题目内容
The study surveyed 500 families and found the main ___problem people suffered was tiredness, followed by loneliness and anxiety.
A．domestic B．public C．psychological D．biological
C
Many parents watch the news or other shows as children play nearby. But new research shows that even when the television is just background noise，it may be disruptive to a child’s normal development.
It’s estimated that 75 percent of very young children in the United States live in homes where the television is on most of the time，even though the kids often aren’t watching it. The University of Massachusetts researchers recently studied how TV background noise might affect young children. The study looked at 50 1，2and 3yearolds. Each child came to a lab with a parent and was allowed to play for an hour with various toys. For half the time，a television was on in the room，showing the adult game show as well as advertisements. During the other half hour，the TV was turned off.
As expected，the children paid little attention to the adult television show，glancing at it for less than a few seconds at a time，and less than once a minute. Even so，the distraction (分心) of the background noise had a significant effect on how children at every age played. When the television was on，the children played with each toy for far shorter periods of time，and focused attention during play was also shorter compared to how they played when the TV was off.
Researchers said that even though the children aren’t interested in the show，background TV affects their ability to do various types of play. The finding is important because many wellmeaning parents who wouldn’t let their young children watch television may not realize that even adult programs that don’t interest children still can have an effect.
“Background TV is potentially a chronic (长期的) environmental risk factor affecting most American children，” said the lead author of the study. “Parents should limit their young children’s exposure (接触)．”
【小题1】We know from the passage that________.
| A．background TV noise has little effect on adults |
| B．most young children in America live in homes exposed to TV noise |
| C．the effect of background TV noise on children is immediate |
| D．most parents in America wouldn’t let their children watch TV |
| A．harmful | B．important | C．similar | D．related |
| A．were all 3yearolds | B．were asked to watch adult TV shows |
| C．played for an hour while the TV was on | D．played with more than one toy |
| A．Children pay much attention to adult TV shows. |
| B．Children should be allowed to watch TV for kids only. |
| C．The background TV noise affects children’s ability to focus. |
| D．The more toys a child has，the shorter time he plays with each one. |
Going to school means learning new skills and facts in different subjects. Teachers teach and students learn, and many scientists are interested in finding ways to improve both teaching and learning processes.
Sian Beilock and Susan Leving, two psychologists at the University of Chicago, are trying to learn about learning. In a new study about the way kids learn math in elementary school, Beilock and Levine found a surprising relationship between what female teachers think and what female students learn: If a female teacher is uncomfortable with her own math skills, then her female students are more likely to believe that boys are better than girls at math. “If these girls keep getting math-anxious female teachers in later grades, it may create a snowball effect on their math achievement,” Levine told Science News. The study suggests that if these girls grow up believing that boys are better at math than girls are, then these girls may not do as well as they would have if they were more confident.
Just as students find certain subjects to be difficult, teachers can find certain subjects to be difficult to learn—and teach. The subject of math can be particularly difficult for everyone.
The new study involved 65 girls, 52 boys and 17 first-and second-grade teachers in elementary schools in the Midwest. The students took math achievement tests at the beginning and end of the school year, and the researchers compared the scores.
The researchers also gave the students tests to tell whether the students believed a math superstar had to be a boy. Then the researchers turned to the teachers: To find out which teachers were anxious about math, the researchers asked the teachers how they felt at times when they came across math, such as when reading a sales receipt. A teacher who got nervous looking at the numbers on a sales receipt, for example, was probably anxious about math.
Boys, on average, were unaffected by a teacher’s anxiety. On average, girls with math-anxious teachers scored lower on the end-of-the-year math tests than other girls in the study did. Plus, on the test showing whether someone thought a math superstar had to be a boy, 20 girls showed feeling that boys would be better at math—and all of these girls had been taught by female teachers with math anxiety.
According to surveys done before this one, college students who want to become elementary school teachers have the highest levels of anxiety about math. Plus, nine of every 10 elementary teachers are women, Levine said.
【小题1】Sian Beilock and Susan Levine carried out the new research in order to ___________.
