About six years ago I was eating lunch in a restaurant in New York City when a w

Aboutsix years ago I was eating lunch in a restaurant in New York City when a womanand a young boy sat down at the next table, I couldn’t help overhearing partsof their conversation. At one point the woman asked, “So, how have you been?”And the boy — who could not have been more than seven or eight years old —replied. “Frankly, I’ve been feeling a little depressed lately.”

       Thisincident stuck in my mind because it confirmed (确认) my growing belief that children are changing.As far as I can remember, my friends and I didn’t find out we were “depressed”,that is, in low spirits, until we were in high school.

      Undoubtedly a change in children has increased steadily in recent years.Children don’t seem childlike anymore. Children speak more like adults, dressmore like adults and behave more like adults than they used to.

      Whether this is good or bad is difficult to say, but it certainly is different.Childhood as it once was no longer exists. Why?

       Humandevelopment is depended not only on born biological states, but also onpatterns of gaining social knowledge. Movement from one social role to anotherusually involves learning the secrets of the new social positions. Childrenhave always been taught adult secrets, but slowly and in stages; traditionally,we tell sixth graders things we keep hidden from fifth graders.

       In thelast 30 years, however, a secret-revelation (揭示) machine has been equipped in 98 percent ofAmerican homes. It is called television. Television passes information to allviewers alike, whether they are children or adults. Unable to resist thetemptation (诱惑) ,many children turn their attention from printed texts to the less challenging, moreattractive moving pictures.

      Communication through print, as a matter of fact, allows for a great deal ofcontrol over the social information which children will gain. Children mustread simple books before they can read complex materials.

1.According to the author, feeling depressed is________.

       A．a sure sign of a mental problemin a child

       B．a mental state present in allhumans, including children

       C．something that cannot beavoided in children’s mental development

       D．something hardly to be expectedin a young child

2.Traditionally, a child is supposed to learn aboutthe adult world _________.

       A．through connection with society

       B．gradually and under guidance

       C．naturally without being taught

       D．through watching television

3.According to the author, that today’s childrenseem adultlike results from ______.

       A．the widespread influence oftelevision

       B．the poor arrangement ofteaching content

       C．the fast pace of human scientificdevelopment

       D．the rising standard of living

4.What does the author think of communicationthrough print for children?

       A．It enables children to gainmore social information.

       B．It develops children’s interestin reading and writing.

       C．It helps children to read andwrite well.

       D．It can control what childrenare to learn.

试题答案

【答案】

1.D

2.B

3.A

4.D

【解析】略