题文
American middle school students don’t seem to care that they’re worse at maths than their counterparts (同龄人) in China’s Hong Kong and Finland. “I don’t need it,” my student says, “I’m going to be a basketball star.” Or a car mechanic, or a singer.Middle school students’ maths skills were tested by the International Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. The United States ranked 28th out of 41 countries tested. After all, when was the last time you used algebra (代数)？
But maths isn’t just about training Americans to become scientists. It has its own value. It helps you see patterns and develops your logic skills, and it teaches you to concentrate and to separate truth from falsehood. Maths helps you make wise financial decisions, so you can avoid false claims from advertisers, politicians and others. It helps you determine risk. For example, after an airplane crash, studies show that people are more likely to drive than to take a plane in spite of the fact that they are much more likely to be killed or injured while driving. Planes are not like criminals who repeat the same crime over and over. One plane is not more likely to crash just because another plane recently did. In fact, the most dangerous time to drive is probably right after a plane crash because so many people are on the road.
It is not possible to really understand science and the scientific method without understanding maths. A rainbow is even more beautiful and amazing when we understand it.
The precision (精确性) of maths helps us think in a very special way. How do we bring the learning of maths back to life? I don’t have the big answer. I try my best to help pupils find answers to some maths problems. When I can get one to say, “Wow, that’s great,” I feel the joy of a small victory.
小题1:Some American students don’t care about their poor maths results because __________.A．maths is useless to most peopleB．they have no interest in mathsC．they think maths has nothing to do with their futureD．they don’t do well in maths小题2:The example in Paragraph 3 is used to show __________.A．every coin has its two sidesB．we should not be cheated by fault factsC．maths is close to our daily lifeD．a simple fact shows complicated rules小题3:The writer would agree that __________.A．it’s normal that America kids are weak in mathsB．without maths we’ll miss much in our lifeC．maths is the most important subject at schoolD．American kids don’t work hard at school小题4:This text is most probably written by __________.A．a student career guideB．a researcher on students’ problemsC．a specialist in students’ studiesD．a maths teacher 题型：未知难度：其他题型
答案
小题1:C
小题1:C
小题1:B
小题1:D
解析
小题1:C推理题：从第一段学生说的话：“I don’t need it,” my student says, “I’m going to be a basketball star.” Or a car mechanic, or a singer.说明他们认为数学和他们的未来无关。
小题1:C细节题：从第三段的句子：Maths helps you make wise financial decisions, so you can avoid false claims from advertisers, politicians and others. It helps you determine risk.看出数学和我们的生活是密切相关的。
小题1:B推理题：从文章第四段的句子It is not possible to really understand science and the scientific method without understanding maths.看出没有数学我们会失去很多东西。
小题1:D推理题：从文章最后一段的：I try my best to help pupils find answers to some maths problems.可以看出作者是个数学老师。
考点
据考高分专家说，试题“American middle scho.....”主要考查你对 [日常生活类阅读 ]考点的理解。日常生活类阅读
日常生活类阅读的概念：
日常生活这一话题主要涉及人们衣食住行等方面的活动。这一话题的选材主要针对人们日常的工作，生活以及学习情况。做这一类题时，最主要的是要把握好人物的活动内容，时间和地点。
日常生活类阅读题答题技巧：
【题型说明】
该类文章内容涉及到人们的言谈举止、生活习惯、饮食起居、服饰仪表、恋爱婚姻、消遣娱乐、节日起源、家庭生活等。文章篇幅短小，追根溯源，探索各项风俗的历史渊源，内容有趣。命题也以送分题为主，如事实细节题、语义转换题、词义猜测题和简单推理判断题等。虽然这类文章读起来感觉轻松，试题做起来比较顺手，但绝不能掉以轻心。因为稍不留神，就会丢分。
【备考提醒】
为了保证较高准确率，建议同学们做好以下几点：
1、保持正常的考试心态。笔者在教学中发现，越是容易的试题，同学们越是容易失分。为什么呢？因为在这种情况下，同学们极易产生麻痹思想，认为题目好做，就不引起高度重视，于是思维不发散、不周密。而命题人就是利用同学们的这一弱点，设计陷阱题。所以，无论试题难易与否，我们都要保持正常的考试心态。试题容易，不欣喜；试题难，不悲观。
2、根据前面讲到的方法，认认真真、细细心心做好事实细节题。
3、做好语义转换题。这类题是根据英语中一词多义和某些词语在文中能表达一定的修辞意义的原则而设计的。要求同学们解释某生词的含义，确定多义词或短语在文中的意思，确认文中的某个代词所指代的对象，或者对英语中特有的表达、格言、谚语进行解释。这种题要求同学们一定要根据上下文猜测词义或理解句子，切不可望文生义。
4、做好简单推理判断题。简单推理判断题要以表面文字为前提，以具体事实为依据进行推理，做出判断。这种推理方式比较直接，只要弄清事实，即可结合常识推断出合理的结论。
