Question

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.A

2.C

3.A

4.C

【解析】

试题分析：新泽西州的一位母亲创建了一个网站─Bedtime Math，旨在提高孩子们的数学能力。

1.A 细节理解题。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。误解分析：C项所述与原文不符；B、D项与文章大致相同，但不是作者以天体物理学为专业的原因，而此两项的时间发生的作者成家之后。故选择A项。

2.C推理判断题。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项与原文不符；B项是无中生有；D项在文中依据不充分，属于推理过度。故选择C项。

3.A推理判断题。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，二人观点一致。故选择A项。

4.C细节理解题。题干问的是，美国不容乐观的数学能力是通过什么表现出来的？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。其它选项不符合逻辑。故选择C项。

考点：科技类的短文阅读。

【名师点睛】

本片文章介绍的是新泽西州的一位母亲创建了一个网站─Bedtime Math，旨在提高孩子们的数学能力。

这类科技类文章的解题思路:

1. 一般题目的顺序都是跟着文章的解题顺序。如：小题1的答案出自第一段，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。误解分析：C项所述与原文不符；B、D项与文章大致相同，但不是作者以天体物理学为专业的原因，而此两项的时间发生的作者成家之后。故选择A项。小题2的答案出自第二段，小题3的答案出自第三段。

2. 其次，找到原文，根据上下文分析来得出答案。