Question

Do you find it hard to learn math and history? A recent study carried out by scientists from University of London, may be of help to you. They found that teenagers could get higher marks in math if they studied in the morning and better grades in history if they were taught in the afternoon.

The researchers did a study at a secondary school in Bulgaria over nine years. The results showed that when teenagers had math classes earlier in the day, they scored on average (平均) 7 percent higher in tests than when taught in the afternoon. Lower-ability students did worst when they were studying math in the afternoon.

In history, students taught in the afternoon scored on average 6 percent higher than when they were taught in the morning. However, it doesn’t work for other subjects such as languages or geography.

Velichka Dimitrova, leader of the study, said the findings show that we do better at different times of the day.

“In the morning, our brains are better and fresher, so we are better at doing something that repeats a lot like problem solving, where we require more speed and attention,” Dimitrova told The Telegraph.

“In the afternoon, it seems that this process (过程) slows down. On the other hand, history is better suitable for the afternoon, when we are more creative and open to discussion,” she said.

Subjects such as foreign languages require both memory and repetition (重复), and they also need people to be creative. This is perhaps why the time of day has no influence on learning.

Time-of-day effects such as those are believed to be connected to the body clock. This is the system in our bodies that controls when we need to sleep. Some schools in the US and UK have tried out later school starting times for teenagers, whose body clocks change as they grow into adults.

Dimitrova believes schools should take this chance to improve students’ performance just by changing their timetables.

1.History is better suitable for the afternoon because ______.

A. it is an easy subject for students to learn

B. we are more creative and open to discussion

C. our brains are better and fresher in the afternoon

D. it’s easier to pay more attention to the work we are doing

2.It is believed that the time-of-day effects have something to do with a student’s ______.

A. age    B. hobby    C. body clock    D. learning habit

3.Dimitrova is sure that ______.

A. it is better to learn history and math in the morning

B. changing timetables properly can improve students’ performance

C. different times of a day have some influence on learning languages

D. it makes no difference for lower-ability students to learn math in the afternoon

4.What is the main idea of the passage?

A. The good advice on managing a school.

B. The importance of learning history and math.

C. The good ways to get higher scores in history and math.

D. The influence of timetables on history and math learning.

Answer

1.B

2.C

3.B

4.D

【解析】本文主要介绍数学适合上午上课，历史适合下午上课。因此适当地改变时间表能提高学生的成绩。

1.B

细节理解题。根据On the other hand, history is better suitable for the afternoon, when we are more creative and open to discussion,可知历史更适合下午上，这时我们更有创造力、更开放地讨论。故选B。

2.C

细节理解题。根据Time-of-day effects such as those are believed to be connected to the body clock.可知这些时间的影响被认为是与生物钟有关。故选C。

3.B

细节理解题。根据Dimitrova believes schools should take this chance to improve students’ performance just by changing their timetables.可知Dimitrova认为适当地改变时间表，能提高学生的成绩。故选B。

4.D

概括归纳题。根据They found that teenagers could get higher marks in math if they studied in the morning and better grades in history if they were taught in the afternoon.可知本文主要介绍时间表对学生历史和数学的学习的影响。故选D。

点睛：根据题干要求，在文中寻找答案所在的语句或段落，进行分析理解，词义猜测，推理判断和概括归纳，选出正确的选项。例如小题3，根据Dimitrova believes schools should take this chance to improve students’ performance just by changing their timetables.可知Dimitrova认为适当地改变时间表，能提高学生的成绩。故选B。