Question

【题目】Do equations and historical( 历史的) facts give you a headache? A change in the school timetable

(课程表) may be the cure.

This suggestion is based on a recent study carried out by scientists from Royal Holloway, University of London, the UK. They found that teenagers could get higher marks in math if they studied in the mornings and better grades in history if they were taught in the afternoons.

The researchers studied students’ grade reports, class timetables and absence rates( 缺席率) at a

middle school in Bulgaria over nine years. The results showed that when teenagers had math classes earlier in the day, they scored about 7 percent higher in tests than when taught in the afternoon. Lower-ability students feel stressed most when they were studying math in the afternoon. In history, students taught in the afternoon scored about 6 percent higher than when they were taught in the

morning. However, there was no sign that similar patterns( 模 式 ) work for other subjects such as

languages or geography.

Velichka Dimitrova, who did the study, said the findings show that we perform( 表 现 ) better at

different times of the day. “In the morning, our brains are better and fresher, so we are better at doing something like problem solving, where we require more speed and attention” Dimitrova told The Telegraph. “In the afternoon, it seems that this process slows down. On the other hand, history is more suitable for the afternoon, when we are more creative and open to discussion,” she said. Subjects such as foreign languages require both memory and creativity. This is perhaps why the time of day had no influence on language learning.

Time-of-day influences such as these are believed to have something to do with the body clock.

This is the system in our bodies that controls when we need to sleep. Some schools in the US and UK have tried later school starting times for teenagers, whose body clocks change as they grow into adults. Dimitrova believes schools should jump at this chance to improve their students’ performance just by changing their timetables.

【1】In which classes do you learn equations (Paragraph 1) according to the passage?

A. Maths B. Geography C. English D. History

【2】According to the new study, .

A. afternoon classes lowered students’ performance in history

B. school timetables have an influence on every subject

C. it was better for students to learn math in the morning

D. lower-ability students preferred to start school earlier

【3】What’s the main idea of Paragraph 4?

A. It shows the importance of studying different subjects at different times of the day.

B. It introduces the best time to do things that require memory and creativity.

C. It encourages students to change their study methods for better results.

D. It explains how school timetables affect people’s study performance.

【4】According to Dimitrova, .

A. rearranging(重新安排) school timetables is the best way to improve students’ test scores

B. schools should follow advice from the study and actively change their timetables

C. most schools don’t have enough resources to support timetable changes

D. schools should think twice before changing their class timetables

【5】What is the best title of this passage?

A. Time to change the timetable.

B. A survey carried out successfully.

C. Secrets of learning math and history well.

D. Body clocks influence grades.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】A

【2】C

【3】D

【4】B

【5】A

【解析】本文介绍了不同的时间对学生的影响不同。应该根据研究结果来调整时间表。

【1】词意猜测题。由句子Do equations and historical( 历史的) facts give you a headache?方程和历史事实会让你头疼吗？可知，我们在数学课上能够学到方程。因此A正确。

【2】细节理解题。根据They found that teenagers could get higher marks in math if they studied in the mornings.可知，青少年在早晨学习数学时能获得更高的分数。故选C。

【3】主旨大意题。根据we perform( 表 现 ) better at different times of the day.可知，在一天中的不同时间，我们对不同课程表现得更好。也就是说学校的课程表如何影响人们的学习成绩。故选D。

【4】推理判断题。根据Dimitrova believes schools should jump at this chance to improve their students’ performance just by changing their timetables.可知，Dimitrova认为，学校应听从建议，积极改变时间表。通过改变时间表来提高学生的成绩。故选B。

【5】推理判断题。A项，是时候更改时间表了。B项，进行了一次成功的调查。C项，学好数学和历史的秘诀。D项，身体时钟影响成绩。本文主要介绍在不同的时间段，人们对不同的科目感兴趣。根据研究，我们应该改变时间表。故选A。