My son just turned 14 and does not have a smartphone. When he graduated from Grade 8, he was the only kid in his class without one. He asks for a phone now that he’s going to high school. I say no, he asks why, I explain, and he pushes back.
“You can choose to do things differently when you’re a parent,” I told him. But sometimes, I wonder if I’m being too stubborn or unfair.
The more I research, the more confident I feel in my decision. Many studies link the current mental health crisis among adolescents to fundamental changes in how they socialize, namely, the shift from in-person to online interaction.
But other mothers challenge my view. “He must feel so left out!” Then there are the parents who tell me sadly that they wish they had delayed their teenager’s phone ownership longer than they did. They urge me to hold out.
If teenagers between the ages of 13 and 18 are truly spending an average of 8 hours 39 minutes per day on their devices, as stated in a survey conducted by Common Sense Media, then what are they not doing? Kids absorbed in their devices are missing out on real life, and that strikes me as really sad.
I want my son to have a childhood he feels satisfied with and proud of. I want it to be full of adventures, imaginative play and physical challenges which he must sort out himself without asking me for help. The easiest and simplest way to achieve these goals is to delay giving him a smartphone.
Some think my son is missing out or falling behind, but he is not. He does well in school and extra-curricular activities, hangs out with his friends in person, and moves independently around our small town. He promises he’ll give his own 14-year-old a phone someday, and I tell him that’s fine. But recently, he admitted that he missed the beautiful scenery on a drive to a nearby mountain because he had been so absorbed in his friend’s iPad. If that is his version of admitting I’m right, I’ll take it.
1. What does the underlined phrase “pushes back” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?| A．Agrees. | B．Delays. | C．Opposes. | D．Persuades. |
| A．Her son’s online safety. |
| B．Her son’s mental growth. |
| C．Her son’s reduced physical activities. |
| D．Her son’s poor academic performance. |
| A．Team spirit. | B．Leadership. |
| C．Independence. | D．Critical thinking. |
| A．He is falling behind academically. |
| B．He is easily influenced by his friends. |
| C．He has given up his desire for a smartphone. |
| D．He has realized the problems of much screen time. |
相似题推荐
Having Dinner with Children
Even if you are not there at home for a whole day, you should make sure that you have dinner with your children. Moreover, you should make it a point that you are having dinner with your entire family. Also, you should avoid watching TV when you are having dinner with your family.
Helping Child Complete Homework
Helping your child complete homework will help you know how he/she is at studies. It is not that you have to spend hours regularly helping your child with homework. But, sometimes you can help your child solve some questions. In this way, you will get to spend time with your child as well as get to know about his or her studies.
Fun Activities
During weekends you can indulge your child in fun activities like gardening, painting etc. However, do not force your child to do so. You can also spend some time in teaching your child finger painting, vegetable painting and craft work. You may even help your child complete his or her art and craft assignments. These activities will help you improve creativity of your child as well as the interaction between you and your child.
1. The passage is mainly about_________.
| A．the importance of spending time with children |
| B．the ways to spend time with children |
| C．the reasons to spend time with children |
| D．the activities children like to take part in |
| A．watch TV with their children |
| B．stay at home a whole day |
| C．spend time with the whole family |
| D．avoid listening to some music |
| A．push | B．put | C．ask | D．allow |
| A．Spending time with children for parents is a must. |
| B．Parents should spend time regularly with children’s homework. |
| C．Helping children with homework will help improve their creativity. |
| D．Parents should pick up their children regularly. |
After Mom died, I began visiting Dad every morning before I went to work. He was weak and moved slowly, but he always had a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice on the kitchen table for me, along with an unsigned note reading, “Drink your juice.” Such a gesture, I knew, was as far as Dad had ever been able to go in expressing his love. In fact, I remember, as a kid I had questioned Mom “Why doesn’t Dad love me?” Mom frowned (皱眉). “Who said he doesn’t love you?!” “Well, he never tells me.” I complained. “He never tells me either,” she said, smiling. “But look how hard he works to take care of us, to buy us food and clothes, and to pay for this house. That’s how your father tells us he loves us.”
I nodded slowly. I understood in my head, but not in my heart. I still wanted my father to put his arms around me and tell me he loved me. Dad owned and operated a small scrap metal (收破烂金属) business, and after school I often hung around while he worked. The machine that he used looked like a giant pair of scissors with blades (刃) thicker than my father’s body. If he didn’t feel those terrifying blades just right, he risked serious injury. “Why don’t you hire someone to do that for you?” Mom asked Dad one night as she bent over him and rubbed his aching shoulders with a strong smelling liniment (搽剂). “Why don’t you hire a cook?” Dad asked, giving her one of his rare smiles.
