Danelien van Aalst at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands and her colleagues have investigated how relative age affects popularity among 14 to 15-year-olds in the Netherlands, Sweden and England. They collected survey data from 13,251 students from the three countries.
Each teenager was asked to identify five of the most popular students in their class. The researchers then compared the popularity of each child to their age relative to that of their classmates. They discovered a connection; the older the student was, the more likely he or she was to be considered popular.
“A child enters school before or after a certain cut-off date and that determines how old or young you are relative to your year group.” says Danelien van Aalst. “We found that if you’re born right after the cut-off date, making you one of the oldest members of your class, you’re going to be popular.”
They found that the same effect also applied at the year-group level. Here, it was the children who were the oldest relative to all of their fellows in the year group—rather than just those in their particular class-that were the most popular.
All three countries showed almost the same pattern. However, at the year-group level, it was the most pronounced in England. At the classroom level, it was in the Netherlands that the pattern was the strongest. This is partly because the country has a system of grade retention (留级)-when students don’t meet their academic requirements, their teachers will hold them back a year, which means they then are older than all the other classmates and often the most popular.
This relative age effect has been shown in other areas. “Relative age has earlier been demonstrated to affect school performance—relatively older children do better in school,” says Herman van Werfhorst at the University of Amsterdam, who wasn’t involved in the study. Similarly, previous research has shown that older children tend to be better at sports than younger students in the same year group.
1. What were the students in the survey required to do?| A．Compare their classmates. |
| B．Name some popular students. |
| C．Identify their classmates’ age. |
| D．Try to become popular in their class. |
| A．Apparent. | B．Complex. | C．Exceptional. | D．Unbelievable. |
| A．They miss most of their lessons. |
| B．They make great academic progress. |
| C．They become the oldest in their class. |
| D．They experience a drop in popularity. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】The British Medical Journal recently featured a strong response to what was judged an inappropriately merciful reaction by a medical school to a student cheating in an examination. Although we have insufficient reliable data about the extent of this phenomenon, its prevention, or its effective management, much can be concluded and acted upon on the basis of common sense.
There is general agreement that there should be zero tolerance of cheating in a profession based on trust and one on which human lives depend. It is reasonable to assume that cheaters in medical school will be more likely than others to continue to act dishonestly with patients, colleagues, and government.
The behaviours under question are multifactorial in origin. There are familial (家庭的), religious, and cultural values that are acquired long before medical school. For example, countries, cultures, and subcultures exist where bribes and dishonest behaviour are very normal. There are secondary schools in which neither staff nor students tolerate cheating and others where cheating is common; there are homes which cultivate young people with high standards of moral behaviour and others which leave moral training to the harmful influence of television and the market place.
Medical schools reflect society and cannot be expected to remedy all the ills of a society. The selection process of medical students might be expected to favour applicants with positive moral behaviour. Medical schools should be the major focus of attention for cultivating future doctors with moral sensitivity. Unfortunately there are troubling data that suggest that during medical school the moral behaviour of medical students does not necessarily improve; indeed, moral development may actually stop or even regress (倒退).
It is critical that the academic and clinical leaders of the institution set a personal example on moral behaviour. Medical schools must do something to make sure that their students are expected to be clear from day one. The development of a school’s culture of moral behaviour requires cooperation with the students in which they play an active role in its creation and developing. Moreover, the school’s examination system and general treatment of students must be fair. Finally, the treatment of infractions (违规) must be firm, fair, transparent (透明的).
1. What does the author say about cheating in medical schools?| A．Extensive research has been done about this phenomenon. |
| B．We have sufficient data to prove that prevention is possible. |
| C．We know that this phenomenon exists in every medical school. |
| D．We still need more reliable data to know how serious it is. |
| A．the medical profession is based on trust. |
| B．there is zero tolerance of cheating in medicine. |
| C．the medical profession depends on the government. |
| D．cheating exists extensively in medical schools. |
| A．Medical schools should make a less competitive environment for students. |
| B．Outstanding people should create a set of moral standards to be followed. |
| C．Medical students should be positive in creating and preserving moral behavior. |
| D．We should focus on the cause-and-effect of the cheating in exams in medical schools. |
| A．It makes little sense to talk about medical school student cheating in exams. |
| B．Medical schools haven’t been doing well to help students develop morally. |
| C．Cheating in exams is tolerable outside of medical school circle. |
| D．Elimination of exams helps cultivate healthier characters of medical school students. |
【推荐2】What are charter (特许) schools? How are they different from traditional public schools in the United States?
