Perhaps a parent’s most important contribution toward raising a trustful child is to develop a relationship founded on trust. A child of any age will feel proud and grown-up if parents frequently show their trust. In court a defendant(被告) is innocent until proved guilty. But in the family, a teenager “defendant” is too often assumed guilty.

Even when the child is caught in a complete lie, this should not be the end of trust. A parent can tell a child that a single lie is forgivable. Yet it should be clear that if lies continue, the child, like the boy who cried wolf, will suffer loss of trust.

When my wife and I discovered that our son Tom, then 13, had lied about throwing a party while we were away, we grounded him for a month. We also told Tom that we could no longer trust him, and we could not allow him to stay alone overnight again. This loss of freedom was an important lesson; he learned how hard it is to live with people when they don’t trust him. As a result, now more than three years later we can again trust Tom to stay alone overnight.

Parents must always remember there is no easy answer to this universal problem of lying. We can set a good example, allow for privacy, monitor friendship, develop trust and punish wrong doing, but still we discover our child has lied to us. Finally that’s why there is a need for trust on both sides of a parent-child relationship. Lying destroys closeness and friendship. For that reason, parents should always try to give a child the feeling that they can be trusted with the truth. Parents may start with a child’s trust, but as the child grows older, parents must earn it.

When the writer and his wife discovered that their son had lied, they _________.

A. took all his freedom from him

B. decided never to trust him again

C. forbade him to stay alone overnight

D. arranged him to stay at home.

We can infer from the passage that very often ________.

A. parents don’t trust their child as they should

B. defendants are usually proved not guilty in court

C. parents have too much trust in their child

D. some children are founded guilty in court

According to the passage, the writer believes that _____________.

A. parents shouldn’t punish their children even if they lie

B. it is not easy to deal with the problem of lying as parents

C. there are effective ways to prevent children from lying

D. children will stop telling lies as they grow up

Little Robby, our neighbour’s nephew, carefully drew some water into a bowl and started for the door. How I hated this water rationing (定量供应). We were forced to bathe in the deep little pond we shared with Jessie, our cow. Wells were dry, and crops transformed to dust.

I watched Robby sitting down onto the steps to my house. Bees buzzed circling his hair, and he buzzed with them. I remembered his aunt’s words: I don’t know what I was thinking when I took him in. The crash killed my sister, and he wasn’t hurt, but he can’t talk. He’s in a world of all his own.

Why couldn’t she see the wonderful gifts this boy possessed? He was blessed with a loving nature and a deep admiration for all living things, and I knew he could talk to animals. My heart ached for Robby, who was to stay with us for the summer, and had already been the dearest part of our world, eagerly tending the garden with me and my husband, Tom.

On a string around Robby’s neck hung a whistle, in case he was ever lost or in danger. After all, he could not call out for help. But he knew perfectly well that the whistle was not a toy. Blowing on it would bring us both running. I had told him the story of the boy who cried wolf, and I knew he understood me.

I sighed as I cleared up the last supper dish. Every ounce of recycled water was saved for a tiny vegetable garden Robby had planted. Tom turned to me. “You know, honey, I’ve been thinking about...”

Before he could continue, a scream from the yard made us jump. My God! It’s Robby’s whistle! When we reached him, he was pointing excitedly to the sky. Looking up, we saw the most magnificent sight: Rain Clouds! “Robby! Quick! We need all the pots and pans!”

Robby raced with me to the house. A drop of water fell on my pot and then another. Soon the yard was enveloped in soaking, glorious rain. We all stood with faces held upward to feel the comfort of it. Tom picked up Robby and danced about the pots, shouting and whooping, “Rain for Robby!” Tom swung about to show me Robby’s face: he was laughing right out loud, “W-W-Wobby’s!” “Wobby’s … wain … Mom,” giggling(咯咯地笑), and stretching out one tiny hand in the shape of a cup to catch the rain.

I hugged them both, tears of joy mixing with the rain.

1.The underlined phrase “the wonderful gifts” in the 3rd paragraph refers to Robby’s ______.

A.love for nature and all living things

B.kindness to help others around

C.independence since his childhood

D.readiness to accept what happened to him

2.It was because ______ that the author and her husband would run on hearing the whistle.

A.it was going to rain

B.Robby often surprised us with his whistle

C.something bad might happen to Robby.

D.Robby might find something special

3.What can we learn from the passage?

A.Robby was old enough, but still couldn’t speak.

B.Robby’s aunt regretted bringing Robby home.

C.Robby didn’t accept the author and Tom as his parents.

D.Robby happened to find the rain cloud and was terrified.

4.It can be concluded from the passage that ______.

A.we should show mercy for the disabled children

B.every child has his own talent however young he is

C.children from poor families take responsibilities earlier

D.children’s sensitive hearts are worthy to be taken care of

 

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