Question

【题目】A typical school day in the UK starts around 8:30 am. This is often even earlier elsewhere in the world, with students sitting down to their first lesson at 7:30 am in the US. The average teenager ideally needs eight to nine hours’ sleep each night, but in reality a lot of teenagers struggle to get this much. A lot of the problems arise because our sleep patterns are not fixed, and they change as we grow.

So a later school start time could help to solve this problem, by ensuring to get their eight plus hours of sleep and react properly to their body’s natural rhythms (规律). There has been a general shift over the past 25 years to shorten the school day. This is not at the cost of teaching time (which has remained constant) but at the cost of natural breaks, which has led to reduced lunch time and lesson breaks.

Later start times could help teens’ grades and health. This is mainly because it makes the management of children easier. Supervising (监管) hundreds of children “playing” requires effective staffing (人员配备). And there is always the fear that behavior worsens during breaks. So the theory goes that having them in class and strictly supervised must be better.

But this means that students barely have enough time to absorb what they were doing in maths before suddenly they are thrust into ancient history. And teaching staff also transit from one class to another, with hardly a rest or time to refocus.

Clearly rethinking the school day could benefit everyone involved. Anyway, it could also lead to better achievement in teenagers and less of a struggle for parents in the mornings. For teachers, it could also mean a less stressful day all around and what could be better than that?

【1】How do schools often shorten the school day?

A. They reduce children’s lunch time and lesson breaks.

B. They reduce the teaching time.

C. They properly adjust children’ natural rhythms.

D. They increase more holidays.

【2】What’s the purpose of the children’ short lesson breaks according to the text?

A. To supervise children more easily.

B. To make children quickly take in what they. Learned.

C. To reduce children’s excitement.

D. To make children behave better in class.

【3】What can we learn about later school start time from the text?

A. It will add to the teacher’s pressure.

B. It has always been there for 25 years.

C. Parents may support it.

D. It benefits the students only.

【4】What can be the best title for the text?

A. The benefits of a less stressful day.

B. The benefits of later school start time.

C. How to solve teenagers’ sleep problem.

D. The reasons why teenagers sleep differently.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】A

【2】A

【3】C

【4】B

【解析】说明文。介绍了推迟到校时间的好处。

【1】细节理解题。根据but at the cost of natural breaks, which has led to reduced lunch time and lesson breaks.（缩短午餐时间和课间）可知选A。

【2】推理判断题。根据And there is always the fear that behavior worsens during breaks. So the theory goes that having them in class and strictly supervised must be better.（怕孩子们课间胡闹，看在教室方便管理）可推为了省事，选A.

【3】推理判断题。根据less of a struggle for parents in the mornings.(家长早上不必那么紧张)可推家长欢迎。选C.

【4】主旨大意题。根据每段的主题句，可知本文谈推迟到校的好处。选B.