高考英语话题阅读素材：Unit67SomeKidsAreOrchids.docVIP

　　Unit 67　　Some Kids Are Orchids　　Most of us think we know the kind of kid who becomes a killer, and most of the time we are right. Boys commit about 85% of all youth homicides, and in those cases about 90% conform to a pattern in which the line from bad parenting and bad environment is usually clear. Through my work, I see these boys in the courtroom and in prison with depressing regularity. Their lives start with abuse, neglect and emotional deprivation at home. Add the effects of racism, poverty, and the drug and gang cultures, and it is not surprising that in a violent society like ours, damaged children become deadly teens.　　But what about the other 10% of kids who kill: the boys who have loving parents and are not poor? What about smart privileged boys like Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris who killed over a dozen schoolmates in Columbine School? Are their parents to blame when these kids become killers? I have learned as a researcher in youth homicide cases that the answer is usually no.　　Most children are like dandelions; they thrive if given half a chance. Some are more like orchids. They do fine while young enough to be nurtured by loving parents, but wilt as adolescents subjected to peer competition, bullying and rejection, particularly in big high schools. Research shows that while most fragile children do fine in early childhood, 50% have significant adjustment problems once they enter adolescence. Then children respond to the influence of peers and the larger culture in the neighborhood and the nation. The US youth homicide rate is about 10 times higher than in Canada.　　The normal culture of adolescence today contains elements that are so nasty that it becomes hard for parents and teachers to distinguish what in a teenagers talk, dress and taste in music, films and video games indicate psychological trouble and what is simply a sign of the times. Most kids who adopt the Mafia lifestyle, or have multiple body piercings, or listen to savage music, or pl