单选题

In 1950s, there was a big wave of encouragement for science and math in American schools because _____.

A the Americans got scared because the Soviet students sent the first satellite into the outer space

B the Soviet children were better at science and math than American children were

C the Americans feared that their children would lag behind the Soviet children in the education of science and math

D the Americans hoped they could send a satellite into the space too

解析：
文章第一段第二句：在1957年，前苏联把第一颗卫星送上了太空，美国人害怕我们的学生在科学上落后于苏联孩子，所以那段时间学校上下掀起了鼓励学生学习科学和数学的高潮。A意为“苏联学生发射人造卫星上天一事把美国人吓坏了”，文章没有说发射人造卫星的是苏联学生。B意为“苏联孩子在科学和数学上要强于美国孩子”，这只是美国人的担心，并不是事实。D意为“美国人也希望他们能发射卫星”，与本题无关。