Passage Two
Qustions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.
The traditional school year, with three months of vacation every summer, was first implemented when America was an agricultural socicty and the summer months were needed for farm work. Since then, we've completely changed as a nation. Students no longer spend summers farming, but they aren't in school, either The average American student receives 13 weeks off from school each calendar year-with about 11 of those during the summer. Few other countries have more than seven weeks off in a school calendar.
With the U.S. lagging behind other countries in academics, it's time to consider year-round schooling One benefit of this change is that students will not fall victim to the “summer slide,” or the well-documented phenomenon where students forget some of the knowledge they have acquired when too much time is taken off from school. Decades of research shows that it can take from 8 to 13 weeks at the beginning of every school year for students to get back to where they were before the summer holiday.
But year-round schooling isn't just about academics. Teachers and students experience a closer relationship in year-round schools than they do in traditional schools and, in the absence of any long-term break, students do not feel detached from the school environment. These closer bonds and greater attachment pay off. Research shows that students in year-round schools are more self-confident and feel more positive about their schooling experience.
But don't kids need time to relax? Some childhood development experts believe that time off from schoo is vital to healthy development as kids are not designed to spend so much of their time inside classrooms and th summer break provides a perfect opportunity to get outside. The problem with this argument is that most childre aren't playing outside or even spending time with other kids. While some children visit summer camps, mos stay at home, watching TV or playing games on electronic devices, which hardly benefits them.
The U.S. has changed from a farming economy to a knowledge- and innovation-based economy, so it make sense for the school year to change as well.
51.Why did America’s traditional school year have a three-month summer vacation?
A) Students needed to help with farm work.
B) Students needed time to learn necessary farming skills.
C) The agricultural society then attached less importance to academics.
D) America lagged behind other countries in making a scientific school calendar,
52. What benefit will year-round schooling bring students in addition to improving their learning?
A) It will help them get back to where their lessons started.
B) It will enable them to absorb what they have learned.
C) It will familiarize them with the school environment.
D) It will strengthen their relationship with teachers.
53. What do some childhood development experts believe about the long summer vacation?
A) It meets students’ need to study on their own.
B) It enables students to learn about the outside world.
C)It satisfies students'desire to stay longer at home.
D) It contributes to students' healthy growth.
54. What is the argument against the experts’ idea of a long summer vacation?
A) lt does little good to most students.
B) It benefits few students playing outside. C) It leads students to neglect their studies.
D) It makes students addicted to computer games.
55.What does the author think of the traditional school year in the U.S. today?
A) Well-grounded.
B) Culture-bound.
C) Outdated.
D) Welcomed.
答案解析：
由题干中的“Why did America’s traditional school year have a three - month summer vacation”定位到第一段。第一段提到“The traditional school year, with three months of vacation every summer, was first implemented when America was an agricultural society and the summer months were needed for farm work.”，说明传统学年有三个月暑假是因为学生需要帮忙做农活，所以选A。
由题干中的“What benefit will year - round schooling bring students in addition to improving their learning”定位到第三段。第三段提到“Teachers and students experience a closer relationship in year - round schools than they do in traditional schools”，表明全年制学校除了提高学习外还能加强师生间关系，所以选D。
由题干中的“What do some childhood development experts believe about the long summer vacation”定位到第四段。第四段提到“Some childhood development experts believe that time off from school is vital to healthy development”，说明一些儿童发展专家认为长暑假有助于学生健康成长，所以选D。
由题干中的“What is the argument against the experts’ idea of a long summer vacation”定位到第四段。第四段提到“The problem with this argument is that most children aren't playing outside or even spending time with other kids...which hardly benefits them.”，说明反对专家观点的论据是长暑假对大多数学生没什么好处，所以选A。
由题干中的“What does the author think of the traditional school year in the U.S. today”定位到全文。文章先讲传统学年因农业社会产生，现在美国经济已变，且传统学年有诸多问题，说明作者认为传统学年已过时，所以选C。
