challenge /'tʃælindʒ/ n．　　　　 　 挑战，考验

participate /pɑː'tIsIpeIt/ vi.　　 　　参加，参与

10．The new approach toward parenting mentioned in the passage most likely refers to ________.

A．relieving children's hard work and unnecessary activities

B．resisting the superficial values of pop culture

C．reducing more activities off their school schedule

D．spending more time with their children

解析：推理判断题。第五段的after her children cut back on activities和The return on our investment of spending time together has been enormous说明，适当让孩子少参加一些没必要的活动可以让孩子和家长受益颇多。

答案：A

9．What the author doesn't approve of in the essay is ________.

A．achieving a balance between pushing children too hard and leaving them alone

B．going from one extreme of pushing children too hard to the other of leaving them alone

C．involving children in activities that will probably contribute to their development

D．enrolling them in classes that are best for children

解析：细节理解题。作者对于家长的两种极端做法都不赞成。

答案：B

8．The best way to encourage children to work hard is ________.

A．to make them believe it's in their best interests

B．to consider the matter from parents' standpoint

C．to emphasize the importance of hard work from time to time

D．to make it interesting and enjoyable to them

解析：细节理解题。依据第三段最后一句可知，要让孩子知道，活动对他们有好处，他们才会自愿参与。

答案：A

7．The phrase“a laissez­faire approach”(in Paragraph 2)most probably refers to ________.

A．denying them what they need

B．controlling children in a flexible way

C．developing a keen interest in children

D．letting children do whatever they want

解析：词义猜测题。The other extreme在这里表示一些家长教育孩子的另一个极端，前面第一段讲了对孩子强烈干预，那么这里表示放手不管。

答案：D

One mother supporting this new approach toward parenting mentions the advantages her family experienced after her children cut back on activities.

句中supporting...短语作后置定语修饰one mother；her family experienced为定语从句，修饰先行词advantages.

句意：一位支持教育孩子新思路的母亲提到了在她的孩子减少了课外活动之后她的家人感受到的好处。

语篇解读：本文提出了家长教育孩子的两个极端--一是太过严格，一是太过放任。作者认为二者皆不可取，家长应找到平衡点。

6．One of the reasons why parents push children so hard is that they ________.

A．believe in early development in children

B．are too busy to take care of their children

C．don't want their children to lag behind

D．want to repeat what their parents did to them

解析：推理判断题。依据第一段中的they will be holding their own children back if they do not enroll too表明一些家长担心不让孩子参加活动会落后。

答案：C

hold back　阻碍，使……落后

cut back on　 缩减，减少

enroll /In'rəʊl/ v．　　　　　　 注册，登记

emphasize /'emfəsaIz/ vt. 　　　　　　　强调；着重

pessimistic / pesI'mIstIk/ adj. 　　　　　悲观的

5．The writer wants to tell us that ________.

A．there are some good ways to practice handwriting

B．life is like old newspaper

C．we should learn from the student in the story

D．life will not give us a chance to draw a draft

解析：主旨大意题。从倒数第二段的最后两句可知生活就像练书法，不会给我们打草稿的机会。只有珍惜和认真，才会取得成功。

答案：D

B

词数 　251 　　　难度系数 　　★★　　 　建议用时 6′

(2011·绵阳模拟)Pushing children too hard is a really big social problem that seems to be getting worse.Now we have 6­month­olds in music classes and swimming classes.Parents fear that if other children are attending these classes，they will be holding their own children back if they do not enroll，too.

The other extreme，simply taking a_laissez­faire_approach and letting children do-or refuse to do-whatever they want，is not the answer either，of course.

Dr Taylor emphasizes that parents need to push their children based on what is best for children，not what is best for themselves.If children understand that an activity is in their best interests，then they will accept it，he finds.

Dr Taylor and other family experts remain pessimistic about the possibilities for widespread social change.“The force of our popular culture，driven by money and superficial(表面上的)values，cannot be resisted，”he says.But change can take place at a“micro­level”，in families and schools.

When change does occur，the rewards can benefit everyone in the family.One mother supporting this new approach toward parenting mentions the advantages her family experienced after her children cut back on activities.“The biggest thing is that since we have done this，we are rested，”she says.“Not only are our kids rested，because they're not in a ton of stuff，but my husband and I are rested，because we're not driving them everywhere.We weren't living in the moment when we were always busy.We were living by the schedule.The return on our investment of spending time together has been enormous.”

4．Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A．What teachers say is always true.

B．Success calls for attentiveness.

C．Handwriting is easy to practice.

D．New things are always better than old ones.

解析：细节理解题。综合全文及第四段的最后一句和第五段的最后两句可知要把每一个机会当作用最好的纸练书法一样珍惜，即只有更认真，才会取得成功。

答案：B