In her new book, “The Smartest Kids in the World,” Amanda Ripley, an investigati

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In her new book, “The Smartest Kids in the World,” Amanda Ripley, an investigative journalist, tells the story of Tom, a high-school student from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, who decides to spend his senior year in Wroclaw, Poland. Poland is a surprising educational success story: in the past decade, the country raised students’ test scores from significantly below average to well above it. Polish kids have now outscored American kids in math and science, even though Poland spends, on average, less than half as much per student as the United States does. One of the most striking differences between the high school Tom attended in Gettysburg and the one he ends up at in Wroclaw is that the latter has no football team, or, for that matter, teams of any kind.
That American high schools lavish more time and money on sports than on math is an old complaint. This is not a matter of how any given student who plays sports does in school, but of the culture and its priorities. This December, when the latest Program for International Student Assessment(PISA) results are announced, it’s safe to predict that American high-school students will once again display their limited skills in math and reading, outscored not just by students in Poland but also by students in places like South Korea, Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland, Singapore, and Japan. Meanwhile, they will have played some very exciting football games, which will have been breathlessly written up in their hometown papers.
Why does this situation continue? Well, for one thing, kids like it. And for another, according to Ripley, parents seem to like the arrangement, too. She describes a tour she took of a school in Washington D.C., which costs thirty thousand dollars a year. The tour leader—a mother with three children in the school—was asked about the school’s flaws. When she said that the math program was weak, none of the parents taking the tour reacted. When she said that the football program was weak, the parents suddenly became concerned. “Really?” one of them asked worriedly, “What do you mean?”
One of the ironies of the situation is that sports reveal what is possible. American kids’ performance on the field shows just how well they can do when expectations are high. It’s too bad that their test scores show the same thing.
小题1:Tom decides to spend his senior year in Poland because _______.

A．he intends to improve his scores

B．Polish kids are better at learning

C．sports are not supported at schools in Gettysburg

D．there are striking differences between the 2 countries

小题2:According to Paragraph 2, we know that _______.

A．PISA plays a very important role in America

B．little time is spent on sports in Japanese schools

C．American high schools complain about sports time

D．too much importance is placed on sports in America

小题3:The underlined sentence in the last paragraph means _______.

A．low expectations result in American students’ poor PISA performance

B．high expectations push up American students’ academic performance

C．American students’ academic performance worries their parents a lot

D．lacking practice contributes to American students’ average performance

小题4:The purpose of this article is to _______.

A．compare Polish schools with those in America

B．call on American schools to learn from the Polish model

C．draw public attention to a weakness in American school tradition

D．explain what is wrong with American schools and provide solutions

答案

小题1:A
小题2:D
小题3:A
小题4:C

解析

试题分析：文章介绍了美国学生在学业上比其他国家的学生平均要低，这是因为美国人传统上就重视运动，学生包括家长都把注意力更多的放在体育上，作者是想引起人们对美国传统的弱点的关注。
小题1:推理题：从第一段的句子：Poland is a surprising educational success story: in the past decade, the country raised students’ test scores from significantly below average to well above it.可知波兰的学生的学习成绩提高很快，所以可以推断出汤姆要到波兰学习是为了提高学习成绩，选A
小题2:细节题：从第二段的句子：That American high schools lavish more time and money on sports than on math is an old complaint.可知美国的学校更加重视运动，选 D
小题3:句意理解题：从前面的句子：American kids’ performance on the field shows just how well they can do when expectations are high.可知美国孩子在球场的表现好是因为期望值高，同样的事情发生在学习成绩上，就是说对他们学习成绩的期望值低，选A
小题4:写作意图题：文章介绍了美国学生在学业上比其他国家的学生平均要低，这是因为美国人传统上就重视运动，所以作者是想引起人们对美国传统的弱点的关注，选C

举一反三

Over a period of time, many habitats (栖息地)change with respect to the types of plants and animals that live there. This change is known as succession.
Succession occurs because plants and animals cause a change in the environment in which they live. The first weeds and grasses that appear on a bare field, for example, change the environment by shielding the soil from direct sunlight. As these plants spread, the ground becomes cooler and more moist than it was originally. Thus, the environment at the ground surface has been changed. The new surface conditions favor the sprouting（产生）of shrubs. As shrubs grow, they kill the grasses by preventing light from reaching them and also enhance (增加)the soil. Pine seedlings (苗)soon take hold and as they grow, they in turn shade out the shrubs. They are not able to shade out oak and hickory (山核桃)seedlings, however, that have found the forest floor suitable. These seedlings grew into large trees that eventually shade out the pines.
小题1:The best title of this passage is _____.

