Question

【题目】 Parents who have books in the home increase the level of education their children will attain(获得), whether rich or poor, according to a 20-year study led by Mariah Evans.

For years, educators have thought the strongest predictor(预示物) of attaining high levels of education was having parents who were highly educated. But, the study showed that the difference between being raised in a bookless home compared to being raised in a home with a 500-book library has as great an effect on the level of education a child will attain as the difference between having parents who are barely literate (有文化的) and having parents who have a university education.

Being a sociologist, Evans was particularly interested to find that children of less-educated parents benefit the most from having books in the home. What kinds of investments should we make to help these kids get ahead? The results of this study indicate that getting some books into their homes is an inexpensive way that we can help these children succeed. Evans said, “Even a little bit goes a long way. Having as few as 20 books in the home still has a significant impact on motivating a child to a higher level of education, and the more books you add, the greater benefit the children get.”

The researchers were struck by the strong effect having books in the home had on children's educational attainment even above and beyond such factors as education level of the parents, the father's occupation or the economic level of the country.

Having books in the home is twice as important as the father's education level, and more important than whether a child was brought up in a developing country or a developed country. Surprisingly, the difference in educational attainment for children born in a developed country and children born in a developing country was just 2 years, less than two-thirds of the effect that having 500 or more books in the home had on children.

【1】In the past educators held a point of view that ______ .

A.children whose family had a library would possibly attain high levels of education

B.children who were born in poor families studied harder than those in rich families

C.children whose parents are highly educated would attain high levels of education

D.parents’ level of education had nothing to do with their children’s levels of education

【2】What does the underlined word “motivating” in Paragraph 3 mean?

A.Making somebody want to do something.

B.Helping somebody to finish something

C.Making somebody pretend to do something.

D.Preventing somebody from achieving something.

【3】Which of the following has the most important effect on the level of education a child will gain?

A.The economic level of the country.B.The father’s occupation.

C.Education levels of parents.D.Having books in the home.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】C

【2】A

【3】D

【解析】

本文为说明文。文章分析了影响孩子教育水平的因素，告诉我们家里有书对孩子的重要性胜于家长受过高等教育的影响。

【1】细节理解题。根据第二段第一句话“For years, educators have thought the strongest predictor(预示物) of attaining high levels of education was having parents who were highly educated”. 多年来，教育工作者一直认为，预示孩子能获取高教育水平的最强的因素莫过于有受过高等教育的父母”。由此可知，过去教育家们认为受过高等教育的父母的孩子将获得高水平的教育。故选C。

【2】词义猜测题。文章第二、三段一直说家中有书对孩子的积极影响。在第三段划线词的上下文“Even a little bit goes a long way. ...the greater benefit the children get” 即使是一点点书，也能大有帮助......你家的书越多，孩子得到的好处就越大。”可知，书对孩子有很大影响。所以划线词的句子“Having as few as 20 books in the home still has a significant impact on motivating a child to a higher level of education”这句话是说“ 即使家里只有20本书，在激励孩子接受更高层次的教育方面仍然有很大的影响”。所以，家中有书可以激励孩子获得更高层次的教育水平。由此可推断出划线词的意思是“使某人想做某事”。故选A。

【3】细节理解题。根据文章第四段“The researchers were struck by the strong effect having books in the home had on children's educational attainment even above and beyond such factors as education level of the parents, the father's occupation or the economic level of the country.” 研究者们感到震惊的是，在家里看书对孩子的受教育程度的影响甚至超过了父母的受教育程度、父亲的职业或国家的经济水平等因素的影响。题干中的the most important effect on the level of education a child will gain就是替换了文章中的“the strong effect （having books in the home ）had on children's educational attainment even above and beyond....”家里有书对孩子的教育水平的影响最大。故选D。

文章主题和中心思想的阐述往往需要大量细节信息的支持，这些细节对于理解全文内容至关重要，同时也是归纳和概括文章中心思想的基础。细节理解是指原文提到了某事，某种现象或理论，题干一般针对原文具体叙述的事情本身提问。一般包括直接理解题（在原文中直接找到答案，常用why/what/when/who/how等提问）。语意转化题（需要将题目信息与原文相关信息进行语意上的转换，两者存在着表达上的差异，有时需要进行加工整理后方能得出结论）、数字计算题，排列顺序题、图表图画题等。抓住文章中的事实和细节是做好该类题的关键，也是做好其他类题的基础。

第3小题属于细节理解题中的语意转化题。根据文章第四段“The researchers were struck by the strong effect having books in the home had on children's educational attainment even above and beyond such factors as education level of the parents, the father's occupation or the economic level of the country.” 研究者们感到震惊的是，在家里看书对孩子的受教育程度的影响甚至超过了父母的受教育程度、父亲的职业或国家的经济水平等因素。题干中的“the most important effect on the level of education a child will gain”就是替换了文章中的“the strong effect had on children's educational attainment even above and beyond....”可推断出。家里有书对孩子的教育水平的影响最大。选项D. Having books in the home符合题意，故选D。