Many years later, during my first daily visit, after drinking the juice my father had squeezed for me, I walked over, hugged him and said, “I love you, Dad.” From then on I did this every morning. My father never told me how he felt about my hugs, and there was never any expression on his face when I gave hugs to him.
1. What did the note say every morning the author’s father put it on the kitchen table?(no more than 5 words)2. Why did the author complain to his mother about his father?(no more than 10 words)
3. How did the author’s father show his love for his family?(no more than 10 words)
4. What conclusion can we draw about the author’s father from the underlined sentence in the second but last paragraph?(no more than 10 words)
5. Are you moved by this story? Tell us how you will show your love for your parents.(no more than 20 words)
【推荐3】Every man wants his son to be somewhat of a clone, not in features but in footsteps. As he grows you also age, and your dreams become more unachievable. You begin to realize that your boy, in your footsteps, could probably finish what you hoped for. But footsteps can be muddied and they can go off in different directions.
My son Jody has hated school since day one in kindergarten. Science projects waited until the last moment. Book reports weren’t written until the deadline.
I’ve been a newspaperman all my adult life. My daughter is a university graduate working toward her master’s degree (硕士学位) in English. But Jody? When he entered the tenth grade he became a “vo-tech” student (技校学生). They’re called “motorheads” by the rest of the student body.
When a secretary in my office first called him “motorhead”, I was shocked. “Hey, he’s a good kid,” I wanted to say. “And smart, really.”
I learned later that motorheads are, indeed, different. They usually have dirty hands and wear dirty work clothes. And they don’t often make school honor rolls (光荣榜).
But being the parent of a motorhead is itself an experience in education. We who work in clean shirts in offices don’t have the abilities that motorheads have. I began to learn this when I had my car crashed. The cost to repair it was about $800. “Hey, I can fix it,” said Jody, I doubted it but let him go ahead, for I had nothing to lose.
My son, with other motorheads, fixed the car. They got parts from a junk yard, and ability from vo-tech classes. The cost was $25 instead of $800.
Since that first repair job, a broken air-conditioner, a non-functioning washer and a non-toasting toaster have been fixed. Neighbors and co-workers trust their car repairs to him.
These kids are happiest when doing repairs. They joke and laugh and are living in their own relaxed world. And their minds are bright despite their dirty hands and clothes.
I have learned a lot from my motorhead: publishers need printers, engineers need mechanies, and architects need builders. Most important, I have learned that fathers don’t need clones in footsteps or anywhere else.
My son may never make the school honor roll. But he made mine.
1. What can we learn about the author’s children?| A．His daughter does better in school |
| B．His daughter has got a master’s degree. |
| C．His son tried hard to finish homework |
| D．His son couldn’t write his book reports. |
| A．His son had the ability to fix it |
| B．it would save him much time. |
| C．it wouldn’t cause him any more loss |
| D．other motorheads would come to help. |
| A．Mitalipov, senior author on the paper, laughs when asked if he wants to clone a person. |
| B．Tom was in some ways a younger clone of his handsome brother. |
| C．Some scientists wish to create the world’s first human clone |
| D．To make a clone, you need to first take an egg and remove all of its genetic material. |
| A．It is unwise to expect your child to follow your path. |
| B．It is important for one to make the honor roll. |
| C．Architects play a more important role than builders. |
| D．Motorheads have greater ability than office workers. |
| A．The author’s son studied hard at school. |
| B．The author worked as a newspaper man. |
| C．The author was very proud of his son later. |
| D．The author learned to repair cars from his son. |
【推荐1】Hearing the name Hollywood, you probably think of super movie stars. However, famous actors are not the only important people in the entertainment business. Directors and producers are important, too. Hollywood is full of producers and directors, of whom DeMille is one of the most famous and successful.
DeMille was born in Massachusetts in 1870. Both his parents were writers of plays. His father died when he was twelve years old. His mother kept the family together by establishing a theater company, which DeMille joined as an actor. He worked in the company until 1913. That year, he joined another two man to form the Feature Play Company.
The three men, deeply interested in the creative and financial possibilities, started making motion pictures. They began working on a movie, Squaw Man, set in American West.
DeMille insisted the movie be made in the real American West. He chose Flagstaff, Arizona. He and the company traveled there by train. When they arrived, he thought the area looked too modern. They got back on the train and kept going until they reached the end of the line, where they saw a quiet little town called Hollywood. DeMille decided this was the perfect place to film the movie.
