Question

There are two great trends on parents bringing up children today．First，children are now praised to an unbelievable degree．As Dorothy Parker once joked，American children aren’t raised；they are motivated．Children are constantly told how special they are．The second is that children are honed(磨砺) to an unimaginable degree．Parents spend much more time than in past generations on their children’s development．

These two great trends—greater praise and greater honing—combine in close ways. Parents shower their kids with affection，but it is intermingled with the desire to help their children achieve success．Parents are happy when their child studies hard，practices hard，wins first place，gets into a famous college．

The wolf of conditional love is hidden in these homes．The parents feel they love their children in all circumstances．But the children often think differently．They feel that childhood is a performance—on the athletic field，in school and beyond．The shadowy presence of conditional love produces a fear，the fear that there is no completely safe love．

Meanwhile，children who are uncertain of their parents’ love develop a great hunger for it. This conditional love is1ike an acid that affects children’s criteria to make their own decisions about their own colleges，majors and careers．At key decision-points，they unconsciously imagine how their parents will react．

These children tell their parents those things that will bring praise and hide the parts of their lives that won’t. Studies suggest that children who receive conditional love often do better in the short run．They can be model students．But they suffer in the long run. They come to hate their parents．They are so influenced by fear that they become afraid of risk．

Parents today are less likely to demand obedience(顺从) with explicit rules and lectures．But they are more likely to use love as a tool to exercise control. But parental love is supposed to ignore achievement. It’s meant to be an unconditional support -a gift that can not be bought and cannot be earned．

1.What does the underlined word “intermingled” in Paragraph 2 mean?

A. Greeted．    B. Mixed．    C. Compared．    D. Separated．

2.Some children can’t make their own decisions probably because________.

A. they have too many options    B. they are lacking in parents’ advice

C. they are doubtful about parents’ love    D. they care too much about parents’ reaction

3.What’s the author’s opinion about parental love？

A. It doesn’t go to children with poor grades.

B. It is meant to control children’s behaviour.

C. It shouldn’t focus on children’s achievement.

D. It works with strict rules and constant reminding.

Answer

1.B

2.D

3.C

【解析】本文主要讲了父母向他们的孩子表示爱，但是却混合着一些帮助他们孩子成功的欲望，这存在很多的弊端。作者认为父母的爱应该是无条件的，不要过于关注孩子的成就。

1.词义猜测题。由Parents shower their kids with affection，but it is intermingled with the desire to help their children achieve success（父母向他们的孩子倾注了爱，但是却混合着帮助他们孩子成功的欲望），故划线词意思与mix接近，故选B。

2.细节理解题。由第四段At key decision-points，they unconsciously imagine how their parents will react可知，一些孩子无法做出自己的决定，可能是因为他们过分关注父母的反应，故选D。

3.细节理解题。由最后一段But parental love is supposed to ignore achievement.可知，作者对于父母的爱的观点是不应该集中于孩子的成就，故选C。