When a big exam is coming up, you probably feel anxious about any wasted time and want to begin school as soon as you probably can.
But tens of thousands of British high school students will soon be getting up later. They’re taking part in a new experiment by Oxford University to see if later classes can improve their exam results.
Grades 10 students in the UK have to take the nationwide General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) exams. They have to pass these exams in order to study more advanced courses, and later apply for universities.
The Oxford University project means that GCSE students from more than 100 schools across England will start school at 10 am, more than one hour later than the current start time (8:50 am).
The project is based on scientific evidence that teenagers are “out of sync(同步)” with traditional school hours, the Telegraph reported. And what they need is more sleep in the morning.
“We know that something funny happens when you’re a teenager, in that you seem to be out of sync with the world,” said professor Colin Epsie, who is leading the study. “Your parents think it’s because you are lazy and opinionated（固执己见的）and everything will be OK if you could get to sleep earlier. But science is telling us that teenagers need to sleep more in the mornings.”
Everyone follows a natural cycle of sleep and wakefulness. Biology has decided that teenagers go to sleep around midnight and don’t feel fully awake until 9-10 am, according to scientists. That’s two hours later than adults. And their body clocks stay like this until the age of around 21 for males, and 19 for females.
“Society provides school for learning, but the brain provides sleep. So we are exploring the possibility that if you delay the schools start time until 10 am, that will improve learning performance,” said Epsie.
The results could be positive, based on previous studies.
An early study at the UK’s Monkseaton High School in 2009 found that starting an hour later improved grades in core subjects by 19 percent.
The Oxford project is expecting to publish the results in 2018. It’s time to wait and see whether scientists will give us an excuse to get up late.
1．According to the article, students who take part in the Oxford University project_______.
A．will start school one hour earlier
B．will be guaranteed more sleeping time in the morning
C．will perform better academically than those who don’t participate
D．will no longer have to take GCSE exams
2．We can infer from the article that ________ .
A．children and adults have different natural cycles of sleep and wakefulness
B．getting up late is a sign of laziness in the eyes of most British parents
C．the Oxford University project is targeted at all British high schools
D．there is still no scientific evidence that supports a late school start time
3．What is the author’s attitude toward the Oxford University project ?
A．Critical B．Uninterested
C．Optimistic D．Doubtful
4．What’s the best title of the article ?
A．It’s never too late to learn B．An excuse to get up late
C．The later you get up, the better you’ll learn D．Wake up late to excel
1．B
2．A
3．C
4．D
【分析】
这是一篇说明文。文章主要说明了牛津大学的一个项目，来自英国100多所学校的GCSE学生将在上午10点上学，比现在的上学时间晚一个多小时。项目结果表明这样做对于成绩的提高很有帮助，但是原因有待进一步研究。
1．细节理解题。根据第四段中的“The Oxford University project means that GCSE students from more than 100 schools across England will start school at 10 am, more than one hour later than the current start time (8:50 am).（牛津大学项目意味着来自英国100多所学校的GCSE学生将在上午10点上学，比现在的上学时间，也就是上午8:50，晚一个多小时。）”可知，牛津大学项目就是让学生晚一个多小时上学，也就意味着学生在早上有更多的睡眠时间。故选B项。
2．推理判断题。根据第七段中的“Biology has decided that teenagers go to sleep around midnight and don’t feel fully awake until 9-10 am, according to scientists. That’s two hours later than adults.（据科学家称，生物学已经决定，青少年在午夜左右入睡，直到上午9点到10点才感到完全清醒。比成年人晚两个小时。）”可以推理出，青少年和成年人的睡眠和醒来的时间循环是不同的，故选A项。
3．推理判断题。根据倒数第三段“The results could be positive, based on previous studies.（根据先前的研究，结果可能是积极的。）”中的“positive（积极的）”可以推理出，作者是对牛津大学的项目持乐观的态度。故选C项。
4．主旨大意题。文章主要讲了牛津大学的项目：让孩子上学时间推迟一个多小时。结果表明对于成绩的提高很有帮助。再根据倒数第二段“An early study at the UK’s Monkseaton High School in 2009 found that starting an hour later improved grades in core subjects by 19 percent.（2009年，英国蒙克塞顿高中的一项早期研究发现，推迟一小时，核心科目的成绩提高了19%。）”以及作者的积极态度都表明早上晚起一会儿去上学会提高成绩。D项Wake up late to excel（晚起会胜过平时）符合文章大意，可作最佳标题。故选D项。
【点睛】
主旨大意题解题技巧
(1) 要在阅读原文基础上，仔细考虑选项是否与文章主题有密切联系；
(2) 再看选项对文章的概括性或覆盖面如何；
(3) 要注意题目是否过大或者过小；
(4) 要避免下列三种错误：概括不够（多表现为部分代整体，导致范围过小）、过度概括（多表现为扩大范围）、以事实、细节代替抽象概括的大意。
如第4小题，选择最佳标题，需要判断文章的主旨大意。文章主要讲了牛津大学的项目：让孩子上学时间推迟一个多小时。结果表明对于成绩的提高很有帮助。再根据倒数第二段中关于2009年英国蒙克塞顿高中的一项早期研究的结果：推迟一小时，核心科目的成绩提高了19%以及作者的积极态度都表明早上晚起一会儿去上学会提高成绩。D项Wake up late to excel（晚起会胜过平时）符合文章大意，与文章主题有密切联系，故选D项。