Question

It was a lovely day at the park and Stella Bianchi was enjoying the sunshine with her two children when a young boy, aged about four, approached her two-year-old son and pushed him to the ground.

 ¡°I¡¯d watched him for a little while and my son was the fourth or fifth child he¡¯d shoved,¡± she says. ¡°I went over to them, picked up my son, turned to the boy and said, firmly, ¡®No, we don¡¯t push.¡¯¡± What happened next was unexpected. ¡°The boy¡¯s mother ran toward me from across the park,¡± Stella says. ¡°I thought she was coming over to apologize, but instead she started shouting at me for ¡®disciplining her child¡¯. All I did was let him know his behavior was unacceptable. Was I supposed to sit back while her kid did whatever he wanted, hurting other children in the process?¡±

Professor Brendon White of Monash University says, ¡°There¡¯s an idea that children are the property of the parents. We see our children as an extension of ourselves, so if you¡¯re saying that my child is behaving inappropriately, then that¡¯s somehow a criticism of me.¡±

In those circumstances, it¡¯s difficult to know whether to approach the child directly or the parent first. ¡°I¡¯d go to the child first,¡± says Andrew Fuller, author of Tricky Kids. ¡°Usually a quiet reminder that ¡®we don¡¯t do that here¡¯ is enough. Kids have finely tuned antennae (Ö±¾õ) for how to behave in different settings. And bringing it up with the parent first may make them feel neglectful, which could cause problems.

Of course, approaching the child first can bring its own headaches, too.¡± This is why White recommends that you approach the parents first. ¡°Raise your concerns with the parents if they¡¯re there and ask them to deal with it,¡± he says. ¡°Men might feel uneasy about dealing with other people¡¯s children and feel nervous. A new set of considerations has become most important as part of the debate about how we handle children.¡±

 

56. What does the underlined word ¡°shoved¡± probably mean?

   A. played with                B. pushed             C. watched           D. got close to

57. When the boy¡¯s mother came over, Stella Bianchi expected her to ___________.

A. make an apology                               B. quarrel with her

C. discipline her own boy                               D. take her own boy away

58. What should one do when seeing other people¡¯s kids misbehave according to Andrew Fuller?

A. Talk to them directly in a mild way.         B. Complain to their parents politely.

C. Simply leave them alone.                         D. Punish them lightly.

59. Some parents will feel upset when their children are disciplined by others because they feel __________.

   A. their children are perfect in every way

   B. their children are misunderstood

   C. they themselves are criticized in a sense

   D. children themselves should learn to solve their own problems

60. What does the author say about dealing with other people¡¯s children?

A. It¡¯s important not to hurt them in any way.

B. It¡¯s no use trying to stop their wrongdoing.

C. It¡¯s wise to treat them as one¡¯s own kids.

D. It¡¯s possible for one to get into lots of trouble.                  

Answer 1

BAACD