A．The Importance of Weeds and Grasses

B．The Success of Oak and Hickory

C．How Environmental Habitats Change

D．Animal and Plant Habitats

小题2:It can be inferred (推理) from the passage that ______.

A．oak and hickory trees grow taller than pines

B．weeds and grasses prefer cold climate

C．pines and grasses can exist together

D．birds encourage the growth of shrubs

小题3: Which of the following is a stage of succession as described in the passage?

A．A forest cut down to build an airport.

B．A flood washing away a crop of wheat

C．Wild flowers growing in an unused parking lot

D．Animals being tamed (驯服)by children

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Below is a selection from a popular science book.
If blood is red, why are veins (静脉) blue?
Actually, veins are not blue at all. They are more of a clear, yellowish colour. Although blood looks red when it"s outside the body, when it"s sitting in a vein near the surface of the skin, it"s more of a dark reddish purple color. At the right depth, these blood-filled veins reflect less red light than the surrounding skin, making them look blue by comparison.
Which works harder, your heart or your brain?
Which works harder depends on whether you are busy thinking or busy exercising. Your heart works up to three times harder during exercise, and shifts enough blood over a lifetime to fill a supertanker. But, in the long run, your brain probably tips it, because even when you’re sitting still your brain is using twice as much energy as your heart, and it takes four to five times as much blood to feed it.
Why do teeth fall out, and why don"t they grow back in grown-ups?
Baby (or "milk") teeth do not last long; they fall out to make room for bigger, stronger adult teeth later on. Adult teeth fall out when they become damaged, decayed and infected by bacteria. Once this second set of teeth has grown in, you"re done. When they"re gone, they’re gone. This is because nature figures you"re set for life, and what controls regrowth of your teeth switches off.
Do old people shrink as they age?
Yes and no. Many people do get shorter as they age. But, when they do, it isn"t because they"re shrinking all over. They simply lose height as their spine(脊柱) becomes shorter and more curved due to disuse and the effects of gravity. Many (but not all) men and women do lose height as they get older. Men lose an average of 3-4 cm in height as they age, while women may lose 5 cm or more. If you live to be 200 years old, would you keep shrinking till you were, like 60 cm tall, like a little boy again? No, because old people don"t really shrink! It is not that they are growing backwards — their legs, arms and backbones getting shorter. When they do get shorter, it"s because the spine has shortened a little or, more often, become more bent and curved.
Why does spinning（旋转） make you dizzy (眩晕的)?
Because your brain gets confused between what you"re seeing and what you"re feeling. The brain senses that you’re spinning using special gravity-and-motion-sensing organs in your inner ear, which work together with your eyes to keep your vision and balance stable. But when you suddenly stop spinning the system goes out of control, and your brain thinks you"re moving while you"re not!
Where do feelings and emotions come from?
Mostly from an ancient part of the brain called the limbic system. All mammals have this brain area — from mice to dogs, cats, and humans. So all mammals feel basic emotions like fear, pain and pleasure. But since human feelings also involve other newer bits of the brain, we feel more complex emotions than any other animal on the planet.
If exercise wears you out, how can it be good for you?
Because our bodies adapt to everything we do to them. And as far as your body is concerned, it’s "use it, or lose it”! It"s not that exercise makes you healthy; it"s more that a lack of exercise leaves your body weak and easily affected by disease.
小题1:What is the color of blood in a vein near the surface of the skin?

A．Blue.

B．Light yellow.

