Question

A new study from Harvard University revealed that the message parents mean to send to children about the value of sympathy(同情心） is being mistaken by the message they actually send. In fact they value achievement and happiness above all else.

The Making Caring Common Project at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education surveyed 10,000 middle and high school students about which is more important to them—achievement, happiness, or caring about others. Almost 80 percent of students placed achievement or happiness over caring about others. Only 20 percent of students considered caring about others as their top aim.

In the study “The Children We Mean to Raise: The Real Message Adults Are Sending about Values”, the authors refer to a reality gap, an incongruity (不一致) between what adults tell children they should value and the message we grown-ups actually send through our behavior.

Simply talking about sympathy is not enough. While 96 percent of parents say they want to raise caring children, and cite the development of moral character as “very important, if not essential”, 80 percent of the youths surveyed reported that their parents “are more concerned about achievement and happiness than caring about others”. Approximately the same percentage of the students reported that their teachers put their achievement over caring.

As the report shows, simply talking about sympathy is not enough. Children are sensitive creatures, fully capable of telling the true meanings in the blank spaces between well-organised words. If parents really want to let their kids know that they value care and sympathy, the authors suggest, they must make a real effort to help their children learn to care about other people—even when it’s hard, even when it does not make them happy, and yes, even when it is at odds with their personal success.

1.The first paragraph suggests that parents _____.

A. value achievement less

B. fail to make students realize the importance of sympathy

C. don’t intend to value success

D. regard achievement and happiness as the same

2.What can be concluded from the study?

A. 20% of the students are not ambitious.

B. Kids care more about achievement.

C. About 80% of the students are not caring.

D. A majority of the kids are kind students.

3.What may be the cause for the reality gap?

A. Children’s failure to understand parents’ well-organised words.

B. The generation gap between parents and children.

C. Children’s desire for getting individual achievement.

D. Parents’ lack of a real effort to guide children.

Answer 1

1.B

2.B

3.D

【解析】本文是一篇说明文。哈佛大学发布的一项新的研究成果表明，家长想要传达给孩子的同情心的价值正被他们所实际发送的信息误解。为了让孩子们意识到同情心的重要，家长们还要努把力。

1. new study from Harvard University revealed that the message parents mean to send to children about the value of sympathy(同情心） is being mistaken by the message they actually send. In fact they value achievement and happiness above all else.哈佛大学发布的一项新的研究成果表明，家长想要传达给孩子的同情心的价值正被他们所实际发送的信息误解。故选B

2. Almost 80 percent of students placed achievement or happiness over caring about others. 近乎百分之八十的学生将成就或幸福放在关爱他人之上。故选B

3. If parents really want to let their kids know that they value care and sympathy, the authors suggest, they must make a real effort to help their children learn to care about other people—even when it’s hard, even when it does not make them happy, and yes, even when it is at odds with their personal success.如果家长真的想要让她们的孩子知道她们重视关怀和同情心，作者建议，她们真的需要努力帮助她们的孩子学会关心他人——即使是在困难时刻，即使做那些事情不会让孩子们高兴，对，即使当这些事和孩子们的个人成功有冲突的时候。故选D

考点：考察说明文阅读。