Charter schools are a kind of public schools that receive a special charter or written rules, from a state government. The American state of Minnesota passed the country’s first charter school law in the early 1990s. Since then, charter schools have spread from coast to coast. There are more than 6,700 charter schools now, educating nearly 3 million students nationwide. Charter schools cannot require students to pay tuition for their education. The schools also cannot set admission requirements. If too many young people asked to be admitted, the school must choose its students through a lottery (抽签) system.
Charter schools are different from public schools in many ways. They often have flexibility in the kinds of classes and programs that they can offer. They often do not have to follow the rules public schools do. The charter school movement grew out of unhappiness with public schools.
Over time, different groups began backing the charter cause. Civil rights groups wanted schools that broke down barriers based on race or wealth. Parents wanted greater ability to choose where their children went to school. Some Americans said that competition between schools could improve the quality of education. The main idea was that increased flexibility in an education program would let charter schools better serve their students.
But not all Americans like charter schools. For over 20 years, critics (评论家) have argued that charter schools take money away from public schools, and may not serve students with special needs. Some civil rights groups have opposed charter schools. Some labor and union organizers disagree about whether charter schools are actually public schools.
1. What do we know about charter schools?| A．They require high fees. | B．They have strict requirements. |
| C．They take in students by exam. | D．They can select students by chance. |
| A．They have plenty of money. | B．They don’t follow any rules. |
| C．They are given certain rights. | D．They offer fewer classes to students. |
| A．Good services of charter schools. | B．Peoples support for charter schools. |
| C．Special rights charter schools have. | D．Competition between charter schools. |
| A．They are unusual. | B．They may not be necessary. |
| C．They provide poor education. | D．They are not good public schools. |
【推荐3】Campuses should be safe places for children to learn and develop. However, the movie, Better Days, released on Oct 25 , highlights a serious issue—school bullying. Some experts say people should treat bullying seriously and not regard it as a joke. School bullying involves hurtful words, physical attacks, even sexual violence.
That the offenders are just children does not mean bullying is simply high spirits or that the children are just being naughty.
It is not helpful for parents and teachers to ignore the matter by saying it is a private affair between the children and they can solve it by themselves.
Bullying is a serious offense. While there may be no visible harm, it can leave invisible scars and wounds that can prove fatal over time. According to data from the United Nations Education, Science, and Culture Organization, over 32 percent of male pupils and 28 per-cent of female pupils suffer from campus violence with many suffering serious emotional and psychological problems as a result.
| A．Whether verbal or physical, violence is violence. |
| B．The bullying is only verbal insults and not threats. |
| C．That doesn't happen； instead the bullying becomes worse. |
| D．People even in their 50s or 60s may still suffer the hurt of childhood bullying. |
| E．Sometimes bullying can arise out of a quarrel or conflict, but often it arises out of nothing. |
| F．Bullying causes injury to health and makes you ill. How many of these symptoms do you have? |
| G．Especially, in China the role of the police is not only to enforce the law, but also to educate the public about punishments for violations. |
【推荐1】Pachyrhynchus weevils (球背象鼻虫) are found on most islands in the eastern Pacific Ocean. These weevils could not fly. But why are they so widespread? Wen-San Huang of the National Museum of Natural Science in Taiwan thinks he has the answer.
One theory, which dates back to 1923, is that the beetles float from place to place by a tiny air cavity beneath its outer shell.
Dr Huang began his research into the weevils and discovered that the beetles do float. But he also reports floating in seawater does not do them much good. All 57 adults he tried it with died within two days. Clearly, adult weevils are not good sailors.
Pachyrhynchus weevils have a love for laying their eggs inside the fruit of a plant called the fish-poison tree. This reproduces reminding us of coconut palms. It drops its fruits into the ocean, which carries them away to come up on distant beaches. Coconuts are protected from being eaten on their travels by having a hard, thick shell. Fish-poison-tree fruit are also protected from hungry sea creatures. But in their case, as their name suggests, the protection is chemical.
