Dear Mom, Clear My Calendar

September is around the corner, and some of us are already complaining about summer’s end. But parents have a special reason to do so. The end of summer means the start of school. And these days, planning a young child’s schedule is a big challenge. The challenge is no longer finding activities to fill a child’s day; it is saying no to the hundreds of options available. Our mailbox is filled with brochures urging us to sign our kids up for classes from cooking to martial arts(武术).

Educators are themselves discouraged by the number of special classes that many children attend. In the name of “enrichment,” three-year-olds not only go to preschool in the morning but study French or gymnastics after lunch. One teacher tells of a four-year-old asking for help in the toilet before hurrying off to tennis. Another teacher says that children sometimes hold on to her at pickup time. What happened to unstructured time?

A generous explanation is that we enjoy giving children opportunities we never had. The truth however is that many parents have doubts about how much time they spend away from their families. And one way to reduce this guilt is to believe that time spent in these classes is somehow more beneficial to children than the time we know we should be giving them ourselves.

David Elkind, an expert on children, suggests that the 1960s gave birth to the belief that earlier is better. Parents hope that early music lessons, for example will build a child’s confidence. The truth, however, is that any time children are asked to do too much, too soon, they are at greater risk for feelings of failure.

A child’s time does not have to be planned to be meaningful. Remember the lazy days of summer? Some children sleep late and play with the kids across the street until it’s time to come home for dinner. However, with the majority of mothers working, fewer children enjoy that idle (空闲的) time now.

Come September, children across the country will finish a full day of kindergarten, only to attend an after-school program until 6 P.M., when a working mom or dad comes to take them home. That’s too much for a five-year old. Finances, of course, do limit some parents. But let’s be honest with ourselves – our own busy schedules, whatever they involve, are no excuse for burdening a young child’s.

1.The author holds that it’s a challenge to plan a schedule for a child mainly because _____.

A. a child’s schedule is too complex

B. activities suitable for kids are limited

C. parents are stuck in numerous choices

D. children always say no to parents’ advice

2.What the two teachers say in Paragraph 2 implies that _____.

A. children love to stay at school

B. they are popular with children

C. children dislike after-school classes

D. after-school classes are of poor quality

3.According to the author, what is the real reason for parents to send their children to after-school classes?

A. Parents want to make up for their own regrets.

B. After-school classes develop children’s potential.

C. Parents have doubt about their own ability to guide children.

D. After-school classes give parents an excuse for being absent.

4.Which of the following will the author probably agree with?

A. For children’s benefits, the earlier the better.

B. Children’s spare time should be carefully designed.

C. Idle time for children is becoming a thing of the past.

D. Parents should be forgiven if they have a good reason.,

Culture and Cuisine

The United States is known for jazz and blue jeans.But travel to Paris and ask your average French citizen about American cuisine (烹饪) and he’s likely to answer,“ McDonalds.” Ask the same thing of any American citizen on any American street and I’m afraid you’d get the same answer,or something close to it.

Hamburgers and hotdogs and fries are all fine,but with American malls and other outlets standardizing everything from clothing to food,the sad truth is that American cuisine is becoming more homogeneous―all the same―no matter where you live.True,many Americans are eating more varied foods these days,but these are largely the cuisines of immigrant groups,and they are quite likely to be affected by homogenization of American cuisine.

So what exactly is American cuisine? Well,to some extent it is a reflection of our melting pot culture,meaning that Europeans made huge contributions in the form of wheat,dairy products,pork,beef and poultry.But American cuisine also includes products that once were known only to the New World,including potatoes,corn,pumpkin,sweet potatoes,and peanuts.

The one region of the country where you still find all these things in daily use is the Deep South.The South lost the Civil War,but children of the southerners are winning the battle to preserve and advance their cooking traditions—and in this case one of the few cuisines can truly be called American,which is why we’re pleased to have Low Country cuisine in this issue of food creation.That’s right,grits and gravy are back in a big way in cities like Charleston and Savannah.Truth is,they never really left,but up until a decade ago Low Country cuisine was more common at home than in restaurants.

In fact,a large number of tourists now go to the lower Atlantic region in order to experience this extraordinary cuisine for themselves.Time will tell whether Low Country cuisine becomes popular in other regions of the country in the way that,say,Italian cuisine has,but it’s amazing and heartening to see one of our true cultural treasures enjoying renewed popularity in these increasingly homogeneous times.

1.According to the passage,American cuisine impresses people as being _______.

A.dull and changeless

B.rich and various

C.popular and delicious

D.disagreeable and unpleasant

2.It can be seen that the writer feels regretful that _______.

A.cuisines of other countries play a more important role in America

B.American cuisine has become increasingly lacking in variety

C.American cuisine tends to vary because of immigration

D.American cuisine is being changed by foreign cuisines

3.From the passage,we know that grits and gravy _______.

A.were cooked with new materials after the Civil War

B.are gaining popularity in the south of America

C.were more popular over ten years ago

D.are seldom served in restaurants

4.What’s the writer’s attitude towards the renewal of Low Country cuisine in America?

A.Concerned and cautious.

B.Hopeless and doubtful.

C.Positive and supportive.

D.Critical and disapproving.

It was a village in India. The people were poor. However, they were not unhappy. After all, their forefathers had lived in the same way for centuries.

Then one day, some visitors from the city arrived. They told the villagers there were some people elsewhere who liked to eat frog’s legs. However, they did not have enough frogs of their own, and so they wanted to buy frogs from other places.

This seemed like money for nothing. There were millions of frogs in the fields around, and they were no use to the villagers. All they had to do was catch them. Agreement was reached, and the children were sent into the fields to catch frogs. Every week a truck arrived to collect the catch and hand over the money. For the first time, the people were able to dream of a better future. But the dream didn’t last long.

The change was hardly noticed at first, but it seemed as if the crops were not doing so well. More worrying was that the children fell ill more often, and, there seemed to be more insects around lately.

The villagers decided that they couldn’t just wait to see the crops failing and the children getting weak. They would have to use the money earned to buy pesticides(杀虫剂) and medicines. Soon there was no money left.

Then the people realized what was happening. It was the frog. They hadn’t been useless. They had been doing an important job—eating insects. Now with so many frogs killed, the insects were increasing more rapidly. They were damaging the crops and spreading diseases.

Now, the people are still poor. But in the evenings they sit in the village square and listen to sounds of insects and frogs. These sounds of the night now have a much deeper meaning.

1.From paragraph 1 we learn that the villagers __________.

A. worked very hard for centuries

B. were poor but somewhat content (满足的)

C. dreamed of having a better life

D. lived a different life from their forefathers

2.Why did the villagers agree to sell frogs ?

A. The frogs were easy money.

B. They needed money to buy medicine.

C. They wanted to please the visitors.

D. The frogs made too much noise.

3.What might be the cause of the children’s sickness?

A. The crops didn't do well.

B. There were too many insects.

C .The visitors brought in diseases.

D. The pesticides were overused.

4.What can we infer推断 from the last sentence of the text ?

A. Happiness comes from peaceful life in the country.

B. Health is more important than money.

C. The harmony(和谐) between man and nature is important.

D. Good old days will never be forgotten.

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