Question

    We talk continuously about how to make children more”resilient(有恢复力的)”，but whatever were doing, it's not working. Rates of anxiety disorders and depression are rising rapidly among teenagers. What are we doing wrong?

Nassim Taleb invented the word “antifragile” and used it to describe a small but very important class of systems that gain from shocks, challenges, and disorder. The immune system is one of them: it requires exposure to certain kinds of bacteria and potential allergens(过敏源)in childhood in order to develop to its full ability.

Children’s social and emotional abilities are as antifragile as their immune systems. If we overprotect kids and keep them “safe” from unpleasant social situations and negative emotions we deprive(剥夺)them of the challenges and opportunities for skill-building they need to grow strong. Such children are likely to suffer more when exposed later to other unpleasant but ordinary life events, such as teasing and social rejection

It's not the kids fault. In the UK, as in the US, parents became much more fearful in the 1980s and 1990s as cable TV and later the Internet exposed everyone, more and more, to those rare occurrences of crimes and accidents that now occur less and less, Outdoor play and independent mobility went down; screen time and adult-monitored activities went up.

Yet free play in which kids work out their own rules of engagement, take small risks, and learn to master small dangers turns out to be vital for the development of adult social and even physical competence, Depriving them of free play prevents their social-emotional growth. Norwegian play researchers Ellen Sandseter and Leif Kennair warned: “We may observe an increased anxiety or mental disorders in society if children are forbidden from participating in age adequate risky play.”

They wrote those words in 2011. Over the following few years, their prediction came true. Kids born after 1994 are suffering from much higher rates of anxiety disorders and depression than the previous generation did. Besides, there is also a rise in the rate at which teenage girls are admitted to hospital for deliberately harming themselves.

What can we do to change these trends? How can we raise kids strong enough to handle the ordinary and extraordinary challenges of life? We can’t guarantee that giving primary school children more independence today will bring down the rate of teenage suicide tomorrow. The links between childhood overprotection and teenage mental illness are suggestive but not clear-cut. Yet there are good reasons to suspect that by depriving our naturally antifragile kids of the wide range of experiences they need to become strong, we are systematically preventing their growth. We should let go-and let them grow.

1.Why does the author mention the immune system in Paragraph 2?

A.To stress its importance B.To analyze the cause of anxiety

C.To question the latest discovery. D.To help understand a new word

2.Parents overprotect children because_______

A.they want to keep children from being teased

B.they are concerned about their children's safety

C.parent-monitored activities are a must

D.children are not independent enough

3.According to the author, free play can_________

A.develop children' s leadership skills B.strengthen children' s friendship

C.reduce children's risky behavior D.promote children's resilience

4.Which of the following does the author probably agree with?

A.Stop trying to perfect your child

B.It takes great courage to raise children

C.Prepare the child for the road, not the road for the child.

D.While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about.

Answer

1.D

2.B

3.D

4.C

【解析】

本文是一篇议论文。主要内容是青少年焦虑症和抑郁症的比例正在迅速上升，是由于父母的过度保护，使得青少年缺少“适应力”，作者呼吁家长们懂得放手，让孩子们自己走。

1.推理判断题。根据第二段的The immune system is one of them（免疫系统就是其中之一），此处说明免疫系统是前文提到的a small but very important class of systems（很小但很重要的系统）之一，也就是用来帮助读者理解“antifragile”这个新词，故选D。

2.细节理解题。根据第二段的we overprotect kids and keep them “safe” from unpleasant social situations and negative emotions（我们过度保护孩子，让他们远离不愉快的社会环境和负面情绪），由此可知，父母过分保护孩子，因为他们担心孩子的安全，故选B。

3.推理判断题。根据第五段的free play in which kids work out their own rules of engagement, take small risks, and learn to master small dangers turns out to be vital for the development of adult social and even physical competence（孩子们在自由玩耍中制定自己的参与规则，承担小的风险，并学会掌握小的危险，这对成人社交能力甚至身体能力的发展是至关重要的）由此可知，自由玩耍可以增强儿童的适应力。故选D。

4.推理判断题。由最后一段的We should let go-and let them grow.（我们应该放手，让他们成长。）可推知，作者可能同意的观点是让孩子为路做准备，而不是为孩子准备路。故选C。