| A．know the effects of teaching on learning |
| B．study students’ ways of learning math |
| C．prove women teachers are unfit to teach math |
| D．find better teaching methods for teachers |
| A．end up learning math anxiety from their teachers |
| B．study the ways their female teachers behave |
| C．have an influence on their math-anxious female teachers |
| D．gain unexpected achievement in such subjects as math |
| A．Prepare two math achievement tests for the students |
| B．Tell their feelings about math problems |
| C．Answer whether a math superstar had to be a boy |
| D．Compare the students’ scores after the math tests |
| A．No male students were affected by their teachers’ anxiety |
| B．Almost all the girls got lower scores in the tests than the boys |
| C．About 30% of the girls thought boys are better at math than girls |
| D．Girls with math-anxious teachers all failed in the math tests |
| A．117 students and teachers took part in the new study |
| B．The researchers felt surprised at the findings of their study |
| C．Beilock and Levine are interested in teaching math |
| D．Men teachers are better at teaching math than women teachers |
To get an extra 14 years of life, don't smoke, eat lots of fruits and vegetables, exercise regularly and drink alcohol in a proper amount．That is according to a study published this Monday in the Public Library of Science Medicine Journal．
After tracking more than 20,000 people aged 45 to 79 years in the United Kingdom from about 1993 to 2007, Kay-Tee Khaw of the University of Cambridge and his colleagues found that people who adopted these four healthy habits lived all average of 14 years longer than those who didn't．
“We've known for a long time that these behaviors are good things to do, but we've not seen this benefit before, ” said Susan Jebb, head of Nutrition and Health at Britain's Medical Research Council．“The benefit was also seen regardless of whether or not people were fat and what social class they came from．”
Study participants（参与者）scored a point each for not smoking, regular physical activity, eating five servings of fruits and vegetables a day and moderate alcohol intake．
Public health experts said they hoped the study would inspire governments to introduce policies helping people to adopt these changes．But because the study only observed people rather than testing specific changes, it would be impossible to conclude that people who suddenly adopted these healthy behaviors would surely gain 14 years．
“We can't say that any person could gain 14 years by doing these things, ”said Dr．Tim Armstrong, a physical activity expert at the World Health Organization．“The 14 years is an average across the population of what's theoretically（理论上地）possible．”
“Most people know that things like a good diet matter and that smoking isn't good for them, ” Susan Jebb said．“We need to work on providing people with much more practical support to help them change．”
【小题1】Which of the following DOESN'T belong to the four healthy habits?
| A．Eat five servings of fruits and vegetables a day． |
| B．Do proper exercise in the morning every day． |
| C．Drinking alcohol in the proper amount every day． |
| D．Having a cigarette before going to bed every day． |
| A．Susan Jebb did not take part in the study． |
| B．the study observed people as well as tested specific changes． |
| C．there's no need for people under 45 to adopt these good habits． |
| D．only those from first class can benefit from these healthy behaviors． |
| A．All the people are well aware of the harm of their bad habits． |
| B．People aged 45 to 70 have bad habits in the United Kingdom． |
| C．Governments should take measures to help people change their bad habits． |
| D．People have adopted the four healthy habits after knowing they're good． |
| A．Smoking and Drinking Cuts You 14 Years |
| B．How to Live a Much Healthier Life |
| C．How to Make Your Life Longer Than Others |
| D．Healthy Habits May Give Extra 14 Years |
Every day 25 million U.S. children ride school buses. The safety record for these buses is much better than for passenger cars; but nevertheless, about 10 children are killed each year riding on large school buses, and nearly four times that number are killed outside buses in the loading zones. By and large, however, the nation’s school children are transported to and from school safely.
Even though the number of school bus accidents is not large, the safety of children is always of intense public concern. While everyone wants to see children transported safely, people are divided about what needs to be done-particularly whether seat belts should be compulsory.
People in favor of seat belts on school buses-many of them parents and medical organizations-argue that seat belts are necessary not only to reduce fatality and injury, but also to teach children lessons about the importance of using them routinely in any moving vehicle. A side benefit, they point out, is that seat belts help keep children in their seats, away from the bus driver.
People who object to seat belt installation suggest that children are already well protected by the school buses that follow the Nation Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) safety requirements set in 1977. They also believe that many children won’t wear seat belts anyway, and that may damage the belts or use them as weapons to hurt other children.
A new research council report on school bus safety suggest that there are alternate safety devices and procedures that may be more effective and less expensive. For example, the study committee suggested that raising seat backs four inches may have the same safety effectiveness as seat belts.
The report sponsored by the Department of transportation at the request of Congress, reviews seat belts extensively while taking a broader look at safety in and around school buses.
【小题1】According to the passage, the “school bus” is _________.
| A．the bus offered by the school and different from the public bus |
| B．the bus that has no difference from the public bus |
| C．the bus that is driven by the students |
| D．the bus that is not safe |
| A．A new Research Council. |
| B．The Department of Transportation. |
| C．The Medical Organization. |
| D．National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. |
| A．many of the opponents(反对者) of seat belt installation are parents and officials of the Department of Transportation |
| B．proposals of seat belts on school buses would be seriously considered |
| C．an alternate safety device (raising seat backs four inches) may be taken into consideration |
| D．The Department of Transportation may either take the idea of seat belts or other measures when it reviews the whole situation |
| A．Making School Buses Even Safer for Children |
| B．Seat Belts Needed on School Buses |
| C．Alternate Safety Devices and Procedures |
| D．Safety in and around School Buses |
| A．Critical | B．Negative | C．Objective | D．Indifferent |