My oldest child, Emma, just returned to campus after a long holiday break to finish up her last period of college. These days, friends and family have begun flooding me with one question: What is she going to do after graduation?

The job market is, after all, awfully tough. Just this month the Federal Reserve Bank published a study showing that “recent graduates are increasingly working in low-paid jobs or working part-time.” The bright spot, according to the study, is for students who majored(主修) in STEM — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — areas in which recent graduates “have tended to do relatively well”.

But Emma is a student of the humanities(人文) at a small college. She’s an American Studies major with a focus on the politics and culture of food. For quite a while, I think her field of study is so fashionable right now that I’m not the least bit worried she will find a good job. Yet the more I’ve thought about it, the more I’ve decided to be honest. “I’m not sure what Emma is going to do,” I now say. “But she’s gotten a great education and has really found her interest. — and I know those things will serve her well over the course of her life.”

Nowadays, more and more universities and colleges are being measured by the salaries of their recent graduates. In this climate, encouraging your kid to study the humanities, seems, at best, unwise or, at worst, unconcerned with earning a living. But a college is not a vocational(职业) school. And promoting STEM subjects should not be society’s only answer to helping the next generation grow in a competitive world.

From the beginning, we never urged Emma to pick a college or a major with an eye on its expected return on money, as more and more families are doing. To Emma, what really matters will be something that we may not be able to measure for quite a long time: Emma’s contribution to the world and how happy she is in it.

1.The author’s friends and family_________.

A. are worried about Emma’s safety

B. have been worrying about the flood

C. are concerned about Emma’s future?????????????

D. are worried about the job market

2.What can we learn from Paragraph 2?

A. The number of the graduates is increasing.

B. STEM graduates can be better employees.

C. STEM graduates are in relatively greater demand.

D. More and more graduates like to do a part-time job.

3.Why did Emma choose a major in the humanities?

A. Because she is interested in it.

B. Because her mother told her to.

C. Because it is increasingly popular.

D. Because she wants further education.

4.According to the author, what matters most in choosing a major is that_________.

A. it should be among the STEM

B. it should be fashionable and interesting

C. it should allow a good job and a high salary

D. it should bring achievements and happiness

 

Research shows that childhood friendships are important indicators of future success and social adjustment. Children's relationships with peers (同龄人) strongly influence their success in school, and children with fewer friends are more likely dropping out of school, becoming sad and other problems.

Making and Keeping Friends Is More Than Child's Play

When 6-year-old Rachel returned to school on a recent Monday morning, her eyes immediately scanned the playground for her friend Abbie. Though they were only separated by a weekend, the girls "ran right into each other's arms and hugged," recalls Rachel's mother Kathryn Willis of Gilbert. "It was like a scene from a movie."

Most parents instinctively (本能地) know that having friends is good for their child. Experts agree that friendship is not simply child's play, but a powerful predictor of social adjustment throughout life.

A Skill for Life

"Childhood friendships serve as a very important training ground for adulthood," says Dr. Robbie Adler-Tapia, psychologist with the Center for Children's Health & Life Development.

Researcher William Hartup states, "Peer relations contribute significantly to both social and cognitive (认知的) development." Hartup concludes that the single best childhood predictor of adult social adaptation is not school grades or classroom behavior, but rather, how well a child gets along with other children.

The work of Arizona State University proves that just as being able to make and keep friends is beneficial to kids, so is the lack of friends detrimental.

Good Friendships Don't Just Happen

Experts agree that it is basic for children to develop high-quality friendships. But, researchers warn, these friendships don't necessarily just happen. Often, a good friendship begins with involved (卷入,牵连)parents.

Valley psychologist Dr. Lynne Kenney Markan believes kids should be taught social skills in much the same way they are taught math and reading.

Bad Company

Many parents worry about the quality as well as the quantity of their child's friendships. "When she was in 1st grade, her supposed 'best friend' began calling her names and threatening to hurt her," says Mindy Miller. "My daughter wasn't allowed to talk to or even look at other girls in her class. It really crushed (压跨) her spirit. I told my daughter she didn't need a 'friend' like that."

"I'll bend over backwards to help my son get together with a friend I think is good for him," Adler-Tapia says. "I don't look at it as manipulation (操纵), just positive parental involvement. "

1.The example of Rachel and Abbie is used to show that ________.

A.childhood friendship is of great benefit to their growth

B.a positive friendship helps children solve emotional and physical problems

C.it is a proven(被证明的) fact that peer friendship is the most rewarding experience throughout life

D.Rachel missed her friend Abbie very much because of their separation of one weekend

2.The underlined word "detrimental" could be replaced by _______.

A.valuable          B.disappointing       C.accurate          D.harmful

3.We can learn from the passage that high-quality friendship most probably results from ______.

A.social skills and good study habits

B.school grades and classroom behaviors

C.academic success and social adaptation

D.positive parental involvement and social skills

4.From the last paragraph we can conclude that Dr. Robbie Adler-Tapia agrees that ______.

A.parents should regard making friends as something that just happens

B.it's wise for parents to support and encourage healthy peer relationships

C.parents only need to help their children to deal with difficult social situations

D.parents are supposed to encourage their children to make as many friends as they can

 

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