While the factors driving the modern family are many and complex-from the explosion of technology to the influx(涌入) of mothers into the workforce-parental fear may be at the heart of today's rushed(匆忙的) approach to child-rearing(养育孩子), some experts say.
Parents fear everything from media exposure to violence to peer pressure, says Alan Mirabelli, executive director of Ottawa think tank. Perhaps most of all, there's the fear that their kids won't be equipped to compete in the future.
Some might argue that today's parents are micromanagers because, unlike those who raised families during the Depression and World War Ⅱ, they don't have enough real worries. But Mirabelli says it comes down to a different context and a different set of challenges.
He notes that while parents 25 or 30 years ago had the modest goals of providing their offspring with more than they had, the current driving force is the desperation to equip kids for a dog-eat-dog world.
They demand tougher schools, a heftier(容量更大的) curriculum and standardized testing to measure performance. Outside the school system, they fill in the gaps with tutoring, music lessons, art classes, gymnastics and hockey. For those who can't afford it,_there's the additional stress and fear that their kids don't stand a chance.
David Elkind, a renowned child psychologist and author of The Hurried Child, says hyper-parenting is a reaction to a world changing so fast and we have no idea how to prepare kids for it. Parents can't envision the society their kids will inhabit as adults, so they try to cover all the possibilities, cramming in as much as possible and operating on the principle that earlier is better. “This works against the notion of let children be children,”said David Elkind.
6. The biggest fear of parents is that their children________.
A. will change for the worse because of media influence
B. will get involved in violence
C. will fall behind in future competition
D. will compare themselves with peers
7. David Elkind holds the view that________.
A. parents should equip their kids for a changing world
B. parents shouldn't worry too much about their children
C. parents shouldn't destroy the childhood of their children
D. it's better for parents to foresee the future society
8. We can conclude from the text that________.
A. children today can't enjoy a real childhood
B. children today are better equipped for the future
C. parents today actually have no real worries
D. parents today face more challenges actually
9. What would be the BEST title for the text?
A. Modern family is becoming complex
B. The harm of rushed approach to child-rearing
C. How to equip children for the future
D. The parents are worried, so the children are hurried
10. The underlined word “it” in the fifth paragraph probably refers to________.
A. the tough education
B. a good environment
C. a colourful after-school activity
D. a rich and happy life
6. 解析:选C。细节理解题。文章第二段列举了当今父母的种种担心,但最担心的还是孩子不能应付未来的竞争。
7. 解析:选C。推理判断题。从文章最后一段可知,David Elkind 认为当今的父母不重视孩子的天性,他认为孩子应该享受童年的快乐。
8. 解析:选A。推理判断题。综合分析文章可知,父母的担心转化为孩子的压力,因此孩子无法享受童年的乐趣。
9. 解析:选D。主旨大意题。文章介绍父母由于内心的担心,因此给孩子很多的压力,使他们无法享受童年的乐趣,“父母担心,孩子忙碌”成为当今社会的独特现象,因此D项作为文章的标题最佳。
10. 解析:选A。词义猜测题。父母让孩子在学校接受严格的教育,课外又给他们安排各种活动,因此A项最能概括前面的内容。