Question

Pushing children too hard is a really big social problem that seems to be getting worse．Now we have 6-month-olds in music classes and swimming classes．Parents fear that if other children are attending these classes，they will be holding their own children back if they do not enroll，too．

       The other extreme，simply taking a laissez-faire approach and letting children do—or refuse to do—whatever they want，is not the answer either，of course．

       Dr Taylor emphasizes that parents need to push their children based on what is best for the children，not what is best for themselves．If children understand that an activity is in their best interests，then they will accept it, he finds．

       Dr Taylor and other family experts remain pessimistic about the possibilities for widespread social change．“The force of our popular culture，driven by money and superficial（表面上的） values，cannot be resisted，” he says．But change can take place at a“micro-level,” in families and schools．

       When changes do occur，the rewards can benefit everyone in the family．One mother supporting this new approach toward parenting mentions the advantages her family experienced after her children cut back on activities．“The biggest thing is that since we have done this，we are rested,” she says．“Not only are our kids rested，because they're not in a ton of stuff, but my husband and I are rested，because we're not driving them everywhere．We weren’t living in the moment when we were always busy．We were living by the schedule．The return on our investment of spending time together has been enormous．”

1．One of the reasons why parents push children so hard is that they        ．

       A．believe in early development in children

       B．a(chǎn)re too busy to take care of their children

       C．don't want their children to lag behind

       D．want to repeat what their parents did to them

2．The phrase“a laissez-faire approach”（in Line 1，Paragraph 2）most probably refers to      ．

       A．denying them what they need

       B．controlling children in a flexible way

       C．developing a keen interest in children

       D．letting children do whatever they want

3．The best way to encourage children to work hard is           ．

       A．to make them believe it’s in their best interests

       B．to consider the matter from parents' standpoint

       C．to emphasize the importance of hard work from time to time

       D．to make it interesting and enjoyable to them

4．What the author doesn’t approve of in the essay is _______．

       A．a(chǎn)chieving a balance between pushing the children too hard and leaving them alone

       B．going from one extreme of pushing children too hard to the other of leaving them alone

       C．involving children in activity that will probably contribute to their development

       D．enrolling them in music and swimming classes at the very early age

Answer 1

CDAB