Everyone remembers the whitewashing scene in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. But how many recall the scene that precedes it? Having escaped from Aunt Polly, Tom is teaching himself to whistle when he spies a 'newcomer' in his village—a newcomer with 'a citified air.' They quarrel and wrestle in the dirt. Tom wins the battle but returns home late and is thus commanded to whitewash the famous fence.
After this incident, the reader's sympathies are meant to lie with Tom. But imagine how a boy like Tom Sawyer would be regarded today. As far as I can tell, that fight is not just 'inappropriate behavior,' to use current educational terminology (术语), but is also one of the many symptoms of 'oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) ,' a condition that Tom manifests throughout the book. And Tom is not merely ODD: He clearly has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as well, judging by his inability to concentrate in school.
In fact, Tom manifests many disturbing behaviors. He blames his half-brother for his poor decisions, demonstrating an inability to take responsibility for his actions. He provokes his peers, often using aggression. He deliberately ignores rules and demonstrates defiance toward adults. He is frequently dishonest, at one point even pretending to be dead. Worst of all, he skips school—a behavior that might, in our time, lead him to be diagnosed with conduct disorder.
I am not being entirely sarcastic here: I have reread 'Tom Sawyer' several times in recent years, precisely because Twain draws such fascinating portraits of children whose behavior is familiar, even if we now describe it differently. As a mother of boys, I find this weirdly reassuring: Although ADHD and ODD are often dismissed as recently 'invented' disorders, they describe personality types and traits that have always existed. A certain kind of boy has always had trouble paying attention in school.
But if the behavior or actions of the children and the parents are familiar, the society surrounding them is not. Tom Sawyer turns out fine in the end. In 19th-century Missouri, there were still many opportunities for impulsive kids who were bored and fidgety (坐立不安的) in school: The very qualities that made him so tiresome—curiosity, hyperactivity, recklessness—are precisely the ones that get him the girl, win him the treasure and make him a hero.
Nothing like that is available to children who don't fit in today. Instead of striking out into the wilderness, they get sent to psychologists and prescribed medication—if they are lucky enough to have parents who can afford that sort of thing. Every effort will be made to help them pay attention, listen to the teacher, stop picking fights in the playground. Nowadays, there aren't any other options.
Tom Sawyer's behavior makes him in current educational terminology ______.
细节辨认题。根据题干中的current educational terminology定位到第二段第三句。文章第二段用小说中汤姆打架的事例引申到现代教育。定位句指出，如果用现代教育学的术语来描述，那么汤姆不仅是行为不当，甚至还患有对立违抗性障碍。因此，答案为B。
From what can we conclude that Tom Sawyer is a child of conduct disorder? ______
细节辨认题。根据题干中的conduct disorder定位到第三段最后一句。第三段一一列举了汤姆身上让人不安的性格特点，如不为自己的决定承担责任、挑衅滋事、不服管理、不够诚实等。定位句提到，最糟的是他居然逃学，如果是在现在，他可能会被确诊为患有品行障碍。因此，答案为B。
How did the author feel when she reread The Adventures of Tom Sawyer? ______
细节辨认题。根据题干中的the author和reread定位到第四段前两句，并最终定位到第二句。作者在第四段分析了自己多次重读《汤姆·索亚历险记》的感受：莫名其妙地觉得宽慰。回到现实生活中，她发现注意缺陷障碍(ADHD)和对立违抗性障碍(ODD)早就存在，因此她莫名其妙地觉得宽慰。因此，答案为D。
What may happen to a kid like Tom Sawyer in contemporary society? ______
细节辨认题。根据题干中的contemporary society定位到最后一段。定位段指出，虽然汤姆·索亚在书中的结局非常圆满，但现在的孩子显然不会拥有这样的待遇，他们不能出去闯荡世界，而会被父母送到心理医生那里接受诊疗并服药。因此，答案为C。
The passage is mainly about ______.
主旨大意题。本题考查文章的主要内容，应重点通读第一段和最后一段内容。本文第一段以小说人物汤姆·索亚的经历引出现代孩子的行为问题。最后一段着重分析这类孩子在现代社会会有怎样不同的遭遇，因此答案为B。