“Squaw Man” was one of the first full-length movies produced in Hollywood. It was a great success. DeMille is considered the man who helped Hollywood become the center of the motion picture business. He quickly became a creative force in the movie industry. His success continued with “Brewster's Millions”, “The Call of the North” and “The Trail of the Lonesome Pine”.
DeMille's movies were known to be big productions. He combined a lot of action, realistic storytelling and hundreds of actors to make some of Hollywood's best movies. He produced and directed seventy movies altogether. In 1949, he got a special Academy Award for “thirty-seven years of brilliant showmanship”. He died of heart failure in 1959.
DeMille is remembered for his excellent movies and his continuing influence in the motion picture industry. He led the way for movie producers and directors of today and those still to come.
1. What is the text mainly about?| A．The great fame of Hollywood. | B．A successful Hollywood film-maker. |
| C．The film industry in America. | D．The long history of film-making. |
| A．DeMille’s movies. | B．DeMille’s partners. |
| C．DeMille’s awards. | D．DeMille’s companies. |
| A．He was born into an extremely poor family. |
| B．His road to being successful was rather rough. |
| C．His achievements are obviously second to none. |
| D．He is an influential figure in American film industry. |
【推荐2】The Owl Count
Annie slept in the front seat while her father drove through the darkness. "We're almost there!" Dad announced cheerfully. "Soon we'll be observing and counting owls at the state park. " Yawning, Annie nodded and smiled. The time was 4:30 A. M. Looking out into the darkness, Annie remembered learning in school that most owls are active at night, when they hunt for food. During the day they sleep in hard-to-find spots.
"Dad, why do you need to count owls?" she asked. "It's important for scientists to have current information about bird populations," he explained. "We want to know which birds have decreased in number and whether any new kinds of birds are coming into a certain area. You and I will write down the kinds of birds that we see today and keep a record of how many times we see each kind. Then we'll send out a report to a scientific organization that is collecting information about birds from people all over the country. "
Dad pulled into the parking lot of the state park. Then, with flashlights in hand, they began their hike into the woods. Annie zipped up her coat and tried to keep from trembling. She had not expected the morning to be so frigid. Luckily her gloves were in her pocket.
Suddenly Annie's father stopped and gestured for her to be still. Obeying, Annie did not take another step. She thought she heard a low crying up ahead. "That's certainly a screech owl," her father whispered. "Let's get a look at it. " After looking more closely, Annie could see that it was a small owl. Sensing danger, the owl narrowed its eyes and pulled its feathers tightly against its body. Annie carefully wrote down in her notebook that they had seen a screech owl.
Walking a little farther, they came to a tall oak tree. "This looks like a perfect spot to attract owls," Dad said. "I'm going to play a recording of a common call of the barred owl. Maybe we can get one to answer. " Annie could hardly believe her ears. The recorded call sounded as if the bird were asking, "Who cooks for you?" Moments later Annie thought she heard a return call in the distance. She held her breath and waited. Suddenly a huge bird landed very quietly on a branch directly above them.
Annie had long forgotten how cold it was. She stood in wonder, shining her flashlight on the bird and studying it carefully. The barred owl was nearly two feet tall. Gray feathers. surrounded its dark eyes. The bird did not stay long, but it did not matter. Annie would never forget the image of the powerful barred owl.
1. Why did Annie and her father go to the state park?| A．To take a hike in the woods. |
| B．To record the call of barred owls. |
| C．To collect information about birds. |
| D．To protect the environment for wildlife. |
| A．dark | B．clear |
| C．cold | D．nice |
| A．He noticed a screech owl. |
| B．He heard somebody crying. |
| C．He sensed they were in danger. |
| D．He reminded her to take down notes. |
| A．Bored. | B．Relaxed. |
| C．Frightened. | D．Amazed. |
My father died when I was nine months old, making my mom a single mother at the age of eighteen. While I was growing up, we lived a very hard life. We had little money, but my mom gave me a lot of love. Each night, she sat me on her lap and spoke the words that would change my life, “Kemmons, you are certain to be a great man and you can do anything in life if you work hard enough to get it.”
At fourteen, I was hit by a car and the doctors said I would never walk again. Every day, my mother spoke to me in her gentle, loving voice, telling me that no matter what those doctors said, I could walk again if I wanted to badly enough. She drove that message so deep into my heart that I finally believed her. A year later, I returned to school — walking on my own!
When the Great Depression (大萧条) hit, my mom lost her job. Then I left school to support the both of us. At that moment, I was determined never to be poor again.
