2．Does solving a math problem give you a headache？Do you feel nervous when you sit a math exam？For most students，math can be tough but scientists have proved that math problems can actually trigger physical pain．
Scientists came to his conclusion with an in-depth experiment，which was published in the Public Library of Science One journal．They began by finding out how much participants fear math．Those involved were asked a series of questions such as how they feel when they receive a math textbook or when they walk into a math lesson．
Based on their answers，participants were divided into groups．One group was made up of people who were particularly afraid of math and participants in the other group were more comfortable with the subject．
Both groups were then given either math tasks or word tasks．When a math task was going to come next，a yellow circle would appear but when a word task was soon to come，a blue square would be shown．
Using a brain-scan machine，scientists noticed that whenever people from Group One saw a yellow circle，their brain would respond in a way similar to when their body is feeling pain．It was like the pain they would feel，for example，if they burnt their hand on a hot stove．But they reacted less strongly when they knew that they would be faced with a word task．
However，scientists saw no strong brain response from people in the second group．
Math can be difficult，and for those with high levels of mathematics-anxiety （HMA），math is associated with tension，apprehension and fear．"When you are really thinking about the math problems，your mind is racing and you are worrying about all the things that could go wrong，"explained Ian Lyons from University of Chicago，US，leader of the study．"The higher a person's anxiety of a maths task，the more he activated brain regions associated with threat detection，and the experience of pain．"
More interestingly，the brain activity disappeared when participants actually started dealing with the math tasks．"This means that it's not that math itself hurts； rather，the anticipation of is painful，"Lyons said．
Based on the study，scientists suggested that things could be done to help students worry less and move past their fear of math，which might mean they perform better in tests．
28．In the first stage，scientists ask participants some questions toB．
A．see whether math hurts
B．find out how much they fear math
C．observe how their brain response
D．test their endurance of pain
29．The underlined word"the anicipation of math"is closest in meaning toD．
A．the attempt of learning math
B．the motivation to work out math problem
C．the effort to understand math
D．the act of thinking about math
30．Which is the best title for the Passage？C
A．How to overcome math fear．
B．Physical pain affects math performance．
C．Math pain in your brain．
D．Unknown truth about pain．
31．What can be concluded from the experiment？D
A．The anticipation of math has no relation to students'confidence in math．
B．Moderate mathematic anxiety promotes students'academic performance．
C．Effective solutions have been worked out to lower students'anxiety of math．
D．Physical pain caused by HMA disappears in the process of doing math problem．
分析 本文是一篇科教类阅读，解决一个数学问题给你头痛吗？你感到紧张当你坐一个数学考试吗？对于大多数学生来说，数学很困难但是科学家已经证明数学问题可以引发身体疼痛．本文以此展开谈论，主要讲述了数学问题可以引发身体疼痛的一些研究．
解答 28．B．细节理解题．根据"They began by finding out how much participants fear math．"可知，第一阶段，科学家问参与者一些问题找出多少他们害怕数学．故选B．
29．D．词义理解题．根据"This means that it's not that math itself hurts； rather，the expectation of mathis painful"可知，句意为"这不意味着数学本身是伤害，相反，思考数学是痛苦的"．故该词与"the act of thinking about math"意思相近．故选D．
30．C．主旨大意题．阅读全文，根据文章内容，尤其是"For most students，math can be tough but scientists have proved that math problems can actually trigger（引起） physical pain．"可知，本文主要讲述了数学对大脑的伤害．故选C．
31．D．细节理解题．根据"the brain activity disappeared when participants actually started dealing with the math tasks"可知，在解数学问题的过程中，HMA造成的身体疼痛会消失．故选D．
点评 本文是一个科教类阅读理解，题目涉及多道细节理解题，做题时结合原文和题目有针对性的找出相关语句进行仔细分析，结合选项选出正确答案．推理判断题也是要在抓住关键句子的基础上合理的分析才能得出正确答案，切忌胡乱猜测，一定要做到有理有据．
