A
In this age of Internet chat, video games and reality television, there is no shortage of mindless activities to keep a child occupied. Yet, despite the competition, my 8-year-old daughter Rebecca wants to spend her leisure time writing short stories. She wants to enter one of her stories into a writing contest，a competition she won last year.
As a writer I know about winning contests, and about losing them. I know what it is like to work hard on a story only to receive a rejection slip from the publisher. I also know the pressures of trying to live up to a reputation created by previous victories. What if she doesn’t win the contest again? That’s the strange thing about being a parent. So many of our own past scars and dashed hopes can surface.
A revelation (启示) came last week when I asked her，“Don’t you want to win again?” “No,” she replied, “I just want to tell the story of an angel going to first grade.”
I had just spent weeks correcting her stories as she spontaneously (自发地）told them. Telling myself that I was merely an experienced writer guiding the young writer across the hall, I offered suggestions for characters, conflicts and endings for her tales. The story about a fearful angel starting first grade was quickly “guided” by me into the tale of a little girl with a wild imagination taking her first music lesson. I had turned her contest into my contest without even realizing it.
Staying back and giving kids space to grow is not as easy as it looks. Because I know very little about farm animals who use tools or angels who go to first grade，I had to accept the fact that I was co-opting (借用）my daughter’s experience.
While stepping back was difficult for me, it was certainly a good first step that I will quickly follow with more steps, putting myself far enough away to give her room but close enough to help if asked. All the while I will be reminding myself that children need room to experiment, grow and find their own voices.
1. What do we learn from the first paragraph?
A. Rebecca is much too busy to enjoy her leisure time.
B. Children do find lots of fun in many mindless activities today.
C. Rebecca benefits a lot from the online materials for her writing.
D. Many senseless activities compete for children’s time nowadays.
2. Why did Rebecca want to enter this year’s writing contest?
A. She simply intended to share her story with readers.
B. She believed she possessed real talent for writing.
C. She was sure of winning with her mother’s help.
D. She had won a prize in the previous contest.
3. From the underlined part in Paragraph 4, we can infer that the writer ______________.
A. had unconsciously done too much while correcting her daughter’s story
B. had already offered practical suggestions for her daughter’s story
C. had nearly replaced her daughter to take part in the contest
D. had successfully turned her daughter into a young writer
4. What message is conveyed in the passage?
A. Parents should keep an eye on the activities their children engage in.
B. Children should be allowed more freedom to grow through experience.
C. Children should be given proper guidance to become more excellent.
D. Parents should spare no effort to make their children successful writers.
【答案】1. D 2. A 3. A 4. B
【解析】
本文是一篇夹叙夹议文。文章的作者是一位作家，她通过讲述自己指导女儿写作的故事，向人们揭示出当今社会的子女教育问题。
【1题详解】
细节理解题。根据文章首句“In this age of Internet chat, videogames and reality television, there is no shortage of mindless activities to keep a child occupied.（在这个网络聊天、电子游戏和电视真人秀的时代，不乏让孩子忙碌的无需动脑筋的活动。）”可知通过第一段我们可以了解到现在许多无意义的娱乐活动挤占了孩子们的时间。故选D项。
【2题详解】
细节理解题。根据文章第三段“I just want to tell the story of an angel going to first grade.（我只想讲一个天使上一年级的故事。）”可知Rebecca想参加今年的写作比赛是因为她想和读者分享她的故事。故选A项。
【3题详解】
推理判断题。根据划线前的句子“The story about a fearful angel starting first grade was quickly “guided” by me into the tale of a little girl with a wild imagination taking her first music lesson. （这个故事讲的是一个害怕的天使开始上一年级，我很快“引导”她进入了一个小女孩的故事，她有着疯狂的想象力，正在上她的第一堂音乐课。）”划线部分的句意为：我已经把她的比赛变成了我的比赛，甚至自己都没有意识到。由此判断出作者在纠正女儿的故事时，她无意中做了太多。故选A项。
【4题详解】
推理判断题。根据文章最后一段“All the while I will be reminding myself that children need room to experiment, grow and find their own voices.（一直以来，我都在提醒自己，孩子们需要空间去试验、成长和找到自己的声音。）”可知这篇文章要向我们传达的是应该让孩子们在经历中有更多的自由成长。故选B项。
