It’s true that high-school coding classes aren’t essential for learning computer science in college. Students without experience can catch up after a few introductory courses, said Tom Cortina, the assistant dean at Carnegie Mellon’s School of Computer Science.
However, Cortina said, early exposure is beneficial. When younger kids learn computer science, they learn that it’s not just a confusing, endless string of letters and numbers—but a tool to build apps, or create artwork, or test hypotheses. It’s not as hard for them to transform their thought processes as it is for older students. Breaking down problems into bite-sized chunks and using code to solve them becomes normal. Giving more children this training could increase the number of people interested in the field and help fill the jobs gap, Cortina said.
Students also benefit from learning something about coding before they get to college, where introductory computer-science classes are packed to the brim, which can drive the less-experienced or less-determined students away.
The Flatiron School, where people pay to learn programming, started as one of the many coding bootcamps that’s become popular for adults looking for a career change. The high-schoolers get the same curriculum, but “we try to gear lessons toward things they’re interested in,” said Victoria Friedman, an instructor. For instance, one of the apps the students are developing suggests movies based on your mood.
The students in the Flatiron class probably won’t drop out of high school and build the next Facebook. Programming languages have a quick turnover, so the “Ruby on Rails” language they learned may not even be relevant by the time they enter the job market. But the skills they learn—how to think logically through a problem and organize the results—apply to any coding language, said Deborah Seehorn, an education consultant for the state of North Carolina.
Indeed, the Flatiron students might not go into IT at all. But creating a future army of coders is not the sole purpose of the classes. These kids are going to be surrounded by computers—in their pockets, in their offices, in their homes—for the rest of their lives. The younger they learn how computers think, how to coax the machine into producing what they want—the earlier they learn that they have the power to do that—the better.
1.Cortina holds that early exposure to computer science makes it easier to _________.
A complete future job training
B remodel the way of thinking
C formulate logical hypotheses
D perfect artwork production
解析：选B。B 细节理解题。根据Cortina和early exposure定位到第二段，根据倒数第二、三句可知年龄较小的学生改变思维比年龄较大的学生更容易，早期接触计算机可以让他们学习将问题分解成小块，然后用代码解决问题。B符合原文，故选B。
2.In delivering lessons for high-schoolers, Flatiron has considered their _________.
A experience
B interest
C career prospects
D academic backgrounds
解析：选B。B 细节理解题。根据根据high-schoolers和Flatiron定位到第四段，根据第二句可知他们尽量使课程接近高中生们感兴趣的东西，故选B。
3.Deborah Seehorn believes that the skills learned at Flatiron will _________.
A help students learn other computer languages
B have to be upgraded when new technologies come
C need improving when students look for jobs
D enable students to make big quick money
解析：选A。A 推理判断题。根据skills和Flatiron定位到第五段，根据最后一句可知他们学到的技能（如何逻辑地思考问题并组织结果）适用于任何编程语言，即这种逻辑思维的技能有助于学生学习其他的编程语言，故选A。
4.According to the last paragraph, Flatiron students are expected to _________.
A bring forth innovative computer technologies
B stay longer in the information technology industry
C become better prepared for the digitalized world
D compete with a future army of programmers
解析：选C。C 细节理解题。根据最后一段可知，这些学生未来将被电脑包围，学习电脑如何思考将有助于他们未来更好的利用电子产品，C符合原文，故选C。
5.The word “coax” (Para.6) is closest in meaning to _________.
A persuade
B frighten
C misguide
D challenge
解析：选A。A 词义猜测题。根据最后一段最后一句可知how computers think（电脑如何思考）和how to coax the machine into producing...（……电脑生产他们想要的东西）是并列关系，都作learn的宾语，都是学生学习的内容。A更符合原文，故选A。
