Should Children Be Allowed to Get Bored?
Children need time to stand and stare. They should be allowed to get bored so that they can develop their ability to be creative.
Children are expected by their parents to be reading a textbook all the time. However, research shows that it may hamper the development of their imagination, while boredom can give them opportunities to develop creativity.
Boredom is often linked with loneliness, but a writer named Meera Syal said boredom had helped her in developing her mind. She told researchers about her childhood. Having few things to do, Syal often talked with her neighbors. She also tried to do things like learning to bake cakes."But importantly, I thought and wrote a lot, because I was bored, "Syal said. She kept a diary, filling her time with short stories and poems she made up.
Grayson Perry, an artist, grew up in a family with little money. He enjoyed himself by making up stories, drawing pictures for his stories and reading many books in the library. Bored but free, he spent hours looking out of the window, watching the changing clouds and seasons. Perry filled up his free time with what he liked. He became creative, because he could think freely.
Dr Belton is an expert on the effects of emotions on learning."Boredom could be an uncomfortable feeling, " she said. "But some young people cannot deal with that boredom creatively. So sometimes they may break a classroom window, or drive a car out for a mad race.” Usually, when children have nothing to do, they would turn on the TV, the computer, or the phone. Their time on these things has increased, yet they need to have time to think about their experiences through play or just watching the world around them.
It is this kind of thinking that can inspire the imagination. On the other hand, the TV or phone may cut short the thinking process. That can be harmful to the development of creativity. "For developing the ability to be creative, “ Dr. Belton advised, "Perhaps we need to stand and stare, and stay off-line from time to time.”
1.What does the word"hamper"in Paragraph 2 probably mean?
A.Slow down. B.Keep up with. C.Go beyond. D.Give rise to.
2.The writer talks about Syal and Perry to .
A.stress the great differences between them
B.introduce a popular writer and a famous artist
C.suggest good ways of going through boredom
D.show effects of boredom on developing creativity
3.From the passage we know that children need time to .
A.get excited
B.talk with their family
C.drive a car out for a mad race
D.think about their experiences through play or just watching the world around them
4.“off-line” here means .
A.not wait in line
B.not want to stand in line
C.not connected to a computer network
D.not on a regular route of a transportation system
5.What can we learn from the passage?
A.Boredom provides children with space to think freely
B.It's much better for children to be busy than be bored
C.Boredom helps children deal with difficulties properly
D.It's boring for children to think about their experiences
阅读短文 判断下列句子是否符合短文内容。符合写（A）不符合写（B）。Want to say "hello" from Disneyland? Send a post card!
Beautiful scenes（戏剧）ofparadise (乐园), wild animals, silly pictures — you can find them all in one place. Where? On a post card! Have people always sent post cards? No. Before post cards, people liked sealed letters.
The idea for the firstdecorated (装饰)post card came to John P. Charlton in 1861. He thought a simple card with decorations would be a great way to send a note. Then in the late 1800s, post cards with pictures appeared. By law, people had to write their note on the front ——on the picture! The back was only for the address. Several years later, England allowed a divided-back post card. Then people could write their note on the back left side and put the address on the right. During the early 1900s, the golden age of post cards, picture post cards became a craze of the world. In 1908, Americans alone mailed over 677 million post cards. Today, post cards are the third most popular collection in the world after stamps and coins.
1.We can see some silly pictures on the post cards.
2.Post cards were produced before sealed letters.
3.In 1861, the first decorated post card appeared.
4.Post cards were most popular during the early 1900s.
5.Stamps, coins and post cards are the most popular collections in the world.
My dear friends! Today it’s my turn to give my class report! Then you can learn more about me.
Do you eat meat? Well, if you do, then you might find my next words interesting. A study says that the world has a _______ need for meat. In 1960, each person ate about 21 kg, in 2007, the number rose to 40 kg! At the same time, there have been _________in the list of favorite meats. In the 1960s, beef was high on the menu. Of the meat that was eaten, 40% was beef. In 2007, pork became the star. Poultry( 家 禽 ) also became popular, going up from 12% to 32%,_______people’s worries about their health these years. And which country_______the most meat for each person? The answer is Luxembourg! In 2007, each Luxembourger ate about 137 kg of meat! Now, enough with the numbers.
Next, I want to_______a story.
It’s never comfortable to take a bus during rush hour on a hot summer day. All my friends hate it. And I…, well, I_______ it, too.
Two months ago, I was on a bus that was packed with almost everyone in the city. I_______my friend Neal to see a show. And then he called and said he couldn’t come. While I was feeling sorry for myself, a girl called my name. I didn’t recognize(认出) her_______. Then I was surprised to find that she was Helen, my old neighbor. We were happy to see each other, so we decided to have dinner together. And that was the_______of many dinners after. You know what? Helen loves eating meat a lot!
With Helen, the bus ride________ something I love. The bus is still packed with people, but I enjoy the ride every day.
Before I finish my report, I’m playing you a song called Currywurst. The singer sings about his love for the meat dish of the same name. Enjoy!
1.A.falling B.special C.growing
2.A.ways B.kinds C.changes
3.A.thanks to B.because C.so
4.A.used up B.gives up C.puts up
5.A.say B.talk C.tell
6.A.hate B.have hated C.used to hate
7.A.used to meet B.was going to meet C.have met
8.A.at first B.at all C.at last
9.A.end B.start C.place
10.A.has become B.will become C.would become
bed, go, time, is, to, it, to
________________________________________________________.
exam, Linda, her, passed
___________________________________________________________.
homework, doing, Jerry, his, is
_________________________________________________________.