Given the relationship between weevils and plant, Dr Huang wondered how beetle larvae (幼虫) would fare if they were deep inside a piece of fruit floating in seawater.
So he tested this as well. His experiment suggested that such larvae are 'tolerant of saline (含盐的) conditions.
Specifically, of 18 grubs (蛆) thrown into seawater inside a piece of fruit, two survived for six days. Moreover, these larvae went on to develop into healthy, sexually mature adults. So Dr Huang argues that such numbers would easily support the immigration of weevils to the islands.
He also observes that the Kuroshio Current, which carries water from the Philippines, past Japan and onwards into the Pacific, moves so swiftly that a piece of fruit caught in it could easily travel 90km in a day, enabling the flightless beetle to cover the distance of 400km between the islands effectively.
1. What did Wen-San Huang find in his research?| A．The old theory accounts for weevils. | B．Adult weevils are good at floating. |
| C．Fish-poison-tree fruit protect weevils. | D．The weevils cross the islands in a day. |
| A．Survive. | B．Travel. |
| C．Grow. | D．Float. |
| A．By travelling with sea creatures. |
| B．By wearing shells for protection. |
| C．By laying eggs in coconuts sinking under the sea. |
| D．By staying in the floating fish-poison-tree fruits. |
| A．To introduce the research result. |
| B．To compare the coconut palms and weevils. |
| C．To tell how weevils immigrate to the islands. |
| D．To praise Wen San Huang for his research. |
【推荐2】Today China is the world’s biggest consumer of wheat. But it wasn’t always that way.
Wheat only came to the area now known as northern China toward the end of the Neolithic (新石器) period, some 4,600 years ago. Initially, wheat didn’t seem to be so delicious and had been treated as a crop of desperation rather than a cooking delight. The first farmers of northern China primarily grew millet (粟), starting as early as 11,500 years ago. By the time of the Tang dynasty, wheat had replaced millet, becoming a major crop. But relatively little was known about exactly why this shift occurred.
In an attempt to track the answer, I accumulated (积累) a collection of nearly 1,200 data points covering more than 50 sites from the mid-Neolithic, about 9,000 years ago, to the collapse of the Eastern Han dynasty in 220 AD. The sites were across 8 modern provinces, ranging from Gansu province in the northwest to Shandong province in the east.
One possible explanation is a major climate shift, called the Holocene Event 3, which happened 4,000 to 4,500 years ago. At that time, the climate became colder and drier across continents, causing damage to crop production.
On top of this, the late Neolithic period was also a time of rapid population growth around the world. With an ever-increasing population and unsteady crop production, it is reasonable to assume that Neolithic farmers in northern China were struggling.
Wheat, it turns out, actually needs more water than millet, making it seem a poor choice for a dry period of history. But importantly, it can be sowed after millet has been harvested. That, we think, is the most likely reason why the people across northern China started to grow wheat.
From more extreme weather to changing coastlines, climate change has always brought unexpected and sometimes dramatic changes to societies. In this instance, the consequence of the Holocene Event 3 in northern China proved, eventually, delicious.
1. What can we learn about wheat from the second paragraph?| A．It replaced millet for its great taste. | B．It was a poor choice at the beginning. |
| C．It outnumbered millet 4,600 years ago. | D．It was the earliest crop grown in China. |
| A．The author found the exact answer. | B．The author did the research cautiously. |
| C．The author did extensive research. | D．The author was good at collecting data. |
| A．The water supply was enough then. | B．The harvest of millet was not satisfying. |
| C．It adjusted to the weather conditions better. | D．It had an alternative sowing season with millet. |
| A．How was millet introduced to China? |
| B．Why did Chinese farmers switch to wheat? |
| C．How did China become the biggest wheat consumer? |
| D．How was China’s wheat growth affected by climate change? |
【推荐3】The latest IPCC report does not mince words(直言不讳地) about the state of our planet: we must act now to achieve global change at a scale that has “no documented historical precedent(先例)” in order to avoid the climate disaster that would result from a 2 degree C rise in average global temperature. Climate change already affects the world's most helpless people including poor rural communities that depend on the land for their livings and coastal communities. Indeed, we have already seen the clear asymmetry(不对称) of suffering resulting from extreme weather events, such as hurricanes, floods, droughts, wildfires and more.
