A few years ago，I stood in a small classroom，watching a high schooler named Serena Stevenson answer math questions.An instructor read out numbers-7447，7089，9842-and Stevenson added them in her head.For each question，she closed her eyes，and then the fingers of her right hand began to move.She answered most of the problems correctly.
   The key to her success was an ancient technology called the abacus（算盤）.For much of that evening，Stevenson used a practice called "mental abacus"，imagining the abacus in her mind and then using her fingers to work through the problem.
   From watching Stevenson，I knew that gaining skills on the abacus was more than a matter of counting beads（珠子），so I decided to sign up for an abacus course with my two daughters to see if we could also improve our math skills.I was one of the many who held some math doubts and I felt a touch of fear of math.My typical solution was simple-just escape，and if I had to calculate something like percentage change，I would go online.
   Then after a few abacus classes-and a lot of practice-math seemed a little less frightening.I hadn't become Euclid.But the practice brought my numerical fears down a level.This is long-demonstrated power of the abacus.Confidence grows easily on the device，and abacus students are less likely to be nervous about an upcoming math test，according to one study.Part of the reason，it seems，is practice and results appear to move in step，with hard work about performance.
   My kids had gained some math confidence as well.My youngest daughter would smile broadly after getting math problem correct，while my older child brought her abacus to school to show to her classmates and teachers.These were small successes.But that's how they eventually develop confidence.

（1）What is the main purpose of the first paragraph？

B

B

A．To prove the difficulty of math.
B．To introduce the topic of the abacus.
C．To suggest teaching abacus in schools.
D．To tell an interesting story of Stevenson.
（2）What can we infer about the writer from paragraph 3？

A

A

A．He was not good at math.
B．He had no interest in the abacus.
C．He considered math really useful.
D．He learned mental abacus from Stevenson.
（3）What does the writer realize from his learning experience？

B

B

A．All roads lead to Rome.
B．Practice makes perfect.
C．Many hands make light work.
D．He who laughs last laughs best.
（4）What does the underlined word "eventually" in the last paragraph probably mean？

A

A

A．Finally.
B．Thoroughly.
C．Flexibly.
D．Slightly.