① 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. 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.

② 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.

③ 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.

④ But don’t kids need time to relax? Some childhood development experts believe that time off from school is vital to healthy development as kids are not designed to spend so much of their time inside classrooms and the summer break provides a perfect opportunity to get outside. The problem with this argument is that most children aren’t playing outside or even spending time with other kids. While some children visit summer camps, most stay at home, watching TV or playing games on electronic devices, which hardly benefits them.

1.1.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.

解析：选A。A细节理解题。由题干中的a three-month summer vacation 定位到首段第一句。定位句指出,传统的学年,每年夏天有三个月的假期,最初是在美国还是农业社会时实施的,夏季的几个月需要从事农场工作。故选A。

2.2.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.

解析：选D。D 细节理解题。由题干中的benefit 和year-round schooling 定位到第三段首句。第二段主要论述了全年制学校教育在学术方面的好处,第三段则补充说明其在其他方面的益处。第三段第二句中提到,相较于传统的学校,在全年制学校里,老师和学生会形成一种更为亲密的关系。故选 D。

3.3.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.

解析：选D。D 细节理解题。由题干中的childhood development experts 定位到第四段第二句。定位句指出，一些儿童发展专家认为,放假对孩子的健康发展至关重要，因为孩子们不适合在教室里花那么多时间,而暑假提供了一个外出的绝佳的机会。故选D。

4.4.What is the argument against the experts’ idea of a long summer vacation?

A It 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.

解析：选A。A细节理解题。由题干中的the argument against the experts’ idea 定位到第四段第三、四句。定位句指出，这种观点的问题在于,大多数孩子都不出去玩,甚至不花时间和其他孩子在一起。虽然有些孩子参加夏令营,但大多数孩子待在家里看电视或玩电子游戏,这对他们几乎没有好处。故选A。

5.5.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.

解析：选C。C 观点态度题。由题干中的 the traditional school year in the U.S. today 和题文同序原则定位到最后一段。定位段指出，美国已经从农业国家转变为以知识和创新为基础的经济体,因此改变学年也是有意义的。言外之意是传统学年的设置是过时的。故选C。