Few people would defend the Victorian attitude on children, but if you were a parent in those days, at least you knew where you stood: children were to be seen and not heard. Freud and his colleagues did away with all that and parents have been puzzled ever since. The child’s happiness is all- important, they say, but what about the parents’ happiness? Modern child-rearing manuals（抚养孩子手册）would never permit cruelty to children .The trouble is you are not allowed even to shout. Who knows what deep psychological(心理的)wounds you might cause? The poor child may never recover from the dreadful experience. So it is the parents that bend over backwards to avoid giving their children complex which a hundred years ago hadn’t even been heard of. Certainly, a child needs love, and a lot of it. But the excessive permissive(纵容) of modern parents is surely doing more harm than good.

     Psychologists(心理学家) have succeeded in weakening parents confidence in their own authority. And it hasn’t taken children long to get wind of the fact. In addition to the great modern classics on child care, there are countless articles in magazines and newspapers. With so much advice flying about, mum and dad just don’t know what to do any more. In the end, they do nothing at all. So, from early childhood, the kids are in charge and parents’ lives are regulated according to the needs of their kids. When the little dears develop into teenagers, they take complete control. Lack of authority over the years makes teenagers rebellion against parents all the more violent. If the young people are going to have a party, for example, parents are asked to leave the house. Their presence merely spoils the fun. What else can the poor parents do but obey?

The author says that today’s parents _______.

       A. are bombarded with excessive amounts of child-care literature.

       B. draw a distinction between permissiveness and carelessness.

       C. are only towards children from happy home backgrounds.

       D. weigh their children’s knowledge rather than intelligence.

The phrase “get wind of” (Para.2) most likely means _______ .

A. become used to                  B. try to avoid

C. realize                            D. become puzzled of

Which of the following can be inferred from this passage?

A. Victorian child rearing is a model for parents to follow.

B. Psychologists have much to answer for today’s problems on child care.

C. With the help of so much advice, raising children is easier than ever.

D. Parents like to enjoy the freedom when there is a party in the house.

What’s the main idea of this passage?

A. The excessive permissiveness of today’s parents is harmful to children.

B. Psychologists shouldn’t interfere so much with child care.

C. Parents should hold the Victorian attitudes towards children.

D. Children are too sensitive to be hurt.

Few people would defend the Victorian attitude on children, but if you were a parent in those days, at least you knew where you stood: children were to be seen and not heard. Freud and his colleagues did away with all that and parents have been puzzled ever since. The child’s happiness is all- important, they say, but what about the parents’ happiness? Modern child-rearing manuals（抚养孩子手册）would never permit cruelty to children .The trouble is you are not allowed even to shout. Who knows what deep psychological(心理的)wounds you might cause? The poor child may never recover from the dreadful experience. So it is the parents that bend over backwards to avoid giving their children complex which a hundred years ago hadn’t even been heard of. Certainly, a child needs love, and a lot of it. But the excessive permissive(纵容) of modern parents is surely doing more harm than good.
Psychologists(心理学家) have succeeded in weakening parents confidence in their own authority. And it hasn’t taken children long to get wind of the fact. In addition to the great modern classics on child care, there are countless articles in magazines and newspapers. With so much advice flying about, mum and dad just don’t know what to do any more. In the end, they do nothing at all. So, from early childhood, the kids are in charge and parents’ lives are regulated according to the needs of their kids. When the little dears develop into teenagers, they take complete control. Lack of authority over the years makes teenagers rebellion against parents all the more violent. If the young people are going to have a party, for example, parents are asked to leave the house. Their presence merely spoils the fun. What else can the poor parents do but obey?

1. 1.

   The author says that today’s parents _______.

   1. A.
      are bombarded with excessive amounts of child-care literature.
   2. B.
      draw a distinction between permissiveness and carelessness.
   3. C.
      are only towards children from happy home backgrounds.
   4. D.
      weigh their children’s knowledge rather than intelligence.
2. 2.

   The phrase “get wind of” (Para.2) most likely means _______ .

   1. A.
      become used to
   2. B.
      try to avoid
   3. C.
      realize
   4. D.
      become puzzled of
3. 3.

   Which of the following can be inferred from this passage?

   1. A.
      Victorian child rearing is a model for parents to follow.
   2. B.
      Psychologists have much to answer for today’s problems on child care.
   3. C.
      With the help of so much advice, raising children is easier than ever.
   4. D.
      Parents like to enjoy the freedom when there is a party in the house.
4. 4.

   What’s the main idea of this passage?

   1. A.
      The excessive permissiveness of today’s parents is harmful to children.
   2. B.
      Psychologists shouldn’t interfere so much with child care.
   3. C.
      Parents should hold the Victorian attitudes towards children.
   4. D.
      Children are too sensitive to be hurt.

Please write a letter to the mayor of Capital．Suppose you are Li Ming, a senior school student．You have watched the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, and are interested in becoming a volunteer for 2008 Beijing Olympic Games．Write a letter in about 120-150 words following the outline given below in Chinese．

1．为北京2008年奥运会的筹备提出建议

2．表达你想成为志愿者的愿望。

A Letter to the Mayor of Capital

When I was learning calligraphy my teacher told me a story.

A calligrapher taught handwriting. One of his students who often practised handwriting with old sheets of newspapers complained that he made very little progress though he had learned it with the calligrapher for a long time. His teacher said to him, “Try to use the best paper. Maybe you’ll write better. ”

　The student did as he was told. It really worked. He made headway not long afterwards and felt curious. He asked his teacher about the reason. The calligrapher answered, “When you used old newspapers to practice handwriting，you would think you were writing a draft（草稿）.  It didn’t matter if you wrote badly as old newspapers were plenty in supply. In that case you wouldn’t pay much attention to it. Now you use the best paper you’ll treasure it. Each time you write you feel strongly about the rarity (稀少) of chances and you’ll devote to it with all your heart and soul; you’ll do the handwriting much more attentively than otherwise practising it. Of course you’ve made rapid progress.”

Indeed，we spend our ordinary days just as they are worthless “old newspapers”. We don’t care if we scrawl and waste them, thinking that they will come endlessly --- those “old newspapers” are inexhaustible. In such a mood we may each day pass by opportunities but fail to catch any of them.

Life is not a military exercise but an actual war in which real weapons are used. In everyday life there’s no chance for us to draw a draft. That’s because what we call “draft” actually is the answer sheet we write that cannot be changed. Every day of our life is something new. Let us take every day as a sheet of best paper.

1.The calligrapher in the story told the student to write on the best paper because he thought _______.

A．the student would practice more carefully on the best paper

B．it was comfortable to write on the bet paper

C．the student had enough money to buy the best paper.

D．the student could write more on the best paper.

2.The student didn’t make much progress at first because _________.

A．he regarded his writing on old newspaper just as a draft

B．he was too poor to buy better paper to write

C．he didn’t follow his teacher’s advice

D．he was not used to the calligrapher’s teaching manner

3.We learn from the passage that _________.

A．the student finally gave up

B．the student made rapid progress by persisting more carefully

C．the calligrapher was strict with his students

D．old newspaper is not useful

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.

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