Many parents who welcome the idea of turning off the TV and spending more time w

       Manyparents who welcome the idea of turning off the TV and spending more time withthe family are still worried that without TV they would be too often on call asentertainers（娱乐者）for their children．Theyremember thinking up all sorts of things to do when they were children．But their own children seemdifferent, less good at finding things to pass the time, somehow．When there’s nothing to do,these parents notice regretfully that their children seem unable to come upwith anything to do besides turning on the TV．?

       Onefather, for example, says, “When I was young, we were always thinking up thingsto do, projects and games．We certainly never complained in an angry way to our parents, ‘Ihave nothing to do”．He compares this with his own children today: “They are simply lazy．If someone doesn’t play withthem, they’ll happily sit there watching TV all day．”

       Thereis one word for this father’s disappointment: unfair．It is as if he weredisappointed in them for not reading Greek though they have never studied thelanguage．He feelshis children’s lack of inventiveness a great pity, as if the ability to playwere something born that his children are missing．In fact, the tendency（倾向） to play is built into thehuman species, but the actual ability to play—to imagine, to invent in aplayful way, and the ability to gain satisfaction after successful effort fromit—these are skills that have to be learned and developed．

       Suchdisappointment, however, is not only unjust, it is also destructive（毁灭性的）．Sensing their parents’disappointment, children come to believe that they are, indeed, lackingsomething, and that this makes them less worthy of admiration and respect．Giving children the chance todevelop new things to enjoy themselves, to enrich their knowledge and experienceand discover the pleasure of doing things on their own is, on the other hand, away to help children develop a confident（自信）feeling about themselves as able and interesting people．

1.Many people thinkthat, instead of watching a lot of TV, their children should_______．

       A．think up things to enjoy themselves        B．find chances to talk withparents

       C．enjoy themselves outdoors                    D．sit silently studying Greek

2.Fathers oftenblame their children for not being able to play by themselves．This is unfair because________．

       A．they do not lack the ability to play

       B．they have not been given the opportunities tolearn and develop their ability

       C．the children are too young to do that

       D．the children are not really lazy, but there’snothing for them to do

3.When parents showcontinuous disappointment in their children, the children will________．

       A．be more disappointed

       B．refuse to learn new things

       C．discover the pleasures of doing things on theirown

       D．lose their confidence and respectability

4.What is theauthor’s main idea?

       A．Parents should give children more help on how tobe inventive．

       B．Turning off the TV will help us solve a lot offamily problems．

       C．It’s not right for parents and children to blame（抱怨） each other．

       D．Today’s children are becoming less able andindependent than before．

试题答案

【答案】

1.A

2.B

3.D

4.A