LONDON — Life for Cathy Hagner and her three children is set to permanent(永久的) f
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LONDON — Life for Cathy Hagner and her three children is set to permanent(永久的) fast-forward.
Their full school day and her job as a lawyer"s assistant are busy enough. But Hanger also has to take the two boys to soccer or hockey or basketball while dropping off her daughter at piano lessons or Girl Scout Club.
Often, the exhausted family doesn"t get home until 7 pm. There is just time for a quick supper before homework. In today"s world, middle-class American and British parents treat their children as if they are competitors racing for some finishing line.
Parents take their children from activity to activity in order to make their future bright. It seems that raising a genius has become a more important goal than raising a happy and well-balanced child.
“Doctors across the country are reporting a growing number of children suffering from stomachaches and headaches due to exhaustion and stress,” says child expert William Doherty of the University of Minnesota.
Teachers are dealing with exhausted kids in the classroom. It"s a very serious problem. Many children attend after-school clubs by necessity. But competitive pressures also create an explosion of activities. They include sports, language, music and math classes for children as young as four.
“There is a new parenting trend(趋势) under way which says that you have to tap all your child’s potential(潜能) at a young age; otherwise you will let him down,” says Terry Apter, a Cambridge-based child and adolescent psychiatrist(青少年精神病专家).
“It isn"t entirely new: there have always been pushy parents. But what was previously(以前) seen as strange behaviour is now well accepted.”
小题1: From the second paragraph of this passage we can find that _______. | A．Hagner wastes much time helping her children"s lessons | | B．Hagner doesn"t spend much time on her full-time job | | C．Hagner is interested in sports and music | | D．Hagner busies herself by following a trend |
小题2:British parents, as the writer described in this passage, _______. | A．treat their children as sports players | | B．pay no attention to their children"s lessons | | C．bring up their children in a simple way | | D．give their children little time to develop freely |
小题3:The writer"s opinion about after-school clubs is that ________. | A．activities in the country are too competitive | | B．children should attend four clubs at a time | | C．some clubs result in competitive pressures | | D．clubs should have more subjects for school children |
小题4:The last paragraph tells us that in Britain _______. | A．parents used to take their children to every club | | B．parents used to be wise on how to raise children | | C．parents have all benefited from children’s clubs | | D．parents have come to know the standard of education |
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答案
小题1:D
小题2:D
小题3:C
小题4:B |
解析
现在的英、美中产家庭的父母亲让孩子们参加各种课外俱乐部，学习体育、语言、音乐、数学等，把孩子们变成了学习的机器。
小题1:语义理解题。因为第 2 段就是第 1 段内容的具体化。
小题2:判断题。从文章内容可以看出，在英国，孩子们在学校已经够累了，回到家里，父母亲还要他们参加课外俱乐部的一个又一个活动，孩子们自己发展的空间当然没有了。
小题3:判断题。第 6 段第 4 句话 But competitive pressures also create an explosion of activities 把俱乐部不好的作用讲得清楚明了。
小题4:判断题。从本段第 2 句话 But what was previously(以前) seen as strange behaviour is now well accepted 可以判断出，在英国，过去家长们是知道怎样教育孩子们的。
小题5:主旨题。通读全文可知答案。 |
举一反三
Since we are social beings, the quality of our lives depends in large measure on our interpersonal relationships. One strength of the human conditions is our possibility to give and receive support from one another under stressful(有压力的) conditions. Social support makes up of the exchange of resources among people based on their interpersonal ties. Those of us with strong support systems appear better able to deal with major life changes and daily problems. People with strong social ties live longer and have better health than those without such ties. Studies over types of illnesses, from depression to heart disease, show that the presence of social support helps people defend themselves against illness, and the absence of such support makes poor health more likely.
Social support cushions stress in a number of ways. First, friends, relatives and co-workers may let us know that they value us. Our self-respect is strengthened when we feel accepted by others in spite of our faults and difficulties. Second, other people often provide us with informational support. They help us to define and understand our problems and find solutions to them. Third, we typically find social companionship supportive. Taking part in free-time activities with others helps us to meet our social needs while at the same time distracting(转移注意力) us from our worries and troubles. Finally, other people may give us instrumental support — money aid, material resources, and needed services — that reduces stress by helping us resolve and deal with our problems.
