阅读理解

Directions: There are 4 passages followed by some questions or unfinished statements, you should answer the questions or decide on the best choice on the Answer Sheet.

Passage 1

The ordinary family in colonial North America was primarily concerned with sheer physical survival and beyond that, its own economic prosperity. Thus, children were valued in terms of their productivity and they assumed the role of producer quite early. Until they fulfilled this role, their position, in the structure of the family was one of subordination, and their psychological need and capacities received little consideration.

As the society became more complex, the status of children in the family and in the society became more important. In the complex technological society that the United States has become, each member must fulfill a number of personal and occupational roles and be in constant contact with a great many other members. Consequently, viewing children as potentially acceptable and necessarily multifaceted member of society means that they are regarded more as people in their own right than as utilitarian organisms. This acceptance of children as equal participants in the contemporary family is reflected in the variety of statutes protecting the rights of children and in the social and public welfare programs devoted exclusively to their well-being.

This new view of children and the increasing contact between the members of society has also resulted in a surge of interest in child-rearing techniques. People today spend a considerable portion of their time conferring on the proper way to bring up children. It is now possible to influence the details of the socialization of another person’ s child by spreading the gospel of current and fashionable theories and methods of child rearing.

The socialization of the contemporary child in the United States is a two-way transaction between parent and child rather than a one-way parent-to-child training program. As a consequence, socializing children and living with them over a long period of time is for parents a mixture of pleasure, satisfaction, and problem.

单选题 Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A、 The Place of Children in United States Society
B、 The Children of Colonial North America
C、 The Development of Cultural Values
D、 The Child as a Utilitarian Organism.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】本文叙述了主要从殖民地时期到现在，孩子在家以及社会上地位的变化。

单选题 According to the author, children in colonial North America were mainly valued for their _____.

A、 academic achievements
B、 survival instincts
C、 physical characteristics
D、 productive roles

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】根据第一段第二句话“Thus, children were valued in terms of their productivity and they assumed the role of producer quite early. ” 因此，人们只看重儿童的生产能力，他们很早就担起了生产的重任。可知答案为D，生产的角色。

单选题 What can be inferred from the passage about formal schooling in colonial North America?

A、 Children were taught to learn from other children’ s success.
B、 Children were taught to be more productive.
C、 Schooling at that time was very undeveloped.
D、 Teachers and parents would pay much attention to the children’ s psychological needs.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】由第一段可知殖民地时期的家庭主要关心自己的生存能力和经济财产，孩子们只有在能够进行生产活动时才开始受到关注。可知孩子们的教育尤其是正式的学校教育并不重要。

单选题 Which of the following does the author mention as a cause of changes in the role of the child in the United States?

A、 An increase in technology.
B、 The growing complexity of the child’ s psychological needs.
C、 A decrease in the child’ s intellectual capacities.
D、 The growing number of single parent families.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】根据第二段第二句话“In the complex technological society that the United States has become, each member must fulfill a number of personal and occupational roles and be in constant contact with a great many other members. ” 可得出答案为A：科学技术的发展。而选项B， C和D 文中并未提及。

单选题 According to the passage parents have become increasingly interested in _____.

A、 their children’ s future occupations
B、 having smaller families
C、 adoptions programs for childless couples
D、 child-rearing techniques

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】根据倒数第二段的段首“…has also resulted in a surge of interest in child-rearing techniques” ，很容易得到正确答案为D项。