So far, advocates and politicians have tended to focus on reducing fossil fuel(矿物燃料) consumption through technology and/or policy, such as a sharp carbon tax, as climate solutions. These proposals are, of course, essential to reducing manmade carbon emissions(排放)-71 percent of which are produced by just 100 fossil fuel companies.
Yet the international focus on fossil fuels has overshadowed(使......显得不重要) the most powerful and cost-efficient carbon-capture technology the world has yet seen: forests. Recent scientific research confirms that forests and other “natural climate solutions” are absolutely essential in reducing climate change. In fact, natural climate solutions can help us achieve 37 percent of our climate target, even though they currently receive only 2.5 percent of public climate financing.
Forests' power to store carbon dioxide through the simple process of tree growth is staggering:_one tree can even store an average of about 48 pounds of carbon dioxide in one year. Recent research show undamaged forests are capable of storing the same amount of the carbon dioxide emissions of entire countries such as Peru and Colombia.
For this reason, policy makers and business leaders must create and strengthen ambitious policies to prevent deforestation, and support the sustainable management of standing forests in the fight against climate change. Protecting the world's forests ensures they can continue to provide essential functions aside from climate stability, including producing oxygen, filtering water and supporting biodiversity. Not only do all the world's people depend on forests to provide clean air, clean water，oxygen, and medicines, but 1.6 billion people rely on them directly for their livelihoods.
1. According to the passage, climate change ________.| A．will surely achieve at a scale that is more serious than ever before |
| B．will only affect people living in the poorest rural regions |
| C．is likely to lead to more frequent extreme weather events |
| D．is entirely determined by fossil fuel consumption |
| A．Reducing fossil fuels is the most powerful and cost-efficient technology. |
| B．Forests are vital to reducing climate change due to their storage power. |
| C．Most of our climate targets can be accomplished with the help of natural climate solutions. |
| D．Natural climate solutions have proved less efficient than conventional solutions. |
| A．astonishing | B．speeding | C．embarrassing | D．shrinking |
| A．To compare two different approaches to dealing with climate change. |
| B．To argue against the view that focus on fossil fuels reduction counts. |
| C．To urge scientists to do more research into natural climate solutions. |
| D．To point out forests are the most powerful weapon for fighting climate change. |
【推荐1】Kielder Forest in Northumberland, England, is home to birds of gray and red squirrels. Around 90 years ago, it was also home to the pine marten(松貂). The 0.5 meters animal was driven to dying out in England by 1926 because gamekeepers wanted to secure the safety of their game birds, according to The Guardian.
However, the martens thrived in Scotland, and the animals appear to be crossing back into England. A pine marten was spotted in Kielder Forest by John Hartshorne, a volunteer who monitors the red squirrel population in the forest, part of an effort to stop gray squirrels from further invading(入侵) the red squirrels’ territory.
The pine marten is one of the animals receiving a helping hand from Back from the Brink, one of the conservation groups working together to help save 20 species from dying out in England. Their efforts aim at helping the pine marten and other at-risk species.
Red squirrels are threatened by invasive gray squirrels, which out-compete the native squirrels for food and pass on a deadly virus. Martens keep gray squirrel numbers in check, especially since the invasive animals aren’t used to having a predator like the pine marten around. A 2018 study found that the presence of pine martens can be enough to push the gray squirrel population out of an area. So the pine marten returning to Kielder is a win-win: The pine marten returns to part of its historic range and by doing so, helps red squirrels continue to survive.
