Question

It is commonly believed that all over the world, boys and girls attend a mixed school, where they study together. But boys schools are the perfect place to teach young men to express their emotions（情感） and involve them in activities such as art, dance and music.

Always boys at single-sex schools were said to be more likely to get involved in cultural and artistic act“boy code” of hiding their emotions to be a“real man”.

Surprisingly, the findings of the study go against received wisdom that boys do better when taught alongside girls.

George Carl, headmaster of Eton, warned that boys were being failed by the British education system because it had become too focused on girls. He criticized teachers for failing to recognize that boys are actually more emotional than girls.

The research argued that boys often perform badly in mixed schools because they become discouraged when girls do better earlier in speaking and reading skills.

But in single-sex schools teachers can adjust lessons to boys’ learning style, letting them move around the classroom and getting them to compete in teams to prevent boredom, wrote the study’s author, Abigail James, of the University of Virginia.

Teachers could encourage boys to enjoy reading and writing with “boy-focused” approaches such as themes and characters that appeal to them. Because boys generally have more acute eye, learn  best through touch, and are physically more active, they need to be given “hands-on” lessons where they are allowed to walk around. “Boys in mixed schools view classical music as feminine(女性的) and prefer the modern genre (类型) in which violence and sexism are major themes,” James wrote.

Single-sex education also made it less likely that boys would feel that they had to be “masterful and in charge” in relationships. “In mixed schools, boys feel forced to act like men before they understand themselves well enough to know what that means,” the study reported.

1.Traditionally, in a mixed school ,boys __________.

A. behave more responsibly    B. perform relatively better

C. grow up more healthily    D. receive a better education

2.The writer argues that a single-sex school would __________.

A. encourage boys to express their emotions more freely

B. help boys to be more competitive in schools

C. force boys to be their emotions to be “real men”

D. naturally strengthen boys’ traditional image of a man

3.In Abigail James’ opinion, one of the advantages of single-sex schools is_______

A. boys can choose to learn whatever they are interested in

B. boys can focus on their lessons without being distracted(分心)

C. teaching can be adjusted to suiting the characteristics(特征) of boys

D. teaching can be designed to improve boys’ team spirit

4.The underlined word “acute” in Paragraph 7 is closest in meaning to ______ .

A. lovely    B. serious    C. sharp    D. dull

Answer

1. B

2. A

3. C

4. C

【解析】

本文属于说明文，传统上，男孩子和女孩子都上同一所学校，也就是男女混合的学校，但是有人认为男孩在单一性别的学校更容易参加文化艺术活动，有助于培养他们的情感表达能力。而作者对此做了一个对比调查，对男女混校和单一性别学校的男生表现进行了对比。

1.细节理解题。根据文章第三段Surprisingly, the findings of the study go against received wisdom that boys do better when taught alongside girls.可知，该研究与之前的认识是相违背的，以前认为男孩与女孩在一起接受教育，男孩会更好，故选B。

2.细节理解题。根据文章首段中But boys' schools are the perfect place to teach young men to express their emotions 和第二段Boy sat single-sex schools were said to be more likely to get involved in cultural and artistic activities that helped develop their emotional expressiveness.可知，单一性别学校有助于培养男孩在情感方面的表达，故选A。

3.细节理解题。根据第六段Abigail James在书里写的内容But in single-sex schools teachers can adjust lessons to boys’ learning style, letting them move around the classroom and getting them to compete in teams to prevent boredom, wrote the study’s author, Abigail James, of the University of Virginia.可知，他认为在单性别学校的老师可以根据男孩的性格特点来制定和调整相应的教学方式，故选C。

4.词义猜测题。本段是介绍男孩子的特点，根据句子内容Because boys generally have more acute eye, learn best through touch, and are physically more active, they need to be given “hands-on” lessons where they are allowed to walk around.可知，男孩子应该是反应灵敏，因为适合他们的学习方法是通过触觉和动手操作，由此推断此处是指男孩子视觉敏锐，故选C。