C．Red.

D．Dark reddish purple.

小题2:Why do some old people look a little shrunken as they age?

A．Because their spine is in active use.

B．Because they are more easily affected by gravity.

C．Because they keep growing backwards.

D．Because their spine becomes more bent.

小题3:Which of the following statements about our brain is true?

A．In the long run, our brain probably works harder than our heart.

B．When our brain senses the spinning, we will fell dizzy.

C．The brains of the other mammals are as complex as those of humans.

D．Our feelings and emotions come from the most developed area in our brain.

小题4:What is the main purpose of the selection?

A．To give advice on how to stay healthy.

B．To provide information about our body.

C．To challenge new findings in medical research.

D．To report the latest discoveries in medical science.

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Unlike traditional commercials, Public Service Advertisements（PSA）are primarily designed to inform and educate rather than sell a product or service. The goal of a PSA is not to make a big sale, but rather to change public opinion and raise awareness for a problem.
Smokey Bear has been a recognized symbol of the protection of America’s forests from fire. It is created to educate the public about the dangers of wildfires. Smokey Bear was started in 1944 with the slogan, “Smokey Bear Says—Care will prevent 9 out of 10 forest fires”. Smokey Bear’s later slogan, “Remember! Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires”, was created in 1947 by the Advertising Council in America. In April 2001, the message was changed to “Only You Can Prevent Wildfires”.
The wildfire prevention campaign with Smokey Bear is one of the longest and most successful campaigns in advertising history. The Advertising Council often was in partnership with other organizations and groups to create various advertising for Smokey Bear since 1944.
The Advertising Council teamed with Walt Disney Company to create a series of PSAs. The ads feature（以···为形象）characters form the classic film Sleeping Beauty and aim to reach parents and children. The lovely Bambi also appeared in the advertisements. Mickey Mouse is much more popular throughout the country.
Those PSAs, which appear on television, on the radio, in the newspaper and on the website continue to remind Americans about the importance of wildfire prevention have helped to reduce the number of acres burned annually by wildfires. According to recent survey, Smokey Bear and his famous words of wisdom “Only You Can Prevent Wildfires” are recalled by 3 out of 4 adults.
In addition to the PSA campaign, Smokey Bear has his own U.S. postage stamp and website for more information about wildfire prevention. From the website, you can also learn all about wildfires and how we can protect our forests.
小题1:PSA are primarily designed to .

A．educate the public	B．change people’s status
C．discuss a problem	D．sell products or services

小题2:Which of the following is true of the Smoky Bear?

A．It is one recognized symbols of Walt Disney cartoons.

B．It firstly appeared in America in 1944 with no slogan.

C．It is created to warn Americans of the dangers of wildfires.

D．Its slogan changes every three years.

小题3:How does the author support his topic in Paragraph 4?

A．By summing up.	B．By giving examples.
C．By comparison.	D．By asking questions.

小题4:According to this text, Smoky Bear .

A．helps a lot to reduce wildfires in America

B．isn’t popular among the American pupils

C．has set up its own website to advertise products

D．becomes the symbol of the Advertising Council

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In an ideal world, people would not test medicines on animals. Such experiments are stressful and sometimes painful for animals, and expensive and time–consuming for people. Yet animal experimentation is still needed to help bridge vast gaps in medical knowledge. That is why there are some 50 to 100 million animals used in research around the world each year.
Europe, on the whole, has the world’s most restrictive laws on animal experiments. Even so, its scientists use some 12 million animals a year, most of them mice and rats, for medical research. Official statistics show that just 1.1 million animals are used in research in America each year. But that is misleading. The American authorities do not think mice and rats are worth counting and, as these are the most common laboratory animals, the true figure is much higher. Japan and China have even less comprehensive data than America.
Now Europe is reforming the rules governing animal experiments by restricting the number of animals used in labs. Alternatives to animal testing, such as using human tissue or computer models, are now strongly recommended. In addition, sharing all research results freely should help to reduce the number of animals for scientific use. At present, scientists often share only the results of successful experiments. If their findings do not fit the hypothesis being tested, the work never sees the light of day. This practice means wasting time, money, and animals’ lives in endlessly repeating the failed experiments.
Animal experimentation has taught humanity a great deal and saved countless lives. It needs to continue, even if that means animals sometimes suffer. Europe’s new measures should eventually both reduce the number of animals used in experiments and improve the way in which scientific research is conducted.
小题1:What is the main idea of this passage?

