单选题 About eight million school-age children are home alone after school. These are the hours when the number of violent crimes peaks and when youths are most likely to experiment with alcohol, tobacco, and drugs. Many older children take care of themselves after school for an hour or two until a parent comes home, and research suggests that some of these children are more at risk of poor grades and risky behaviors.
Studies have been done to find out what helps to reduce these kinds of risky behaviors among youths. One study of Chicago neighborhoods showed that after-school programs resulted in less violence even in poor neighborhoods.
After-school programs can help to reduce crime and violence because they offer activities to children and youths during their out-of-school time. In addition to helping youths make use of after-school hours, after-school programs provide teens with opportunities to develop caring relationships with adults. Studies have found that high-quality relationships with parents and other adults, as well as good use of time, are very important for healthy development in youth.
After-school programs can also be used for teens who hang out at friends" houses and play basketball when a parent or other responsible adult is at home. The programs can also be helpful for formal after-school activities, including "drop-in" programs that are provided by organizations.
Despite the benefits of after-school programs, there are many reasons why some parents do not use them. Programs may be too expensive, of poor quality, or hard to join. Some older children and young teens may refuse to attend programs that seem like they are just child care. Parents may feel uncertain about how much freedom is proper for children and youths who are beyond the traditional child care years. However, research supports the effectiveness of these programs in protecting middle school and high school youths from risk and harm.

单选题 Which of the following is a benefit of after-school programs?

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[解析] 依据是第二段“Studies have been done to find out...resulted in less violence even in poor neighborhoods”。A选项中的“avoid(避免)”用在这里不准确，根据第二段内容课后活动只能减少并没有说彻底避免危险行为及暴力行为的产生，因此不选A。根据第三段第一句话“很多活动会安排给学生们在课后参加”，所以他们并不是on their own(独自一人的)，因此不选B。根据第三段第二句“...develop caring relationships with adults.”可知，并不是和同学之间，而是和成年人之间形成良好关系，因此不选C。

单选题 Why do many parents refuse to use after-school programs?

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[解析] 依据是最后一段的前两句话“...there are many reasons why some parents...or hard to join”，根据最后一段第三句“Some older children and young teens may refuse to attend programs that seem like they are just child care.”可以判断出，只是某些学生认为这样的活动类似于child care programs因此不喜欢，但并不是家长们拒绝课后活动项目的原因。因此不选A。根据最后一段第四句话可知，这些活动并不是不给孩子们任何自由，故不选B项。C选项和前面第二段所讲的“after-school programs resulted in less violence even in poor neighborhoods”矛盾，本身就不正确，更不是家长们拒绝课后活动的原因。