1. Why was the pine marten forced to leave Northumberland?| A．To attract more hunters. |
| B．To protect local animals. |
| C．To keep game birds safe. |
| D．To keep game birds from hunters. |
| A．Died out slowly. | B．Evolved rapidly. |
| C．Had difficulty adapting. | D．Increased in population. |
| A．To help the pine marten to thrive. |
| B．To free the red squirrels of danger. |
| C．To monitor the population of birds. |
| D．To stop gray squirrels from dying out. |
| A．the role of the pine marten |
| B．the importance of a 2018 study |
| C．the promising future of red squirrels |
| D．the harmful effects of gray squirrels |
【推荐2】As William Shakespeare is to literature in English, so is the poet Du Fu to the Chinese literary tradition. “We have Dante, Shakespeare and Du Fu. These poets create the very values by which poetry is judged,” remarked Harvard Professor Stephen Owen in Du Fu: China’s Greatest Poet, a BBC documentary that aired on April 7.
Aimed at introducing the charm and beauty of traditional Chinese literature to viewers around the globe, the documentary invited the famous British actor Ian McKellen, who played the wizard Gandalf in the film series The Lord of the Rings, to read 15 of Du’s poems that have been translated into English.
The one-hour film traces the poet’s life experiences in detail. Born in 712, Du lived in the reign of the Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (712—756), a time marked by extraordinary prosperity, inclusiveness and glorious cultural accomplishments.
However, as An Lushan’s rebel army floored the empire, the 43-year-old Du, the former civil servant at the Tang court, had to take his family out of his hometown, and faced starvation and sufferings. Through ups and downs, the poet never stopped writing and about 1, 500 poems have been kept over the ages.
Even though he never held a high position in the government, Du still cared about common people. For example, in the poem My Cottage Unroofed by Autumn Gales, he wrote that “Could I get mansions covering ten thousand miles, I’d house all poor scholars and make them beam with pleasure”.
“That is why he is honored as the Poet Sage by later generations. A difficult life and his spirit of concern about the world helped him create so many masterpieces,” Shi Wenxue, a cultural critic based in Beijing, told the Global Times.
1. What can we know about the BBC documentary?| A．It introduces Shakespeare. | B．Du Fu is acted by Ian McKellen in it. |
| C．Its target audience is Chinese. | D．It shows 15 of Du Fu’s poems to the audience. |
| A．Extraordinary prosperity | B．Social stability |
| C．Social inclusiveness | D．Cultural accomplishments |
| A．Du’s concern about common people. | B．My Cottage Unroofed by Autumn Gales. |
| C．Du’s high position in the government. | D．Du’s low position in the government. |
| A．Entertainment. | B．Health. | C．Literature. | D．Science. |
【推荐3】I ran into quite a few language problems while travelling with my family last summer. The most embarrassing was when my mom apologized to the people we were staying with because her “ pants were dirty” . They looked at her in amazement, not knowing how to react. You see, Mom had fallen over and gotten mud on her jeans. But in Britain, “ pants” means underpants（内裤）or knickers, not trousers as it does back home.
——Katie—From America
I went to stay with a friend on the west coast last summer. Her flat was on the first floor of a high-rise building so I got the lift up. Then I wandered round for ages looking for her flat but couldn’t find it. Fed up and tired, I finally had to go out to find a phone box. She explained that her flat was on the first floor, which for me meant the ground floor.
——David—From Britain
When I asked for the “ restroom” in a big department store, people kept directing me to a room with seats where I could sit and ‘‘ rest. It took me years to get through to someone that I only wanted the toilet!
——Tom—From America
Last summer we went on a two-week family touring holiday, so Dad hired a car over the Internet. This was an old vehicle（汽车）and there turned out to he lots of things wrong with it. When he phoned the hire company and tried to explain that the lock on the boot was broken, they thought he was talking about footwear! He had no idea their word for ‘‘boot” was “ trunk” . In the end we ‘vent to a garage and just solved the problem.
——Mary—From Britain
1. Hearing Katie’s mother’s words, Katie’s friends were in surprise because ______.| A．Katie’s mother got mud on her jeans |
| B．Katie’s mother’s underpants were dirty |
| C．they didn’t know English |
| D．they mistook “ pants” in America for underpants |
| A．phone the police for help |
| B．phone his friend for help |
| C．lell his friend he couldn’t go to visit her |
| D．apologize for his being late |
| A．he wanted to go to a department store |
| B．he wanted the toilet |
| C．he wanted to have a rest |
| D．he wanted a chair |