小题1:Interpersonal relationships are important because they can _______.| A．make people live more easily | | B．smooth away daily problems | | C．deal with life changes | | D．cure types of illnesses |
小题2:The researches show that people"s physical and mental health _______.| A．lies in the social medical care systems which support them | | B．has much to do with the amount of support they get from others | | C．depends on their ability to deal with daily worries and troubles | | D．is related to their courage for dealing with major life changes |
小题3:Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined word “cushions” ?| A．takes place of | B．makes up of | | C．lessens the effect of | D．gets rid of |
小题4:Helping a sick neighbor with some repair work in spare time is an example of _______.| A．instrumental support | B．informational support | | C．social companionship | D．the strengthening of self-respect |
小题5:What is the subject discussed in the text?| A．Interpersonal relationships. | B．Kinds of social support. | | C．Ways to deal with stress. | D．Effects of stressful conditions. |
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Dear Hamilton,
We are fortunate that in such a large, high-pressure office we all get along so well. You are one of the people who keep the social temperature at such a comfortable setting. I don’t know anyone in the office who is better liked than you.
You can perhaps help with this. The collection of contributions towards gifts for employees’ personal-life events is becoming a little troubling. Certainly, the group sending of a gift is reasonable now and then. In the past month, however, there have been collections for two baby shower gifts, one wedding shower gift, two wedding gifts, one funeral（葬礼）remembrance, four birthday gifts, and three graduation gifts.
It’s not only the collected-from who are growing uncomfortable (and poor), but the collected-for feel uneasy receiving gifts from people who don’t know them outside the office, who wouldn’t even recognize their graduating children, their marrying daughters and sons, or their dead relatives.
This is basically a kind gesture (and one that people think well of you for), but the practice seems to have become too wide-ranging and feels improper in today’s office setting.
Thank you for understanding.
小题1:The underlined word “contributions” probably means ________.| A．money | B．suggestions | C．reports | D．understanding |
小题2:Hamilton is expected to _______.| A．show more kindness. | B．discontinue the present practice | | C．quit being the organizer for gift giving | D．know more about co-workers’ families |
小题3:This is basically a letter of ________.| A．apology | B．sympathy | C．appreciation | D．dissatisfaction |
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I arrived at my mother’s home for our Monday family dinner. The smells of food flew over from the kitchen. Mother was pulling out quilt(被子)after quilt from the boxes, proudly showing me their beauties. She was preparing for a quilt show at the Elmhurst Church. When we began to fold and put them back into the boxes, I noticed something at the bottom of one box. I pulled it out. “What is this?” I asked.
“Oh?” Mom said, “That’s Mama’s quilt.”
I spread the quilt. It looked at if a group of school children had pieced it together; irregular designs, childish pictures, a crooked line on the right.
“Grandmother made this?” I said, surprised. My grandmother was a master at making quilts. This certainly didn’t look like any of the quilts she had made.
“Yes, right before she died. I brought it home with me last year and made some changes,” she said. “I’m still working on it. See, this is what I’ve done so far.”
I looked at it more closely. She had made straight a crooked line. At the center of the quilt, she had stitched(缝) a piece of cloth with these words: “My mother made many quilts. She didn’t get all lines straight. But I think this is beautiful. I want to see it finished. Her last quilt.”
“Ooh, this is so nice, Mom,” I said. It occurred to me that by completing my grandmother’s quilt, my mother was honoring her own mother. I realized, too, that I held in my hands a family treasure. It started with the loving hands of one woman, and continued with the loving hands of another.
小题1:Why did the author go to mother’s home?| A．To see her mother’s quilts. | B．To help prepare for a show. | | C．To get together for the family dinner. | D．To discuss her grandmother’s life. |
小题2:The author was surprised because .| A．the quilt looked very strange. | B．her grandmother liked the quilt. | | C．the quilt was the best she had seen. | D．her mother had made some changes |
小题3: The underlined wood “crooked” in the passage most probably means .| A．unfinished | B．broken | C．bent | D．unusual |
小题4: Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?| A．A Quilt Show | B．Mother’s Home | C．A Monday Dinner | D．Grandmother’s Quilt |
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E
Almost every day we come across situations in which we have to make decisions one way or another. Choice, we are given to believe, is a right. But for a good many people in the world. In rich and poor countries, choice is a luxury, something wonderful but hard to get, not a right. And for those who think they are exercising their right to make choices, the whole system is merely an illusion, a false idea created by companies and advertiser, hoping to sell their products.
