6、      What would you think if you went back to school on Monday and there were no desks or chairs in your classroom?

       That’s what some fourth-and-fifth-graders at a school in Minnesota discovered earlier this year when they took part in a research project to see if changing their classrooms would make them more active.

       Researchers from the Mayo Clinic were concerned about reports that as many as half of American kids could be seriously overweight—or obese—by the year 2010. So they set up a different kind of classroom, which you might see in the future.

       Instead of desks, the Elton Hills elementary students had adjustable work stations where they could stand, kneel on mats or sit on big exercise balls. Students were given laptops and iPods that allowed them to move and learn at the same time.

       Sensors (傳感器) were attached to the kids’ legs to calculate how many calories students burned in their new set-up.

       Their typical school day was probably not anything like yours. One group of students downloaded an audio file (有聲文件) of their teacher reading a book; they listen to it while walking for exercise. Another group took a spelling test by listening to their iPods.

       Some students liked the freedom, but others missed the traditional classroom.

       “I don’t like standing up,” Mariah Natrious said. “My legs get tired, and I like sitting down.”

       So, did the experiment work? Researchers still are studying the data, but early results indicate that the kids did move around more in the new classroom.

      “It showed us that, given the opportunity to move, kids will move,” said researcher Lorraine Lanningham-Foster.

       That’s important because studies have shown that even simple movement—climbing stairs instead of taking an elevator, for example, or washing dishes by hand instead of loading the dishwasher—can be as important as formal exercises when it comes to controlling one’s weight.

1. The school in Minnesota carried out the research ___________.

       A. to punish the badly performed students

       B. to prevent children from being too fat

       C. to spare a lot of money for the state

       D. to meet the needs of different children

2. The newly designed classrooms are different from the traditional ones EXCEPT that_________.

       A. there were no desks and chairs

       B. the students can move and learn at the same time

       C. students in different groups are given different tasks

       D. teachers don’t necessarily instruct the students

3. According to Lorraine Lanningham-Foster, _________.

       A. the research got some expected results

       B. the experiment needs further changes

       C. not everyone liked the freedom of this new style

       D. the students should be taught without classrooms

4. What would be the best title for the passage?

       A. No Desks or Chairs in the Classroom

       B. New Classrooms in the Future

       C. School Takes a Stand against Obesity

       D. Washing Dishes by Hand in the Classroom