高考英语每日练 | 一周只上四天课:美国乡村学校的「四日学周」实验(阅读+七选五)

英语试界瓜坊 · 高考英语

今天的原创练习取材于英美教育新闻热点——「四天上学日 Four-Day School Week」：美国两千多所学校正尝试每周只上四天课，省钱还是误学，争议不断。阅读部分 4 题、七选五 36–40（配文 The Power of Handwriting），题量与形式完全按高考全国卷要求命制，全文原创。建议限时 20 分钟完成。

阅读理解（共 4 题）

阅读下面短文，从每题所给的 A、B、C、D 四个选项中选出最佳选项。

Four Days, No Less?

In Ridgefield, a small town in Colorado, students cheered last August when their school district announced a four-day school week. From Monday to Thursday, classes run as usual; Fridays are now free. Ridgefield is one of more than 2,100 schools across the United States that have adopted the timetable, most of them in rural areas.

The main reason is money. Districts save on buses, electricity, heating and staff costs when schools close for one extra day each week. For small rural districts, the savings can mean the difference between keeping a music teacher and cutting the programme entirely. Parents in Ridgefield also mention practical advantages: fewer sick days and easier medical appointments on the free Friday.

Researchers, however, remain cautious. A 2025 study followed students in four states and found that most of them learned no less than their five-day classmates — but no more, either. The extra day, the researchers noticed, was rarely used for homework or revision. Many families, especially those in which both parents work, struggled to arrange childcare, and some students admitted that Fridays often disappeared in front of a screen.

Some schools are now trying to make the fifth day count. In Ridgefield, the town library runs a "Friday Studio" offering free maths tutoring, art workshops and sport, and about forty students attend every week. "The four-day week is not automatically better or worse," says Dr Kate Morris, who studies school timetables. "Everything depends on what happens on the day off." For Emma Ruiz, a ninth-grader who takes extra violin classes on Fridays, the answer is simple: "Friday is my favourite school day — and I don't even go to school."

1. Why did Ridgefield adopt the four-day school week?

A. Students demanded more free time.

B. To reduce costs for the district.

C. To raise students' exam results.

D. Teachers refused to work five days a week.

2. What did the 2025 study find about students under the new timetable?

A. They learned less than before.

B. They mainly spent Fridays revising.

C. They learned about the same as before.

D. Their health improved sharply.

3. What problem is mentioned in paragraph 3?

A. Teachers were paid less than before.

B. Some parents found it hard to arrange childcare.

C. Students refused to come to school on Mondays.

D. Rural schools lost their music programmes.

4. What can we learn from Dr Kate Morris's words?

A. The success of the four-day week depends on how the free day is used.

B. All schools should switch to four-day weeks.

C. The free day should be used for more lessons.

D. Research on school timetables is unreliable.

七选五（第 36–40 题，两项多余）

根据短文内容，从短文后的七个选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

Why Handwriting Still Matters

Ask a group of students whether they prefer typing or writing by hand, and most will point to their keyboards. Typing is faster, tidier and easier to correct. Yet a growing number of studies suggest that putting pen to paper may do something a keyboard cannot: change the way we learn.

In a 2024 experiment, two groups of students watched the same short lecture. One group took notes on laptops, the other wrote them by hand. A week later, the handwriting group answered noticeably more questions correctly.     36     "The keyboard users were busy typing everything down," explains the researcher, "but the writers had to choose what was important."

Handwriting also engages the brain in a special way. Brain scans show that when we form letters by hand, areas linked to memory and language light up at the same time.     37     This helps build stronger connections, in the same way that speaking a new word aloud helps us remember it.

This does not mean typing is bad.     38     For long reports, group projects and editing, a keyboard is often the better tool. The key is matching the tool to the task.

So next time you revise, try writing your key points by hand first.     39     Even ten minutes of careful writing can fix ideas in your mind more firmly than an hour of scrolling through the same slides.     40     Your future self, sitting quietly in the exam hall, will thank you.

A. Handwriting is simply too slow for taking notes.

B. The reason, the researchers believe, lies in the choice itself.

C. In fact, scientists are not asking us to throw away our keyboards.

D. It slows you down — and that is exactly the point.

E. The slow, physical forming of each letter gives the brain extra time to process meaning.

F. Small habits like this quietly add up over a term.

G. Some teachers still collect handwritten homework every week.

答案与解析

阅读理解

1. B　第二段首句「The main reason is money」：关闭学校可省下校车、水电、供暖与人力开支，小乡村学区靠省钱才能保住音乐老师 → 降本，选 B。A「学生要求」、C「提高成绩」、D「教师拒绝上班」均未提及。

2. C　第三段：2025 年研究发现这些学生「learned no less than their five-day classmates — but no more, either」→ 学得不多不少、与从前相当，选 C。A「学得更少」与原文相反；B「主要用来复习」原文说 the extra day was rarely used for homework or revision；D「健康大幅改善」未提及。

3. B　第三段：许多家庭尤其是父母都工作的家庭「struggled to arrange childcare」→ 难以安排孩子照看，选 B。A「教师减薪」、C「周一拒到校」、D「失去音乐课」均非第三段所列问题（音乐课是被省下钱保住的例子）。

4. A　末段 Dr Kate Morris 说「The four-day week is not automatically better or worse... Everything depends on what happens on the day off」→ 成败取决于假日怎么用，选 A。B「所有学校都应改四天」过于绝对；C「假日应上更多课」曲解原意；D「时间表研究不可靠」无中生有。

七选五

36. B　上句说一周后手写组答对率明显更高，B「研究者认为，原因就出在选择本身」承接，并自然引出后句引语「打字的人忙于全记，写的人必须取舍重点」。

37. E　上句说手写时大脑记忆与语言区域同时被点亮，E「缓慢而用力地书写每个字母，给了大脑额外加工信息的时间」解释机制，并引出下句「这有助于建立更牢固的联结」。

38. C　上句「这并不意味着打字不好」，C「事实上，科学家并没有让我们扔掉键盘」顺承，再由下句「长报告、小组项目和修改时键盘往往是更好的工具」具体展开。

39. D　上句建议「复习时先手写要点」，D「它让你慢下来——而这正是关键所在」承接，与后句「十分钟认真书写胜过一小时翻幻灯片」呼应。

40. F　上句讲十分钟手写对记忆的巩固作用，F「像这样的小习惯会在一个学期里悄悄累积」收束全段，引出结尾「考场上的你会感谢现在的自己」。

多余项：A（手写太慢无法记笔记）与全文立场相悖；G（老师仍收手写作业）与论述链条无关。

觉得有用点个【在看】，明天继续更～想看哪类题型，留言告诉我。