Question

The New York Times’ Room for Debate blog has a panel (专门小组) considering the pluses and minuses of summer homework. This has been the subject of debate in our house. Our 11th-grade daughter’s summer assignments were very challenging, to the point where I sometimes wondered if more of her time would have been better spent just riding a bicycle or swimming around a pool.

Here are some opinions from the panel:

Harris Cooper, psychologist, Duke University: “The long summer vacation disrupts the rhythm of instruction, leads to forgetting and requires time be spent reviewing old material when students return to school in the fall. My advice? Teachers, you need to be careful about what and how much summer homework you assign. Summer homework shouldn’t be expected to overcome a student’s learning deficits; that’s what summer school is for. Parents, if the assignments are clear and reasonable, support the teachers.”

Nancy Kalish, co-author of the Case Against Homework: “Schools should rethink summer homework, and not just because it stresses out kids (and parents). The truth is, homework doesn’t accomplish what we assume it does. According to a Duke University review of more than 175 studies, there is little or no connection between homework and standardized test score or long-term achievement in primary school.”

Mark Bauerlein, professor of English at Emory University: “To the general question of whether or not schools should assign summer homework, the answer is ‘Yes.’ The reason comes not only from the brain drain of summer. It relates also to an attitude young people take toward education. They tie knowledge to the syllabus, not to themselves. They read and study to write the paper and score highly in the test, not to furnish their minds. In a word, they regard learning as a classroom thing. That’s all.”

It seems to me that summer homework is a good idea to keep the brain cells moving, but like everything else it should be given in moderation.

1.Harris Cooper seems to believe that ________.

A. more summer homework causes students’ learning difficulties

B. students should go to summer school if they have no homework

C. teachers should give careful consideration to summer homework

D. parents should tell teachers how much homework their kids need

2.In the 4th paragraph, Nancy Kalish explains her idea by________.

A. making comparisons   B. giving research findings

C. raising questions    D. telling stories

3.Mark Bauerlein might agree that summer homework ________.

A. should be based on the school’s teaching program

B. has no direct connection to students’ higher grades

C. brings more pressure to both students and their parents

D. helps students develop the right attitude toward learning

Answer

1.C

2.B

3.D

【解析】

试题分析：文章讲述的是一些专家对于暑期作业的看法以及建议。

1.C 细节理解题。根据第三段Teachers, you need to be careful about what and how much summer homework you assign.（老师们，你需要注意你所布置的暑假作业和多少的作业）可知，选C。

2. 细节理解题。根据第四段According to a Duke University review of more than 175 studies, there is little or no connection between homework and standardized test score or long-term achievement in primary school.可知，Nancy Kalish引用研究成果来阐释她的观点。故选B。

3.D 推理判断题。根据倒数第二段中“To the general question of whether or not schools should assign summer homework, the answer is ‘Yes.’ The reason comes not only from the brain drain of summer. It relates also to an attitude young people take toward education.可知，Mark Bauerlein同意暑期作业关系到年轻人对教育的态度。故选D。

考点：考查社会现象类阅读

【名师点睛】

社会现象类阅读解题技巧：

这类文章通过写人记事来揭示文章的主题，显示其社会意义，一般采用顺序或倒叙来叙述。题目经常是一些细节问题。考查的方面可以是原因和其中引发的思考。阅读这类文章要理清思路。

1、浏览试题，明确要求。

在阅读文章前，最好先浏览一下文章后面的题干和选项。知道了问题后再去看文章，可使思路更敏捷，而且也便于阅读时留意文中出现的与选项有关的信息。根据本篇文章第一段便可知文章讲述的是有关暑期作业的事情。

2、通读全文，抓住主要内容。

在不影响理解的前提下，在尽可能短的时间内理解文章或段落的内容。阅读时，如遇到不熟悉的单词、词组或一时看不懂的句子，不要停下来苦思冥想，继续读下去，通过上下文的词语和句子可能就理解了。

3、抓住中心思想和段落大意。

通读全文时，要特别注意主题句。每篇文章或每个段落都有与文章有关的句子，尤其是科技、政论性文章的主题句一般都在文章的开头或结尾，插在中间的很少。所以，文章的第一段或开头的第一、二个句子往往包含着文章的中心思想、作者的意图或全文的概述，因此要特别注意，彻底理解。比如第21题：自己理解题。根据第三段Teachers, you need to be careful about what and how much summer homework you assign.（老师们，你需要注意你所布置的暑假作业和多少的作业）可知，选C。

4、有针对性地仔细阅读，找寻所需信息。

在前面的基础上，可进行有针对性地阅读了。把与问题无关的内容一扫而过，而对于和问题有关的内容认真阅读，还可以用笔在下面做出记号。再把这些信息与问题的要求结合起来，逐条分析，综合判断，找出正确答案。比如第22题：细节理解题。根据第四段According to a Duke University review of more than 175 studies, there is little or no connection between homework and standardized test score or long-term achievement in primary school.可知，Nancy Kalish引用研究成果来阐释她的观点。故选B。

5、进行合理的推理判断。

对文章有了全面的了解之后，可以按照文章要求以及上下文之间的关系，做出推理判断。在进行推理判断的时候，需要综合考虑句型、语法、句子之间的逻辑关系、文化背景等方面的因素。比如第23题：推理判断题。根据倒数第二段中“To the general question of whether or not schools should assign summer homework, the answer is ‘Yes.’ The reason comes not only from the brain drain of summer. It relates also to an attitude young people take toward education.可知，Mark Bauerlein同意暑期作业关系到年轻人对教育的态度。故选D。

6、认真复读，验证答案。

要用全文的中心思想统帅各个题目，研究其内在联系和逻辑关系，并依次审核那些还未答上的题目，确保理解无误。