Question

    When we’re small children, our mistakes are applauded. Our falling-down attempts to walk for the first time are cheered by our parents, giving us the courage to get up and try again. When we accidentally put our shirt on backwards, people smile and praise our independence. At this age, the world teaches us that failure is merely part of the journey to success.

But when we get to school, we quickly learn that mistakes are bad. Answers are right or wrong, true or false. The risk-taking that used to be rewarded is now punished, and we either give up or learn to stick with safe answers. Unfortunately, this black-or-white thinking doesn’t encourage learning. Instead, it encourages a fear of failure and discourages inventiveness.

Teachers are starting to worry, and “resiliency(心理弹性)” is perhaps the latest buzzword(术语) in education. In June, the California Teacher’s Association published an article called “Teaching Students to Bounce Back.” It argued that children are under more stress than ever, but lacking in “basic coping skills”. The article infers that this loss of coping skills could be because “years of testing and test preparation have robbed them of critical thinking skills and the ability to self-reflect.” It’s no coincidence that anxiety among teenagers is on the rise. In her book, The Price of Privilege, Marilyn Levine tries to make sense of this phenomenon: “When parents place an extremely high value on outstanding performance, children come to see anything less than perfection as failure. While most kids hang in there and try to meet those high expectations, more and more kids are quitting.” Students are afraid to try anything new, prevented by fears of appearing imperfect.

Allowing our children to make mistakes is the best way to fight this culture of perfectionism. We must remind them of what they knew as toddlers(初学走路的孩子): mistakes are a valuable part of the learning process. Creation and discovery can only be developed if we give our children the freedom to fail. Schools can build resiliency by stressing exploration over correctness. School needs to be a place that doesn’t just teach the right answers: it should also be a place that teaches kids how to bounce back from failure.

1.What does the underlined word “it”(Paragraph 2) most probably refer to?

A.The risk-taking. B.The falling-down attempt.

C.Putting one’s shirt on backwards. D.The black-or-white thinking.

2.According to Paragraph 3, students lose basic coping skills because they          .

A.lack parents’ understanding and teachers’ guiding

B.lack critical thinking skills and self-reflection ability

C.have too much anxiety and need comfort

D.have too much independence and freedom

3.Marilyn Levine believes that           .

A.most children quit because they are imperfect

B.parents are trying to prevent their children from appearing imperfect

C.children are so afraid of things that they try to avoid trying new things

D.children place a high value on trying new things

4.What might be the best title for the passage?

A.Making Mistakes in School Is a Must.

B.Teaching Students to Bounce Back Is Popular.

C.Students Should Learn Without Failure.

D.Anxiety among Teenagers Is on the Rise.

Answer

1.D

2.B

3.C

4.A

【解析】

这是一篇议论文。文章论述的是不让孩子犯错误会阻止孩子尝试新事物。学校不仅应该是一个教授正确答案的地方，还应该是一个教会孩子如何从失败中振作起来的地方。

1.

词义指代题。根据第二段中的Unfortunately, this black-or-white thinking doesn’t encourage learning.“不幸的是，这种非黑即白的思维方式并不能促进学习。”和第二段最后一句中的Instead“相反”，可知，it encourages a fear of failure and discourages inventiveness.（它鼓励了对失败的恐惧，阻碍了创造性。）中it指代的是this black-or-white thinking。故选D。

2.

细节理解题。根据第三段中It argued that children are under more stress than ever, but lacking in “basic coping skills”. The article infers that this loss of coping skills could be because “years of testing and test preparation have robbed them of critical thinking skills and the ability to self-reflect.” 报告认为，孩子们承受的压力比以往任何时候都大，但却缺乏“基本的应对技能”。这篇文章推断，这种应对技能的丧失可能是因为“多年的考试和考试准备剥夺了他们的批判性思维能力和自我反省的能力。”由此可知，学生失去了基本的应对技能，是因为他们缺乏批判性思维能力和自我反思能力。故选B。

3.

推理判断题。根据第三段中“When parents place an extremely high value on outstanding performance, children come to see anything less than perfection as failure. While most kids hang in there and try to meet those high expectations, more and more kids are quitting.” Students are afraid to try anything new, prevented by fears of appearing imperfect. 当父母极其重视优秀的表现时，孩子们会把任何不完美的东西视为失败。当大多数孩子坚持下去，努力达到这些高期望时，越来越多的孩子放弃了。学生们害怕尝试任何新事物，害怕自己会显得不完美。由此判断出，Marilyn Levine认为，孩子们害怕事物，所以他们试图避免尝试新事物。故选C。

4.

主旨大意题。根据最后一段中Allowing our children to make mistakes is the best way to fight this culture of perfectionism. 允许我们的孩子犯错是对抗完美主义文化的最好方法。和 School needs to be a place that doesn’t just teach the right answers: it should also be a place that teaches kids how to bounce back from failure.。学校不仅应该是一个教授正确答案的地方，还应该是一个教会孩子如何从失败中振作起来的地方。由此可知，A项 Making Mistakes in School Is a Must.（在学校犯错是必须的。）为最佳标题。故选A。