作者的总结思考。尾声不是情节发展的必要部分，并非所有文章都必备。

summary格式及模板

SUMMARY的最常见格式是总分总.开头笼统的介绍以下,给读者一个大概的概念,然后分段总结这个你好总结的东东的各个方面.关键看你要写多少字,概括的是什么,再决定中间这部分是分小段还是一大段内,分开概括.最后就是总结了.有的时候你会感觉总结和开篇介绍很相似,确实是这样,但是总结只是更近一步的对这个事物进行了概括.这个时候,读者就应该对你所总结的事物有一种整体上的认识了. 一段好的摘要必须包括main idea和supporting details。main idea说明文章的主旨，作者主要诉说的故事是关于什么supporting details则帮助发展或说明主题。 如何写英文摘要英文摘要如何写如何写摘要 一、概述文章摘要是对所写文章主要内容的精炼概括。美国人称摘要为“Abstract”,而英国人则喜欢称其为“Summary”。通常国际刊物要求所要刊登的文章字数，包括摘要部分不超过1万字。而对文章摘要部分的字数要求则更少。因此，写摘要时，应用最为简练的语言来表达论文之精华。论文摘要的重点应放在所研究的成果和结论上。 国际会议要求的论文摘要的字数不等，一般为200字-500字。而国际刊物要求所刊登的论文摘要的字数通常是100字-200字。摘要的位置一般放在一篇文章的最前面，内容上涵盖全文，并直接点明全旨。语言上要求尽量简炼。摘要通常多采用第三人称撰写。 科学书籍、论文和学术报告一般都附有内容摘要，这样可以节省读者的时间，使他们不必读完整个文章就能够了解它的主要内容。书籍摘要，一般放在封二或封三；论文和学术报告的摘要，一般放在正文前面。摘要应做到简明扼要，切题，能独立成文，使读者能准确地了解书籍的要义。写摘要时，最好用第三人称的完整的陈述句，文长一般不超过200个词。 摘要分陈述性的（Deｓｃｒｉｐｔive）和资料性的（Informational）两类。陈述性摘要只陈述书籍或文章的主题，不介绍内容。资料性的摘要除了介绍主题外，还应介绍文章的要点和各个要点的主要内容。它可以包括三个组成部分①点明主题，解析文章或书籍的目的或意图；②介绍主要内容，使读者迅速了解文章或书籍的概貌；③提出结论或建议，以供读者参考。 二、常见句型 1）This paper deals with.. 2）This article focuses on the topics of (that,having,etc). 3）3）This eassy presents knowledge that... 4）4）This thesis discusses... 5）5）This thesis analyzes... 6）6）This paper provides an overview of... 7）7)This paper elaborates on .. 8）8）This article gives an overview of... 9）9）This article compares...and summarizes key findings. 10）This paper includes discussions concerning... 11）11)This paper presents up 12）12)This article covers the role of chemicals in...

英语作文Summary

上册两篇 Unit Two Text A Recession-proofing your career Introductory remarks In the text, Dr. Barbara Moses describes a new career development paradigm for today’s employees, that is, guaranteed jobs have already become history and it’s high time to engage in a lifelong, self-monitored process which can help to promote and prepare oneself for a change, esp. during periods of recession. She then suggests some skills which are indispensable when responding to new work trends. She recommends discovering both your overt and covert talents, making sure a wide range of positions are available to you, and never committing to any “hot job” which exceeds either your interest or talent. Moreover, being skilled or qualified is not the only criteria. You must be able to “market” yourself, to convince the employer that you are the most suitable candidate for the job, for which purpose you have to establish a social network that can help you make your career decisions “both inside and outside of your professions.” Always follow work trend s. Finally, psychological elements are also important, so never let yourself down and find a balance between the ambitious Type A and more relaxed Type B. In a word, don't be under the misconception that your job is always secure and if you work hard you’ll surely get a good job. You must be fully responsible for the future prospects of your chosen career. Unit Three Text A Lies Introductory Remarks People usually have very negative views regarding lies. Liars are frequently criticized, even cursed. Yet this passage exemplifies a different perspective, one which cruelly reveals the fact that everyone tells lies and that lies are indispensable for happiness, perhaps even our very survival. According to the author, lies are consoling elements that can soothe dying patients and help consolidate the requirements of a society. Lies make us feel superior to other species and disguise our mortal doom. Religions abound with myths and tales, which are basically lies that provide human beings with a sense of safety. People need big lies, though they are occasionally taken advantage of, because lying disguises our mortality, our inadequacies, our fears and anxieties, our loneliness in the midst of the crowd.

英语写作summary(二)

Fundamentals of English Writing Argumentative Essay Example (W13) Wei-Yan Miguel Li Academic Writing Education Center National Taiwan University This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported license.

Separating the Sexes, Just for the Tough Years. The middle school years (grades 7 and 8) are known to be the “tough years”. These are the years when the uneven pace of girls’ and boys’ physical, emotional, and cognitive development is most noticeable. Girls are ahead of boys on all counts, and both suffer. Educators debate whether separating boys and girls during these years might improve students’ academic performance. Separate classes are now prohibited in public schools that receive federal funds, but a change in the federal law that prohibits them is under consideration. Although some parents and educators oppose same-sex classes, there is some evidence that separating boys and girls in middle school yields positive results. Opponents of single-sex education claim that test scores of students in all-girl or all-boy classes are no higher than those of students in mixed classes. However, the research is inconclusive. Despite the fact that some research shows no improvement in test scores, other research shows exactly opposite results (Blum, 2002). More important, many psychologists believe that test scores are the wrong measuring sticks. They believe that self-confidence and self-esteem issues are more important than test scores. In same-sex classes, girls report increased confidence and improved attitudes towards math and science, for example. These are results that cannot be calculated by a test but that will help adolescents become successful adults long after the difficult years of middle school are past. New York University professor Carol Gilligan is certain that girls are more likely to be “creative thinkers and risk-takers as adults if educated apart from boys in middle school” (Gross, 2004). Boys, too, gain confidence when they do not have to compete with girls. Boys at this age become angry and fight back in middle school because they feel inferior when compared to girls, who literally “out-think” them. With no girls in the classroom, they are more at ease with themselves and mor e receptive to learning (Gross, 2004). Opponents also maintain that separate classes (or separate schools) send the message that males and females cannot work together. They say that when students go into the work force, they will have to work side-by-side with the opposite sex, and attending all-girl or all-boy schools denies them the opportunity to learn how to do so. However, such an argument completely ignores the fact that children constantly interact with members of the opposite sex outside school. From playing and squabbling with siblings to negotiating allowances, chores, and privileges with their opposite-sex parent, children learn and practice on a daily basis the skills they will need in their future workplaces. The final argument advanced by opponents of same-sex education is that it is discriminatory and, therefore, unconstitutional. However, research supports exactly the opposite conclusion: that discrimination is widespread in mixed classes. Several studies have shown that boys dominate discussions and receive more attention than girls and that teachers call on boys more often than they call on girls, even when girls raise their hands. Clearly, this is discriminatory. It should be evident that the arguments against same-sex classes are not valid. On the contrary, many people involved in middle-school education say that same-sex classes provide a better learning environment. Boys and girls pat less attention to each other and more attention to their schoolwork (Marquez, 2004). As one teacher noted, “Girls are more rel axed and ask more questions; boys are less disruptive and more