Over the years, I experienced various levels of business success. But the real turning point occurred on a vacation I took with my wife and five kids in 1951. I was dissatisfied (不满意) with the second-class hotels available for families and was angry that they charged an extra $2 for each child. That was too expensive for the average American family. I told my wife that I was going to open a motel (汽车旅馆) for families that would never charge extra for children. There were plenty of doubters at that time.
Not surprisingly, mom was one of my strongest supporters. She worked behind the desk and even designed the room style. As in any business, we experienced a lot of challenges. But with my mother’s words deeply rooted in my soul, I never doubted we would succeed. Fifteen years later, we had the largest hotel system in the world — Holiday Inn. In 1979 my company had 1,759 inns in more than fifty countries with an income of $ 1 billion a year.
You may not have started out life in the best situation. But if you can find a task in life worth working for and believe in yourself, nothing can stop you.
1. According to the author, who played the most important role in making him walk back to school again?
| A．Doctors. | B．Nurses. | C．Friends. | D．Mom. |
| A．His terrible experience in the hotel. |
| B．His previous business success of various levels. |
| C．His mom’s support. |
| D．His wife’s suggestion. |
| A．Modest, helpful, and hard-working. |
| B．Careful, helpful and beautiful. |
| C．Loving, supportive and strong-willed. |
| D．Strict, sensitive and supportive. |
| A．Self-confidence, hard work, higher education and a poor family. |
| B．Mom’s encouragement, clear goals, self-confidence and hard work. |
| C．Clear goals, mom’s encouragement, a poor family and higher education. |
| D．Mom’s encouragement, a poor family, higher education and opportunities. |
【推荐1】Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, LinkedIn... . The ways to connect with of us on social media are limitless.
People are extremely particular when it comes to sharing pictures on social media. So, don’t post pictures of people without their permission. While you may not think posting the picture is a big deal, the other person may disagree.
Just got a new job? Bought a new car? You have got promoted? Or maybe you decided you’re moving? Don’t tweet or post your news to the world before sharing it with your loved ones. A love relationship largely depends on safety and security and the chance to get inside information is an important part of that.
Social media is public.
| A．Just ask before you do that. |
| B．Don’t view social media as only bad. |
| C．Never use social media when you’re mad. |
| D．These signs confirm that your relationship is rock solid. |
| E．You shouldn’t be sharing private information with the world. |
| F．In many ways, social media has made our world a better place. |
| G．However, don’t let your online life negatively affect your real life. |
【推荐2】Surfing the Internet for fun will make you a better employee, according to an Australian study.
The University of Melbourne study shows that people who use the Internet for their own reasons at work are about 9 percent more productive than those who do not. Study author Brent Coker said, "Surfing the Internet at times helps increase an employee's attention."
"People need to relax for a bit to get back their attention," Coker said on the university's website.
"Having a short break, such as a quick surfing of the Internet, helps the mind to rest itself, leading to a higher total Internet attention for a day's work, and as a result, increases productivity (生产效率)," he said.
According to the study of 300 workers, 70 percent of people who use the Internet at work surf the Internet for their own reasons during office hours. Among the most popular surfing activities are searching for information about products, reading online news, playing online games and watching videos. "Firms spend a lot of money on software to block their employees from watching videos, using social networking sites or shopping online," said Coker. "That's not always a good idea."
However, Coker said the study looked at people who surfed the Internet in moderation (适度), or were on the Internet for less than 20 percent of their total time in the office. "Those who spend too much time surfing the Internet will have a lower productivity than those without." he said.
1. What does the University of Melbourne study mainly show?| A．People who surf the Internet are good employees. |
| B．Not everyone surfs the Internet for fun during office hours. |
| C．Surfing the Internet for fun at times during office hours increases productivity. |
| D．The Internet is becoming more and more important in people's life. |
| A．organize | B．separate |
| C．protect | D．stop |
| A．Spending too much time surfing the Internet reduces productivity. |
| B．Those who never surf the Internet have the lowest productivity. |
| C．Most people don't surf the Internet in moderation during office hours. |
| D．People should spend as little time as possible surfing the Internet. |
【推荐3】Everything is online these days, and it’s so easy to search online for whatever you want. The Internet is a valuable tool, but it’s easy to find yourself disturbed by it. For example, you’re working on an essay, and you need to do some search online.
Addiction to social media is closely related to our general addiction to the Internet. Everyone is always on their phones.
| A．Your search terms bring back 20 pages of results. |
| B．On the whole, the Internet can be a help or a block. |
| C．It will draw your attention to more important matters. |
| D．The Internet has changed the way our world functions. |
| E．As a result, time disappears but you still don’t finish your work. |
| F．I have surely caught myself checking my phone every ten minutes. |
| G．Besides, you can force yourself to complete your task in the fixed time. |
