Question

    Praise is like frosting(糖衣) on a cake. A little makes it taste better and too much will ruin everything. Kids need your encouragement and love it when you recognize their achievements. Just don't ruin their trust by leading them to believe every little thing they do is worthy of big cheers. When they grow up,they will find that they can't be accepted by society and probably think it is you who are making them so needy of praise.

     Recently,I had the opportunity to observe a family,5-year-old Joshua and his parents,in action. They had arrived at my office about 15 minutes early,and having returned from lunch with a few minutes to spare,I was chatting with my secretary in the waiting room. As I was collecting my things to walk back to my office,I was taken aback by a series of Joshua's mother's comments. The kid was playing with some blocks on the floor,and Mom was giving a running commentary on his progress. “Oh,Joshua,that's such a nice stack (堆) of blocks. You are so smart!” followed by “What a great job. I couldn’ t have built that when I was your age." Then Dad added, “That's my boy”，which nearly caused my secretary to gag(使室息) .After all,the kid was 5 years old,and stacking up a few wooden blocks is not a great achievement. No wonder he was having problems following directions in school — no teacher would be able to give him the amount of attention and praise necessary to keep the child interested.

       What is wrong with praising a child? Actually,it may cause a lot of harm if it is not given properly. Most parents believe that giving praise is like giving children healthy food such as calorie-free chocolate “ the more,the better. But praising children in certain ways may set them up to become praise junkies (成瘾者）一 expecting their parents or others to praise them for almost every act or feeling,rather than developing internal measurement for self-respect and feelings of achievement. Try to give praise only when necessary,no more and no less.

1. In what sense is praise similar to frosting?

   A. Praise is a must for everyone.

   B. Praise will make things work better.

   C. Praise is generally a dangerous thing.

    D.Praise must be given in a proper way.

2.The author heard the comments of Joshua's parents.

   A. on the way to the waiting room

   B. before the lunch break

   C. in the early afternoon

   D. in his own office

3. The underlined words “taken aback” can best be replaced by.

   A. shocked           B. confiised

   C. attracted         D. encouraged

4. The family hoped the author could .

   A. teach Joshua about blocks

   B. help solve Joshua's problems

   C. get in touch with Joshua's teachers

   D. give Joshua more attention and praise

5. What advice does the author give parents?

   A. Not to turn children into praise junkies.

   B. To act as a praise junkie in certain ways.

   C. To give children as little praise as possible.

   D. Not to give children calorie-free chocolate.

Answer 1

1. D 2. C 3. A 4. B 5. A

1. D. 推理判断题。根据第一段中的A little makes it taste better and too much will ruin everything可知，作者认为表 扬和蛋糕上的糖衣一样,都需要适度。

2. C. 细节理解题。根据第二段中的 having returned from lunch with a few minutes to spare,I was chatting with my secretary in the waiting room 可知， 作者听到Joshua父母说的话是在下午的早些时候。

3. A.词义猜测题。根据第二段中 Joshua的父母对孩子过度的赞扬和 After all,the kid was 5 years old,and stacking up a few     wooden blocks is not a great achievement 可知，作者对 Joshua父母的赞扬感到震惊。

4. B.推理判断题。根据第二段开头可知，Joshua和父母来到作者的办公室 等待作者；根据本段末尾可知，Joshua 在学校跟不上老师的指令。   由此可以推断他们来找作者寻求帮助。

5. A.细节理解题。根据最后一段中的 But praising children in certain ways may set them up to become praise junkies 以及     Try to give praise only when necessary,no more and no less 可 知，作者建议父母们不要把孩子培养成“表扬的成瘾者”。