题目内容：

Over the past decade, an increasing stress has been placed on the importance ofScience, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) related classes in primary,middle and high school education in the U􀆰 S. The reason for this direction is well founded:research and test scores from the 1980s and 1990s showed that our students had fallen behindtheir international peers in all of these subject areas. Education officials, teachers andparents all felt that the situation needed to be changed, and quickly. However, in the rushto play catch⁃up in STEM⁃related areas, there's one important aspect that is beingneglected (忽略): the Fine and Performing Arts, particularly drama.It's long been understood that a study of drama at the primary, middle and high schoollevel helps students improve in many areas, such as self⁃confidence, self⁃expression,communication skills, teamwork, and imagination. Most educators and parents agree thatall of these are important for students to develop at any age, but it is difficult for the sameparents and teachers to prioritize (优先安排) study time and classroom time to a subject likedrama over subjects like Math, Physics or Computer Science. It's even more difficult forpolicy makers and school officials to channel funds (资金) towards classes like drama,when the skills arts subjects develop are considered “soft skills.” When the modern world iscalling out for “hard” skills, like those needed to succeed in the tech⁃driven 21st century,how can they possibly prove it is reasonable to spend their funds that are becoming smallerand smaller on anything but STEM subjects?The short answer to the question “why spend time and money on drama?” is that dramaeducation has been scientifically proven to improve students' achievement, especially incommunication skills that are very important to a STEM education. As we develop studentswith highly refined skills in STEM subjects, it's equally important that we train the teachersthat will support continued growth in these areas. An active, communicative teacher is thebest way to get students on board in the study of STEM subjects, which can be unbearablydry. The best way to develop active communication skills? Drama. The next area in whichthe communication skills can be developed is publication and conference presentation.Drama improves students' public speaking skills necessary for STEM students to effectivelypresent papers in conferences and their writing skills necessary to publish papers. It's alsovery important for students to be able to work well with one another. In the real STEMworld, almost all scientific work happens in teams. Without the “ soft ” people skillsnecessary to navigate (导航) all of these interactions, no matter how technologically skilledone becomes, he or she will be at a disadvantage without the ability to communicate andwork in teams.While the nationwide trend (趋势) to focus on playing catch⁃up in STEM education isreasonable, practical, and absolutely necessary, it's important not to forget the huge effectarts, specifically drama education, have on the overall education of our children. Thequestion parents, educators, and policy makers should be asking themselves is not “can weafford to support arts education in schools?” but rather “can we afford not to?”

1.Why did Americans start to stress STEM related classes?

A. Because the world has moved into a tech⁃driven century.

B. Because STEM classes have long been neglected in America.

C. Because education officials prefer STEM classes to art classes.

D. Because US students are expected to be at an advantage in these areas.

2.The word “channel” in Paragraph 2 probably mean “     ”.

A. afford B. direct C. create D. raise

3.The third paragraph is mainly about     .

A. the benefits of drama education

B. the importance of STEM learning

C. the abilities needed for STEM learning

D. the reasons to improve drama education

4.The writer probably agrees that     .

A. drama is more important than STEM classes

B. drama education has been the nationwide trend

C. the result of neglecting drama education is hard to bear

D. American students have made progress in playing catch⁃up