1 . A survey of 2,000 parents of primary and secondary school children found 34 percent were out of their depth with primary school homework and unable to help their child.
Trigonometry (三角学) provided the biggest headache, with 52 percent of parents unable to help, followed by algebra (代数), which left 46 percent confused. 39 percent of parents could not calculate Pi (π) and 35 percent did not understand the periodic table. Foreign languages stumped many, with 31 percent unable to ask for directions in French. The English language also proved a struggle, with 21 percent no longer knowing the difference between a noun, verb and adjective.
As for history, 19 percent said they did not know the beginning and end dates of the world wars. On average, parents spent four hours a week attempting to tutor (辅导) their children, according to the survey by MyTutor, a company that links families with private tutors. About 73 percent ended up arguing with their children over homework and 87 percent believed schoolwork had become more challenging than the work they completed when they were at school.
Families turned to schools for extra help, with 19 percent of parents saying they had requested this from their child’s school. Thirty-nine percent said not enough support was provided. Florence Milner, a manager at MyTutor, said, “Even though most parents devote a significant amount of time weekly to helping their children with schoolwork, it’s not surprising that many find the task challenging.” Schools can use the National Tutoring Programme to support pupils they believe are most in need, but government funding has dropped this academic year from 60 to 50 percent of the cost.
Some studies have suggested that homework has little impact on a child’s progress at primary school, but helps at secondary school. The Education Endowment Foundation, which provides evidence to help improve teaching, said homework has a positive impact, particularly at secondary level, but warned that some pupils may not have a quiet space for home learning.
1. What does the underlined word “stumped” in paragraph 2 probably mean?| A．Assisted. | B．Amused. | C．Inspired. | D．Confused. |
| A．They resist too much homework. |
| B．They doubt their children’s ability. |
| C．They may have an unpleasant experience when tutoring. |
| D．They did study hard when they were young. |
| A．Primary schools should assign more homework. |
| B．Middle school students should have proper homework. |
| C．Parents should provide more tutoring for their kids at home. |
| D．Pupils should improve academic performance by doing more homework. |
| A．quoting experts | B．making comparisons |
| C．listing figures | D．analyzing reason and effect |
