Question

【題目】A lot of people say math is not their strong suit. One New Jersey parent wants to help change that. Laura Overdeck grew up with numbers. She always helped measure ingredients when her mother baked, and she learned about angles from her father. She went on to major in astrophysics in college. Overdeck knew she wanted her own children to be good at math, too.

“And when our first child was about two, we just started giving her a math problem every night,” Overdeck said. The problem was usually a story, involving animals, cars or candies that let the kid count. “Our third child started, at age two, yelling that he wanted his own math problem because he saw his brother and sister doing it. And we thought, ‘Wow, we have a household where math is the popular thing at bedtime,’” Overdeck said.

In February, Overdeck launched Bedtime Math, an Internet website where she posts daily puzzles for children. Overdeck is particularly keen to hook children on numbers before they go to school. So why introduce little ones to math so early?

Sain Beilock, an expert on performance anxiety, says the more fun and familiar math is early on, the less likely children will feel nervous when they start to learn math in school. “My lab has shown recently that kids as early as first grade report feeling anxious about doing math,” Beilock said.

“You can hear totally educated adults say, ‘You know I’m just not that good at math.’ or ‘I’m kind of afraid of math.’ And that’s a totally acceptable thing for a well-educated person to say, but you never hear them say, ‘Well, you know, I’m just not that good at reading,’” Overdeck said. She wants children and their parents to become as fluent in numbers as they are in Harry Potter.

【1】Overdeck majored in astrophysics because she _______.

A. was really fond of mathematics

B. hoped to change math education in the US

C. had an interest in physics

D. would like her children to be good at math

【2】What can be inferred from Paragraph 2?

A. Toys can be used to encourage kids in solving math problems.

B. Math will become more popular in every household.

C. Math is enjoyable in Overdeck’s family.

D. The third child is cleverer than his brother and sister.

【3】Beilock’s attitude towards Overdeck’s idea is _______.

A. agreeable B. puzzled

C. anxious D. critical

【4】The unfavorable situation of the US in math ability is shown by _______.

A. the popularity of Bedtime Math

B. children’s performance anxiety in school

C. people’s response to math

D. adults’ great fondness for Harry Potter

Answer 1

【答案】

【小題1】A

【小題2】C

【小題3】A

【小題4】C

【解析】

試題分析：新澤西州的一位母親創(chuàng)建了一個網(wǎng)站─Bedtime Math，旨在提高孩子們的數(shù)學(xué)能力。

【小題1】A 細節(jié)理解題。由第一段中的She always helped measure ingredients when her mother baked, and she learned about angles from her father. She went on to major in astrophysics in college.可知答案。誤解分析：C項所述與原文不符；B、D項與文章大致相同，但不是作者以天體物理學(xué)為專業(yè)的原因，而此兩項的時間發(fā)生的作者成家之后。故選擇A項。

【小題2】C推理判斷題。由第二段中的‘Wow, we have a household where math is the popular thing at bedtime,’可推知答案。A項與原文不符；B項是無中生有；D項在文中依據(jù)不充分，屬于推理過度。故選擇C項。

【小題3】A推理判斷題。由第三段中的Overdeck is particularly keen to hook children on numbers before they go to school.以及第四段中SainBeilock, an expert on performance anxiety, says the more fun and familiar math is early on, the less likely children will feel nervous when they encounter math in school.可知，二人觀點一致。故選擇A項。

【小題4】C細節(jié)理解題。題干問的是，美國不容樂觀的數(shù)學(xué)能力是通過什么表現(xiàn)出來的？由最后一段中的‘You know I’m just not that good at math.’ or ‘I’m kind of afraid of math.’ And that’s a totally acceptable thing for a well-educated person to say, but you never hear them say,可知答案。其它選項不符合邏輯。故選擇C項。