Directions: You are going to read a passage or passages with 10 statements attached to each. Each statement contains information given in one of the paragraphs. Identify the paragraph from which the information is derived. You may choose a paragraph more than once. Each paragraph is marked with a letter. Secrets of Straight-A Students A) Everyone knows about straight-A students. We see them frequently in TV sitcoms and in movies like Revenge of the Nerds. They get high grades, all right, but only by becoming dull grinds ( 书呆子), their noses always stuck in a book. They're not good at sports and stupid when it comes to the opposite . B) How, then, do we account for Domenica Roman or Paul Melendres? Roman is on the tennis team at Fairmont (West Virginia) Senior High School. She also sings in the choral ensemble, serves on the student council and is a member of the mathematics society. For two years she has maintained a 4.0 grade point average (GPA), meaning A's in every subject. Melendres, now a freshman at the University of New Mexico, was student-body president at Valley High School in Albuquerque. He played varsity soccer and junior varsity basketball, exhibited at the science fair, was chosen for the National Honor Society and National Association of Student Councils and did student commentaries on a local television station. Valedictorian (( 代表毕业生)致告别词的学生) of his class, he achieved a GPA of 4.4 — straight A's in his regular classes, plus bonus points for A's in two college-level honors courses. C) How do super-achievers like Roman and Melendres do it? Brains aren't the only answer. "Top grades don't always go to the brightest students," declares Herbert Walberg, professor of education at the University of Illinois at Chicago, who has conducted major studies of super-achieving students. "Knowing how to make the most of your innate abilities counts for more. Infinitely more." Hard work isn't the whole story, either. "It's not how long you sit there with the books open," said one of the straight-A students we interviewed. "It's what you do while you're sitting." Indeed, some of these students actually put in fewer hours of homework time than their lower-scoring classmates. D) The kids at the top of the class get there by ing a few basic techniques that others can readily learn. Here, according to education experts and students themselves, are the secrets of straight-A students. E) Top students stand no distraction on study time. Once the books are open or the computer is turned on, phone calls go unanswered, TV shows unwatched, snacks ignored. Study is business; business comes before recreation. Study anywhere — or everywhere. Claude Olney, a business professor assigned to tutor failing college athletes at Arizona State University, recalls a cross-country runner who worked out every day. Olney persuaded him to use the time to memorize biology terms. Another student posted a vocabulary list by the medicine cabinet. He learned a new word every day while brushing his teeth. Among the students we interviewed, study times were strictly a matter of personal preference. Some worked late at night when the house was quiet. Others awoke early. Still others studied as soon as they came home from school when the work was fresh in their minds. All agreed, however, on the need for consistency. F) In high school, McCray ran track, played rugby and was in the band and orchestra. "I was so busy, I couldn't waste time looking for a pencil or missing paper. I kept everything right where I could put my hands on it," he says. Paul Melendres maintains two folders — one for the day's assignments, another for papers completed and graded. Even students who don't have a private study area remain organized. A backpack or drawer keeps essential supplies together and cuts down on time-wasting searches. G) Learn how to read is very important. "The best class I ever took," says Christopher Campbell, who graduated from Moore (Oklahoma) High School last spring, "was speed reading. I not only increased my words per minute but also learned to look at a book's table of contents, graphs and pictures first. Then, when I began to read, I had a sense of the material, and I retained a lot more." In his book Getting Straight A's, Gordon W. Green, Jr., says the secret of good reading is to be "an active reader — one who continually asks questions that lead to a full understanding of the author's message". H) Have a schedule is also helpful. When a teacher assigns a long paper, Domenica Roman draws up a timetable, dividing the project into small pieces so it isn't so overwhelming. Melendres researches and outlines a report first, then tries to complete the writing in one long push over a weekend. "I like to get it down on paper early, so I have time to polish and review." I) "Reading the textbook is important," says Melendres, "but the teacher is going to test you on what he emphasized. That's what you find in your notes." The top students also take notes while reading the text assignment. In fact, David Cieri of Holy Cross High School in Delran, New Jersey, uses "my homemade" system in which he draws a line down the center of a notebook, writes notes from the text on one side and those from the teacher's lecture on the other. Then he is able to review both aspects of the assignment at once. Just before the bell rings, most students close their books, put away papers, whisper to friends and get ready to rush out. Anderson uses those few minutes to write a two- or three-sentence summary of the lesson's principal points, which she scans before the next day's class. J) Dozens of studies have shown that the most consistent indicators of student achievement — more than income or social status — are the home environment and parental involvement. The ultimate example: the demonstrable success of homeschooled students (there are now more than one million in the country). One recent Columbia University study found homeschoolers outscoring all other groups on college entrance exams. But homeschooled children aren't the only ones with involved parents. Academically successful kids in traditional public and charter schools also get lots of support at home. (1) Paragraph A Paragraph B Paragraph C Paragraph D Paragraph E Paragraph F Paragraph G Paragraph H Paragraph I Paragraph J Top students take down important points from both the books they learn and their teachers' lectures. (2) Paragraph A Paragraph B Paragraph C Paragraph D Paragraph E Paragraph F Paragraph G Paragraph H Paragraph I Paragraph J Top students are well-organized in life and study and they put everything in order to save time for study. (3) Paragraph A Paragraph B Paragraph C Paragraph D Paragraph E Paragraph F Paragraph G Paragraph H Paragraph I Paragraph J Students with high IQ may not necessarily be top learners. (4) Paragraph A Paragraph B Paragraph C Paragraph D Paragraph E Paragraph F Paragraph G Paragraph H Paragraph I Paragraph J Reading with questions can result in better understanding of the main idea of the material. (5) Paragraph A Paragraph B Paragraph C Paragraph D Paragraph E Paragraph F Paragraph G Paragraph H Paragraph I Paragraph J In fact, many straight-A students like Domenica Roman perform well in every aspect. (6) Paragraph A Paragraph B Paragraph C Paragraph D Paragraph E Paragraph F Paragraph G Paragraph H Paragraph I Paragraph J Top students make good use of some basic learning skills. (7) Paragraph A Paragraph B Paragraph C Paragraph D Paragraph E Paragraph F Paragraph G Paragraph H Paragraph I Paragraph J For top students, when to study is not important and what matters is their persistence in study. (8) Paragraph A Paragraph B Paragraph C Paragraph D Paragraph E Paragraph F Paragraph G Paragraph H Paragraph I Paragraph J Top students described by TV sitcoms or movies seem only good at study. (9) Paragraph A Paragraph B Paragraph C Paragraph D Paragraph E Paragraph F Paragraph G Paragraph H Paragraph I Paragraph J Top students often make a plan and timetable for what they do. (10) Paragraph A Paragraph B Paragraph C Paragraph D Paragraph E Paragraph F Paragraph G Paragraph H Paragraph I Paragraph J Family atmosphere and parents' support play a very important role in children's academic success.