1 . Last month, my husband and I completed what some of our friends considered a foolish task: a 32-day, 5, 232-mile camping trip with children in our Volkswagen van, without ''high-tech'' to occupy the children.
It was the screen less journey that showered me with doubts. But is ''boredom'' senseless? My friend Renee, who has driven cross-country with her three kids eight times, calls boredom the mother of creativity. She's not the only one who sees virtue in blank time. In a recently published paper, researchers at East Anglia University in England concluded that the trance like (发呆的) state helps recharge the mind and is ''central to learning and creativity''. I wasn't trying to make my kids smarter. Neither do I dislike high-tech. But I understand too well the power of mini screens to transform our kids into zombies (木讷的人) .
On Day 1, our 7-year-old son announced ''Texas is so boring!''. The next day, struggling against his seat belt, he yelled he couldn't take much more of this. His 5-year-old sister was better at the long hours playing make-believe with the stuffed animals. On Day 3, he began count mountains and see pandas and dolphins in distant clouds in the Texas sky. I often joined the kids in the back, where we did thumb-and-toe wrestle. With well-known mountains ahead, my husband told the children the past legends of them. ''Arizona is not as boring as Texas,'' our son declared.
I hope the trip gave kids some lazy, unstructured time to learn something about valuing the trip instead of looking for the fastest way to burn it up. I don't always make the right call as a parent but I know that in banning the small screen we made the right choice this time.
1. Why did the author choose a high-tech free journey?| A．Her friends are highly against it. |
| B．She disliked advanced technology. |
| C．She feared the passive influence of mini-screens. |
| D．The researchers proved the harm of modern technology. |
| A．Their son got worse at boredom. |
| B．Her kids had a tough time riding in the vehicle. |
| C．Their son relieved himself by watching animals outside. |
| D．The time spent without screens strengthened the family bond. |
| A．the speediest route to finish the journey |
| B．the ability to observe the surroundings |
| C．the interest of playing games with others |
| D．the choice of killing time by playing digital devices |
| A．Is Driving Long Distances Good for Children? |
| B．A Touching Cross-country Trip of My Family |
| C．What's Wrong with Boredom without High-tech? |
| D．Creative Kids out of Parents' Reasonable Choice |