The endless choice gives birth to anxiety in people’s lives. Buying something as basic as a coffee pot is not exactly simple. Easy access to a wide range of everyday goods leads to a sense of powerlessness in many people, ending in the shopper giving up and walking away, or just buying an unsuitable item(商品) that is not really wanted. Recent studies in England have shown that many electrical goods bought in almost every family are not really needed. More difficult decision-making is then either avoided or trusted into the hands of the professionals, lifestyle instructors, or advisors.
It is not just the availability of the goods that is the problem, but the speed with which new types of products come on the market. Advances in design and production help quicken the process Products also need to have a short lifespan so that the public can be persuaded to replace them within a short time. The typical example is computers, which are almost out-of-date once they are bought. This indeed makes selection a problem. Gone are the days when one could just walk with case into a shop and buy one thing; no choice, no anxiety.
小题1: What does the author try to argue in Paragraph 1?| A．The exercise of rights is a luxury. | | B．The practice of choice is difficult. | | C．The right of choice is given but at a price. | | D．Choice and right exist at the same time. |
小题2: Why do more choices of goods give rise to anxiety?| A．Professionals find it hard to decide on a suitable product. | | B．People are likely to find themselves overcome by business persuasion. | | C．Shoppers may find themselves lost in the broad range of items. | | D．Companies and advertisers are often misleading about the rage of choice. |
小题3:By using computers as an example, the author wants to prove that .| A．advanced products meet the needs of people | | B．products of the latest design fold the market | | C．competitions are fierce in high-tech industry | | D．everyday goods need to be replaced often |
小题4: What is this passage mainly about?| A．The variety of choices in modern society. | | B．The opinions on people’s right in different countries | | C．The Problems about the availability of everyday goods. | | D．The helplessness in purchasing decisions |
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How to protect children Web fans from unsuitable material on-line while encouraging them to use the Internet has long been discussed in the U.S.
For some parents, the Internet can seem like a jungle, filled with danger for their children. But jungles contain wonders as well as dangers and with good guides, some education, and a few precautions(预防措施), the wilds of the Internet can be safely navigated(航行). “Kids have to be on-line. If we tell our kids they can’t have access(机会) to the Internet, we’re cutting them off from their future,” said an expert.
Most kids have started to use search engines. Many of them are great for finding tons of interesting Internet sites, and they can also locate places where you might not want your kids to go. There are search engines designed just for kids. A certain software contains only sites that have been selected as safe. The most popular way to limit access would be to use what is known as a “content screener(过滤器)”. But this can’t be wholly reliable(可靠), and the best thing parents can do is to talk to their kids and let them know what is OK or not OK to see or do on the Internet. Another way is that mum or dad is nearby when the child is surfing(浏览) the Internet.
A few other tips
●Don’t put the PC in a child’s room but keep it in an area where mum or dad can keep an eye on things. That also makes the Internet more of a family activity.
●Ask your child what he or she has been doing and about any friends they make on-line.
●Tell your child not to give on-line strangers personal information, especially like address and phone number.
●And tell your children never to talk to anyone they meet on-line over the phone, send them anything, accept anything from them or agree to meet with them unless you go along.
小题1:The passage is mainly about the subject of _______.| A．American children going on-line | B．Internet in America | | C．appreciating Internet | D．opposing children’s on-line |
小题2:The best way to protect children from improper material is _______.| A．to install(安装) a content screener on the computer | | B．to buy some search engines for the children | | C．to be nearby when they are surfing the Internet | | D．to talk to the children and persuade them to tell right from wrong |
小题3:Which of the following is right according to the passage?| A．Surfing the Internet is the best method of educating children. | | B．Children’s not having access to Internet may have effect on their progress. | | C．Using a content screener is most reliable for keeping children having access to Internet. | | D．Searching engines can help children to select materials fit for them. |
小题4:According to the passage, we can infer that _______.| A．soft wares fit for children want programming | | B．a child who is on-line is in danger | | C．Internet is a jungle full of danger | | D．Internet contains a lot of harmful sites |
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