For the first time in 20 years, China has lost a world math championship to the United States—and many people in the nation seem happy about it. The unexpected defeat came at the famous annual International Mathematical Olympiad, a championship Chinese high school students have won 18 times since 1990.

But to some, losing the Olympiad offers hope that painful years spent studying for the contest could finally be over. "Hopefully the Math Olympiad won't scourge our children anymore!" said one parent, "I can't care less whoever got the golden cup, as long as my child won't be forced to study it." 

Unlike many American students, ordinary Chinese pupils are no strangers to the difficult math completion. Students often start getting math Olympiad training in elementary school. And it's not necessarily because they love math. The motivation is rather beneficial -- winners of math Olympiads have long received bonus points in school entrance exams, where a small score difference can greatly change a student's future.

So the math competitions become another bitter pill to swallow on the road to success. One Chinese, Wei Wei, compared math Olympiads to "gutter oil," a type of distilled sewage used by some restaurants to cut costs. "It makes people uneasy while eating it, and feel disgusted thinking of it, yet they still fight for it because it's profitable. In the last year, some provinces have taken steps to stop the bonus point policy, as educators wonder whether the math Olympiads are actually serving the right purpose.

In an opinion piece in the China Youth Daily Wednesday, a well-known educator, Yang Dongping, wrote the competitions were a "waste" of talent. "The question we should ask is why we don't have great mathematicians in China," he said. Then, appearing to answer his own question: "Many of our math champions continued to study math—many left academia for Wall Street."

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1.What made many people happy?

A Chinese high school students have won 18 times.

B The defeat in International Mathematical Olympiad.

C A world math championship would be soon stopped.

D Chinese students made great progress in their study.

解析：选B。B。细节理解题。根据文章第一段第二句的The unexpected defeat came at the famous annual International Mathematical Olympiad...以及第二段第一句的But to some, losing the Olympiad offers hope that...可知中国学生在奥数比赛中出乎意料的失败让一些人高兴。

2.The underlined word “scourge” in the second paragraph may mean ______.

A harm

B improve

C encourage

D ignore

解析：选A。A。从文章第二段第一句的But to some, losing the Olympiad offers hope that painful years spent studying for the contest could finally be over可知孩子度过的是痛苦的日子，因此奥数考试对孩子带来的是“伤害”，所以scourge的意思是“harm”。

3.Why do ordinary Chinese pupils devote themselves to difficult math completion?

A Because they are really fond of math.

B Because they are strange to each other.

C Because they can benefit from the test.

D Because they can make money from the test.

解析：选C。C。推理判断题。根据第三段第四句的The motivation is rather beneficial -- winners of math Olympiads have long received bonus points in school entrance exams...可知参加奥数能够带来额外的好处，在高考中能够得到加分。

4.How did Wei Wei think of the math Olympiads?

A Interesting.

B Hateful.

C Difficult.

D Helpful.

解析：选B。B。推理判断题。根据第四段倒数第二句的It makes people uneasy while eating it, and feel disgusted thinking of it, yet they still fight for it because it's profitable可以得知，他认为奥数让人感觉到极其厌恶。

5.What did many of our math champions do?

A They became great mathematicians.

B They became well-known educators.

C They became the businessmen.

D They became cooks in restaurants.

解析：选C。C。推理判断题。根据文章最后一段最后一句的Many of our math champions continued to study math -- many left academia for Wall Street可知很多人离开了学术界而进入了华尔街从事商业。