The more hours young children spend in child care, the more likely they are to turn out aggressive and disobedient by the time they are in kindergarten, according to the largest study of child care and development ever conducted. Researchers said this correlation(相关性) held true regardless of whether the children came from rich or poor homes, were looked after by a relative or at a center, and whether they were girls or boys.

What is uncertain, however, is whether the child care actually causes the problem or whether children likely to turn out aggressive happen to be those who spend more hours in child care. It also remains unclear whether reducing the amount of time in child care will reduce the risk that a child will turn into a mean person. What's more, quality child care is associated with increased skills in intellectual ability such as language and memory, leading some academics to suggest that child care turns out children who are "smart and naughty".

The government-sponsored research, which has tracked more than 1,300 children at 10 sites across the country since 1991, is bound to cause the debate over child care again: How should people balance work and family? And how should parents, especially mothers, resolve the demands that are placed on them to be both breadwinners and supermoms?

That debate was already on display at a new briefing yesterday, where researchers themselves had different opinions about the data and its implications(含义). "There is a constant relationship between time in care and problem behavior, especially those involving aggression and behavior," said Jay Belsky of Birkbeck College in London, one of the lead investigators of the study who has previously annoyed women's groups because of his criticisms of child care. "On behalf of fathers or mothers?" interrupted Sarah Friedman, a developmental psychologist at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and one of the other lead scientists on the study. "On behalf of parents and families," responded Belsky.

"NICHD is not willing to get into policy recommendations," said Friedman, contradicting her colleague. "There are other possibilities that can be entertained. Yes it is a quick solution—more hours in child care is associated with more problems. The easy solution is to cut the number of hours but that may have implications for the family that may not be beneficial for the development of the children in terms of economics." In an interview after the briefing, Friedman said that asking parents to work fewer hours and spend more time with their children usually meant a loss of family income, which adversely(不利地)affects children.

Scientists said that the study was highly reliable. But the researchers said they had no whether the behavioral difficulties persisted as the children moved to higher grades.

1.Children who spend more time in quality child care will ________.

A. develop greater ability in language

B. be easy to manage and less naughty

C. possess great risk-taking spirit

D. be greedy and mean to their classmates

2.What is still unknown about higher level of aggressiveness in kindergarten children?

A. Whether higher level of aggressiveness can be avoided with longer child care.

B. Where longer child care equally affects children from different families.

C. Whether aggressiveness is a direct result of longer child care.

D. Whether longer child care improves intellectual ability in children.

3.In the fifth paragraph the word "it" probably mean “________”.

A. NICHD is unwilling to give parents recomme ndations

B. NICHD is willing to give policy advice concerning child care

C. the number of hours in child care should be reduced significantly

D. parents should discipline the behavior of their children more strictly

It used to be a matter of fact when Peter Pan – a character from James Matthew Barrie’s 1911 book – said: “All children, except one, grow up.”

But this “fact” doesn’t seem to apply to today’s world anymore.

According to the NPD Group, a US market research company, sales of toys to adults in the UK increased by more than 20 percent in 2016, three times the pace of the children’s toy market itself. These toys ranged from puzzles and Lego building sets to vehicle models and action figures. And more than half of the sales came from millennials – people born between the 1980s and 2000s.

“Adults of the 21st century are channeling (疏导) their inner child, one toy at a time,” commented website Koreaboo. This is also why these adults are sometimes referred to as “kidults”.

According to Frederique Tutt, an analyst at NPD, the motivation of these grown-ups is to escape the stress of today’s fast-paced world. They are driven toward the more immediate pleasures brought by toys than those brought by, say, getting a promotion, which is far less easy to achieve.

“It reminds me of the playful side of life,” Rob Willner, a 25-year-old PhD student in the UK, told The Telegraph when talking about his love for Lego, which he said brings him both comfort and entertainment.

Despite this, some social scientists see the trend as disturbing. To Frank Furendi, a professor at the University of Kent in the UK, the fact that so many adults are pursuing “the thrills (刺激) of youth” is the evidence that “adulthood has got nothing attractive about it anymore”, he told The New York Times.u “That’s actually quite sad.”

But scientists are probably just worrying too much. According to Canadian comic book artist Todd McFarlane, collecting toys could simply be a way for people to express their individuality (个性).

“It’s just pop culture stuff. It’s stuff that says, ‘I like a little of this and I like a little of that’,” he told ABC News. “[It’s] no big deal.”

So now that over 100 years have passed since Peter Pan, perhaps it’s time to introduce a new “fact”, as stated in the tagline (品牌宣传词) of the UK fashion brand KIDULT: “Growing old is mandatory (强制性的), but growing up is optional.”

1.The author mentions Peter Pan in the text mainly to ______.

A. show the influence of the character on millennials

B. explore the similarities Peter Pan and millennials share

C. lead up to the trend of millennials’ love for toys

D. analyze what has made many millennials refuse to grow up

2.Why do many adults feel like collecting toys, according to Frederique Tutt?

A. They find it brings them both comfort and inspiration.

B. They consider it a way to relieve stress.

C. They want to make up for the pleasures they missed during childhood.

D. They usually don’t get along well in their lives and need an emotional outlet.

3.What can we conclude from the article about kidults?

A. They are well-known for their pursuit of independence and freedom.

B. Social scientists feel worried about them because they take nothing seriously.

C. In Todd McFarlane’s eyes, their interest in toys is a way to express their identity.

D. They refuse to make efforts to become promoted at work as they don’t want to grow up.

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