Question

Despite gains in recent years，women still fall behind men in some areas of math achievement，and the question of why has caused heated argument. Now，a study of first and second graders suggests what may be part of the answer：Female primary school teachers who are concerned about their own skills could be passing that along to the little girls they teach.

Young students tend to model themselves after adults of the same sex，explained Beilock，an associate professor in psychology at the University of Chicago. Little girls may learn to fear math from the women who are their earliest teachers. Beilock and her colleagues studied 52 boys and 65 girls in classes taught by 17 different teachers. Ninety percent of the US primary school teachers are women，as was all of those in this study.

Students’ math ability was not related to teachers’ math anxiety at the start of the school year，but at the end of the year，the more anxious teachers were about their own skills，the more likely their female students—but not the boys—were to agree to that “boys are good at math and girls are good at reading”．In addition，the girls who answered that way scored lower on math tests than either the classes’ boys or the girls who had not developed such a belief，the researchers found.

After seeing the results，the researchers recommended that the math requirements for obtaining a primary education teaching degree should be rethought. “If the next generation of teachers，especially primary school teachers，is going to teach their students more effectively，more care needs to be taken to develop both strong math skills and positive math attitudes in these educators,” the researchers wrote.

“Girls who grow up believing females lack math skills wind up avoiding harder math classes. It keeps girls and women out of a lot of careers，particularly in science technology,” Beilock said.

1.We can learn from the first three paragraphs that ______.

A. teachers in US primary schools are mostly females

B. the students involved in the study are starters at primary school

C. young students usually follow example of their female teachers

D. it’s true that boys do well in math while girls do well in reading

2.We can we infer from the text?

A. Beilock’s study will bring about a primary education revolution.

B. Girls’ lack of confidence in math skills affects their future jobs.

C. The performance of the students changed little during the process of the study.

D. The researchers argued that current primary school education needed improving.

3.What’s the suggested solution to the phenomenon mentioned in the text?

A. Using different approaches to excite students’ interest in math.

B. Reducing the number of situations that make teachers anxious.

C. Creating more chances for boys and girls to work together in class.

D. Improving teachers’ math skills and changing their math attitudes.

4.What’s the main idea of the text?

A. Girls may learn math anxiety from female teachers.

B. Boys are free from the math anxiety of female teachers.

C. Primary school teachers have a far-reaching influence on students.

D. Students should learn how to hold positive attitudes towards math.

Answer

1.A

2.B

3.D

4.A

【解析】本文是一篇说明文。尽管近年来女性在社会中取得了进步，但在一些数学成就方面，女性还是落后于男性，并引发了争论。后来研究发现，如果下一代的教师，尤其是小学教师，会更有效地教育学生，那么就需要更多的关注来培养这些教育者的数学能力和积极的数学态度。

1.细节理解题。根据第二段“Ninety percent of the US primary school teachers are women，as was all of those in this study.”“90％的小学教师是女性，而在这项研究中所有的教师都是女性”可知，美国大多数的小学教师是女性。故选A。

2.细节理解题。根据最后一段“Girls who grow up believing females lack math skills wind up avoiding harder math classes. It keeps girls and women out of a lot of careers，particularly in science technology”“女孩长大后认为女性缺乏数学技能，从而避免了更难的数学课。它让女孩和女性远离了很多职业，尤其是在科学技术领域”可知，女孩对数学技能缺乏信心会影响她们未来的工作。故选B。

3.细节理解题。根据“If the next generation of teachers，especially primary school teachers，is going to teach their students more effectively，more care needs to be taken to develop both strong math skills and positive math attitudes in these educators,”“如果下一代教师，特别是小学教师，要更有效的教育他们的学生，需要更多地关心来培养这些教育者的数学能力和积极的数学态度”可知，提高教师的数学能力，改变他们的数学态度是解决这一现象的方法。故选D。

4.主旨大意题。根据“Young students tend to model themselves after adults of the same sex，Little girls may learn to fear math from the women who are their earliest teachers”“年轻的学生倾向于模仿同性的成年人，小女孩们可能会从她们最早的老师那里学会害怕数学”可知，女孩可以从女教师那里学习数学焦虑。故选A。