A．The success of animal experiments should be ensured.

B．A ban on the use of animals in the lab should be enforced.

C．Greater efforts need to be taken to reduce the number of lab animals.

D．Scientists should be required to share their research results with each other.

小题2:Which of the following statements is true about animals used in the lab?

A．America uses only about 1.1 million lab animals per year.

B．Europe does not use mice and rats as lab animals at all.

C．Britain does not use as many lab animals as China does.

D．Japan has less comprehensive data on the number of lab animals used each year.

小题3:Which of the following is mentioned as an alternative to replace animal experiments?

A．Statistical studies.

B．Computer models.

C．DNA planted in animals.

D．Tissue from dead animals.

小题4:What usually happens to unsuccessful animal experiments?

A．They are not revealed to the public.

B．They are made into teaching materials.

C．They are collected for future publication.

D．They are not removed from the research topic list.

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Cutting global warming pollution would not only make the planet healthier, it would make people healthier too, new research suggests.
Cutting carbon dioxide emissions could save millions of lives, mostly by reducing preventable deaths from heart and lung diseases, according to studies released Wednesday and published in a special issue of The Lancet British medical journal.
“Relying on fossil fuels leads to unhealthy lifestyles, increasing our chances for getting sick and in some cases takes years from our lives,” US Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a telecast (电视广播) briefing from her home state of Kansas. “As greenhouse gas emissions go down, so do deaths from cardiovascular (心血管的) and respiratory diseases (呼吸疾病). This is not a small effect.”
Instead of looking at the health ills caused by future global warming, as past studies have done, this research looks at the immediate benefits of doing something about the problem, said Linda Birnbaum, director of the US National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
Some possible benefits seemed highly speculative (投机的，推测的), the researchers conceded (承认，给予), based on people driving less and walking and cycling more. Other proposals studied were more concrete and achievable, such as reducing cook stoves that burn dung (粪便), charcoal and other polluting fuels in the developing world.
And cutting carbon dioxide emissions also makes the air cleaner, reducing lung damage for millions of people, doctors said.
“Here are ways you can attack major health problems at the same time as dealing with climate change," said lead author Dr. Paul Wilkinson, an environmental epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Wilkinson said the individual studies came up with numbers of premature deaths prevented or extra years of life added for certain places.
For example, switching to low-polluting cars in London and Delhi, India, would save 160 lost years of life in London and nearly 1,700 in Delhi for every million residents, one study found. But if people also drove less and walked or biked more, those extra saved years would soar (高耸，高涨) to more than 7,300 years in London and 12,500 years in Delhi because of less heart disease.
小题1:What does the passage mainly about?

A．How can people live longer.

B．Cutting carbon dioxide emissions saves life.

C．Global warming threatens people’s lives

D．People should stop relying on fossil fuels

小题2:The new research differs from past studies in that ________.

A．it focuses on the immediate benefits of cutting carbon dioxide emissions

B．it studies the bad effects arising from future global warming

C．it is believed by most people

D．it mainly targets at developing countries

小题3:According to Kathleen Sebelius ________.

A．sometimes it takes years to see the bad effects caused by consuming fossil fuels

B．without greenhouse gas emissions, people would not die of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases

C．the main reason why people get sick is that they rely on fossil fuels

D．death from cardiovascular and respiratory diseases are closely related to greenhouse gas emissions

小题4:It can be inferred from the passage that ________.

A．London and Delhi have already benefited from reducing greenhouse gas emissions

B．switching to low-polluting cars would save 160 lives in London every year

C．walking and biking instead of driving will reduce the chance of heart disease

D．attacking health problems and dealing with climate change are contradictory

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