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Adding math talk to story time at home is a winning factor for children's math achievement, according to a new research from a university.The study from psychologists Sian Beilock and Susan Levine shows a marked increase in math achievement among children whose families used Bedtime Math, an iPad app that delivers engaging math story problems for parents and children to solve together.
Even children who used the app with their parents as little as once a week saw gains in math achievement by the end of the school year.The app's effect was especially strong for children whose parents tend to be anxious or uncomfortable with math.
Previous research from this group has demonstrated the importance of adults' attitudes to math for children's math success.For example, a recent study found that mathanxious parents who help their children with math homework actually weaken their children's math achievement.
The new findings demonstrate that structured, positive interactions around math at home can cut the link between parents' uneasiness about math and children's low math achievement.
“Many people experience high levels of anxiety when they have to solve a math problem, with a majority of adults feeling at least some worries about math，” said Beilock, professor in psychology and author of Choke, a book about stress and performance.“These mathanxious parents are probably less likely to talk about math at home, which affects how competent their children are in math.Bedtime Math encourages a dialogue between parents and kids about math and offers a way to engage in highquality math interactions in a loweffort, highimpact way.”
Study participants included 587 firstgrade students and their parents.Families were given an iPad installed with a version of the Bedtime Math app, with which parents and their children read stories and answer questions involving math, including topics like counting, shapes and problemsolving.A control group received a reading app that had similar stories without the math content and questions related to reading comprehension instead.Children's math achievement was assessed at the beginning and end of the school year.Parents completed a questionnaire about their nervousness with math.
The more times parents and children in the math group used the app, the higher children's achievement on a math assessment at the end of the school year.Indeed, children who frequently used the math app with their parents outperformed similar students in the reading group by almost three months in math achievement at year's end.
【语篇解读】 本文是一篇说明文。文章主要介绍了一个能够让孩子与父母亲通过交流而提高孩子数学水平的软件。
1．The previous study found that ________．
A．help from mathanxious parents improves children's math achievement
B．interactions around math at home will cut off the family relationship
C．children's math achievement is related to parents' attitude to math
D．children can achieve more success if they see the importance of math
C [细节理解题。根据第三段的第一句“Previous research from this group has demonstrated the importance of adults' attitudes to math for children's math success.”可知，先前的研究发现，孩子数学成绩的好坏同父母对数学的态度有关，故C项正确。]
2．We can infer from the passage that ________．
A．it is the math problems related to the stories that make a great difference
B．children whose parents are uneasy about math are superior to other students
C．parents using the app for three months can see gains in math achievement
D．the frequency of using the app has nothing to do with children's achievement
A [推理判断题。根据倒数第二段的第二句“Families were given an iPad installed with a version of the Bedtime Math app, with which parents and their children read stories and answer questions involving math, including topics like counting, shapes and problemsolving.”可知，Bedtime Math的关键是里面含有与数学相关的故事。据此可以判断，父母和孩子一起讨论与数学有关的故事是保证孩子数学成功的关键，故A项正确。]
3．What does the author want to tell us?
A．Highanxiety parents influence children's attitude to math.
B．Frequent use of the app can develop problemsolving ability.
C．Loweffort activities create good parentchild relationship.
D．Highquality math interactions improve children's performance.
D [写作意图题。通读全文可知，文章通过介绍一个软件来说明高质量的数学交流会提高孩子的数学成绩。故D项正确。]
