Question

A primary school has banned Valentine’s Day cards because of concerns that young pupils spend too much time talking about boyfriends and girlfriends.

Ashcombe Primary School in Weston?super?Mare，Somerset，has told parents that cards declaring love can be “confusing” for children under the age of 11，who are still emotionally and socially developing.

In his February newsletter(简讯)，Peter Turner，head teacher，warned that any cards found in school would be confiscated.

He wrote，“We do not wish to see any Valentine’s Day cards in school this year.Some children and parents encourage a lot of talks about boyfriends and girlfriends.”

“We believe that such ideas should wait until children are mature enough emotionally and socially to understand the commitment involved in having or being a boyfriend or girlfriend.”

Mr.Turner said any families wanting to support the Valentine’s Day concept should send cards in the post or deliver them to home addresses by hand.

His views were supported by Ruth Rice,46，who has twins Harriet and Olivia,9，at the school.

She said，“Children at that age shouldn’t really be thinking about Valentine’s Day，and they should be concentrating on their schoolwork.”

“They are at an age when they are easily influenced and most parents including myself are with Mr.Turner.”

She added，“The cards caused too much competition.If someone gets a card and another doesn’t then he or she will be disappointed.”

However，Rajeev Takyar,40，who sells newspapers and has two children Jai,11，and Aryan,5，at the school，said he was “genuinely outraged”．

He said，“There are schools that have banned conkers(康克戏) and snowballs，and now Valentine’s Day cards.”

“I think banning the cards stops children from having social skills.How are they going to learn about relationships otherwise？It’s ridiculous.”

Alec Suttenwood，founder of the Anti?Political Correctness Group，said of the ban，“It’s totally ridiculous.Young children just send the cards to each other as friends and to their parents.It’s just a bit of harmless fun.There is no difference between this and Mother’s or Father’s Day.”

1.Valentine’s Day cards may cause confusion among young children because ________.

A．they are too young to understand what love is

B．teachers haven’t taught them how to make friends

C．children shouldn’t learn about social relationships

D．students talk too much about boyfriends and girlfriends

2.The underlined word “confiscated” in Paragraph 3 can probably be replaced by “________”．

A．collected B．destroyed C．taken away D．burnt away

3.Ruth Rice was in favor of Mr.Turner’s view in that ________.

A．children like to compare Valentine’s Day cards

B．children should focus their mind on their lessons

C．sending holiday cards wastes both time and money

D．making friends has a negative influence on children

4.Which statement is TRUE according to the text?

A．Most of English parents want children to have fun.

B．Children should learn how to develop social skills.

C．English schools don’t allow students to play games.

D．Some parents think it unreasonable to ban the cards.

5.What is the best title of the text?

A．School Bans Valentine’s Day Cards

B．Shall We Send Valentine’s Day Cards?

C．Different Opinions on Valentine’s Day Cards

D．Parents’ Concern About Valentine’s Day Cards

 

Answer 1

1.A

2.C

3.B

4.D

5.A

【解析】

1.推理判断题。根据文章的第二段可知，英国Ashcombe小学告知学生家长，11岁以下的孩子在情感和社交上都还不够成熟，传达爱意的情人节贺卡会让他们感到“困惑”。因此最佳答案为A。

2.词义猜测题。根据文章的前两段可知，英国一所小学日前宣布禁止学生互送情人节贺卡，理由是小学生不应过多讨论男女朋友的问题。老师在二月份的学校简讯中提醒家长说，今年在学校发现的任何情人节贺卡将一律被没收。confiscate意为“没收”，与take away同义。

3.细节理解题。根据第八段可知，作为家长，Ruth Rice说：“孩子们现在不应该过多考虑情人节这个问题，而应把精力放在学习上。”故答案为B。

4.推理判断题。40岁的报刊经销商Rajeev Takyar表示自己“十分愤慨”。他说：“先是玩康克戏和打雪仗在某些学校被禁止，现在又是情人节贺卡。我认为禁送情人节贺卡不利于孩子们社交技能的培养。以后他们怎么去了解各种社会关系？真是荒谬。”由此推断，答案为D。

5.标题归纳题。从全文尤其是从本文第一段“A primary school has banned Valentine’s Day cards because of concerns that young pupils spend too much time talking about boyfriends and girlfriends.”可以看出此题答案为A。