Part C：仔细阅读
Passage One
Children with attention problems in early childhood were 40 percent less
likely to graduate from high school, says a new study from Duke University that
examines how early childhood characteristics affect academic performance.
"There's not a lot out there about how early attention problems affect
academic outcomes over such a long time frame," said David Rabiner, an associate
dean of Duke's Trinity College of Arts & Sciences and a faculty fellow of
the Duke Center for Child and Family Policy. "This study is one of the first to
focus on how attention problems as early as first grade relate to such an
important educational outcome as high school graduation."
The study, published in School Psychology Review, included 386
kindergarteners from schools in the Fast Track Project, a multi-site clinical
trial in the U.S. that in 1991 began tracking how children developed across
their lives.
With this study, researchers examined early academic, attention and
socioemotional skills and how each contributed to academic success into young
adulthood.
They found early attention skills were the most consistent predictor of
academic success, but that likability also had a modest effect on academic
performance.
By fifth grade, children with early attention difficulties had lower grades
and reading achievement scores than their peers. As fifth-graders, children with
early attention problems experienced average reading scores at least 3 percent
lower than their contemporaries' and grades at least 8 percent lower than those
of their peers. This was after controlling for IQ, socioeconomic status and
academic skills at school entry.
Although these may not seem like large effects, the impact of early
attention problems continued to reverberate throughout the children's academic
careers. Lower reading achievement scores and grades in fifth grade contributed
to reduced grades in middle school and thereby contributed to a 40 percent lower
high school graduation rate.
"The children we identified as having attention difficulties were not
diagnosed with ADHD, although some may have had the disorder. Our findings
suggest that even more modest attention difficulties can increase the risk for
negative academic outcomes," said Rabiner, whose research has focused on
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, and interventions to improve
academic performance in children with attention difficulties.
Social acceptance by peers in early childhood also predicted grades in
fifth grade. Children who were not as liked by their first-grade peers had
slightly lower grades in fifth grade, while those with higher social acceptance
had higher grades.
Researchers said this is the first study to use children's own reports of
their peers' likability to look at whether peer relations can help predict
academic outcomes when accounting for other factors such as early academic
skills and attention problems.
"This study shows the importance of so-called 'non-cognitive' or soft
skills in contributing to children's positive peer relationships, which, in
turn, contribute to their academic success," said Kenneth A. Dodge, the director
of the Duke Center for Child and Family Policy and a professor of public policy
and neuroscience at the university.
The results highlight the need to develop effective early interventions to
help those with attention problems stay on track academically and for educators
to encourage positive peer relationships, the researchers said.
"We are learning that student success requires a more comprehensive
approach, one that incorporates not only academic skills but also social,
self-regulatory and attention skills," Dodge said. "If we neglect any of these
areas, the child's development lags. If we attend to these areas, a child's
success may reinforce itself with positive feedback loops."
46. What is the focus of the new study from Duke University?
【答案】BThe predictors of children’s academic success.
【解析】细节题。根据题干信息focus，new study，Duke University，定位到“Children with attention
problems in early childhood were 40 percent less likely to graduate from high
school, says a new study from Duke University that examines how early childhood
characteristics affect academic performance.”
Duke大学的一项新研究表明，儿童早期注意力问题儿童从高中毕业的可能性降低了40%，该研究调查了儿童早期特征如何影响学业成绩。其中，The predictors
of children’s academic success.是对examines how early childhood characteristics
affect academic performance的概括，故答案为B。
47. How did the researchers ensure that their findings are valid?
【答案】ABy attaching equal importance to all possible variables examined.
【解析】细节题。根据题干信息researchers ensure，findings，valid定位到“With this study,
researchers examined early academic, attention and socioemotional skills and how
each contributed to academic success into young adulthood.”
通过这项研究，研究人员检查了早期的学术，注意力和社会情感技能，以及各个因素是如何促成为年轻成年人的学业成功的。可见，研究员是对各种可能性的因素都进行检查，故A为答案。
48.What do we learn from the findings of the Duke study?
【答案】BThere are more children with attention difficulties than previously
thought.
【解析】细节题。根据题干信息，findings of the Duke
study可知，该题为焦点模糊细节题，在解答该类习题过程中，考生应该注意辨别细节的差别，比如，因果颠倒，偷换概念等错误选项特征，从而选出正确答案。
49.What does the Duke study find about children better accepted by
peers?
【答案】A They do better academically.
【解析】细节题。根据题干信息Duke study，children better accepted by peers定位到“Social
acceptance by peers in early childhood also predicted grades in fifth grade.
Children who were not as liked by their first-grade peers had slightly lower
grades in fifth grade, while those with higher social acceptance had higher
grades.”
儿童早期同龄人的社会接受度也预测了五年级的成绩。不被一年级同龄人喜欢的孩子，五年级的时候，成绩会略低，而社会认可度较高的孩子则成绩较高。可见A为该段的概括，故为答案。
50.What can we conclude from the Duke study?
【答案】C Social skills are playing a key role in children’s development
【解析】概括推理题。根据题干关键词，conclude，Duke
study可知，该题需要概括。根据题文同序原则，需着重看第10段至文末。根据前面所讲的“社会接受度会影响成绩”以及文章最后说到“我们了解学生的成功需要更全面的方法，不仅包括学术技能，还包括社交，可知，作者强调社交在儿童成长过程中的重要作用，故C为答案。
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