Scores on a national test released(发布)on November 1 show that students in the U.S.A. have improved in math over the last two years, but mostly stayed the same in reading. This year, 422,000 fourth graders and 343,000 eighth graders took the exams between January and March. Students were asked to read grade-appropriate(年级适合的) materials and answer questions for the reading test. For the math test, students answered questions about geometry, algebra, number properties, measurement and other topics.
The U.S Department of Education released the scores in a report called The Nation’s Report Card (NAEP). This year, students earned the highest scores ever recorded on the math exam, which has been given since 1990.Fourth graders scored an average of 241.That is a one-point increase from 2009and a 28-point increase from 1990. Eighth graders made similar progress. Then average score this year was 284,up one point from 2009 and 21 points from 1990.
In reading, fourth graders scored an average of 221 points, the same average score since 2007.That score is four points above those from 1992, when the first reading test was given. Eighth graders scored an average of 265 points, up one point from 2009 and five points from 1992.
Education experts say reading is a harder subject to improve in the classroom than math. While math is largely learned in classrooms, reading results depend on how much kids read outside of school and how much they read in other subjects, such as history and science.
On the NAEP, math scores were the highest among students who have limited use of calculators(计算器) during math lessons, compared with students who have unlimited use or no use. Reading scores were the highest among students who said they read for fun on their own time almost every day.
小题1:According to the test, students in the U.S.A _______________________.
A．do better in math than in reading
B．work harder at reading than at math
C．prefer to learn math in their spare time
D．are more interested in reading than before小题2:In 1990, the fourth graders’ average score on the math exam was about____________
A．238
B．240
C．213
D．220小题3:We can learn from the third paragraph that ______________.
A．eighth graders all took part in the test in 2007
B．reading scores have not improved much since 2007
C．eighth graders got higher scores than fifth graders
D．fourth graders’ scores are becoming lower and lower小题4: What can we learn from the passage?
A．The first reading test was given in 1990.
B．Eighth graders’ average math score was 285 in 2009
C．Eighth graders got the same average as fourth graders in the reading this year
D．Reading is hard to improve in the classroom because that requires students to read a lot outside of school.
