Question

    We often hear such statements: “I spilled (洒出) juice, but it wasn’t my fault.”, “I got in trouble at school, but it wasn’t my fault.” or “I was in a car accident, but it wasn’t my fault.” That “It’s not my fault.” is a go-to response for so many people and especially teenagers.

Parents complain they are tired of the “excuse”. The reason why variations of “It’s not my fault.” are so popular is that it lets us off the hook from guilt and blame. I’m a fan of not owning responsibility for things that I can’t control. Teens who often say “It’s my fault.” when something bad happens tend to be highly self-critical, perfectionistic and more easier to be troubled by anxiety and depression.

While it is important to recognize lack of reason to blame oneself, many teens over-rely on “It’s not my fault.” When trying to get them to take responsibility, parents usually attempt to convince their teens that something is their fault. The approach tends to be ineffective and turn into a power struggle. No one wins. A more effective approach can be to stress significant drawbacks to consistently focusing on removing our responsibility with this phrase.

Overuse of the phrase can result in feelings of lack of ability to control their own lives. This sense has been shown to cause low motivation. Besides creating feelings of lack of ability, overuse of “It’s not my fault.” focuses a teen’s attention on what is done as opposed to what needs to be done.

People may not have caused all their problems but they have to solve them anyway. The example I frequently share with teens is the question of what one will do if he is pushed into a deep lake. One can certainly stay in water, yelling, “It’s not my fault.” However, that won’t get him out of water. He needs to swim to the shore, regardless of the fault.

If you take a proper approach to communicating with your teens, you can help them avoid over-reliance on “It’s not my fault.”

1.What phenomenon is described in Paragraph 1?

A.The teenagers’ dislike for school life.

B.The common trouble faced by teenagers.

C.The reasons for blaming others for accidents.

D.The tendency for people not to be responsible for mess in life.

2.What type of teens tends to suffer great mental pressure according to the text?

A.Those lacking confidence and ambition.

B.Those allowing others to find excuses.

C.Those unable to get along well with others.

D.Those often blaming themselves for some incidents.

3.What’s the author’s attitude to parents’ usual way of guiding children?

A.Supportive. B.Negative.

C.Ambiguous. D.Neutral.

4.What lesson is conveyed in the example often shared by the author?

A.We should try to avoid troubling others.

B.We should focus on how to solve problems.

C.We should dare to point out others’ mistakes.

D.We should be self-critical as much as possible.

Answer

1.D

2.D

3.B

4.B

【解析】

这是一篇议论文。青少年经常说“不是我的错”，作者分析了其原因、危害及父母应该如何引导孩子承担责任。

1.

推理判断题。第一段提到：我们经常在生活中听到这样的言论“橙汁洒了，但不是我的错；我在学校陷入麻烦，但不是我的错；我出车祸了，但不是我的错”，最后一句总结上述言论That “It’s not my fault.” is a go-to response for so many people and especially teenagers.(“不是我的错”是很多人尤其是青少年的应急反应)，由此可推知，第一段主要描述了人们不想为生活中的麻烦事负责的倾向，总是脱口而出“不是我的错”。故选D项。

2.

细节理解题。根据第二段最后一句Teens who often say “It’s my fault.” when something bad happens tend to be highly self-critical, perfectionistic and more easier to be troubled by anxiety and depression.(当不好的事情发生时，经常说“是我的错”的青少年倾向于高度自我批评，完美主义，并且更容易被焦虑和沮丧困扰)可知，经常因为事情责怪自己的人倾向于遭受极大的精神压力。故选D项。

3.

推理判断题。根据第三段中“When trying to get them to take responsibility, parents usually attempt to convince their teens that something is their fault. The approach tends to be ineffective and turn into a power struggle.(当试图让孩子承担责任时，父母通常说服孩子是他们的错。这个方法倾向于无效，并且会变成权利斗争)”可知，作者对父母引导孩子的方法持消极态度。故选B项。

4.

细节理解题。第五段举了一个例子，如果一个人被推进湖里，他可以大喊“不是我的错”，但这无济于事，虽然不是他的错，他还是要想办法游到岸上去，印证了本段第一句提到的“人们可能不是所有问题的原因，但是无论如何他们必须解决这些问题”，所以作者通过这个例子想分享的教训是人们应该专注于如何解决问题。故选B项。