英语阅读2005年7月期末复习综合练习.docVIP

英语阅读（2）Part 1 Multiple Choices Directions： There are 4 passages in this part that are followed by 25 questions. or each question, there are four suggested answers marked A,B,C and D. ad the passages carefully and then choose the best answer to each of the questions. n your answer sheet, indicate the letter A, B, C or D against the number of each item 1-25 for the answer you choose. (50 points) Americans are people obsessed with child-rearing. In their books, magazines, talk shows, parent training courses, White House conferences, and chats over the back fence, they endlessly debate the best ways to raise children. Moreover, Americans do more than debate their theories; they translate them into action. They erect playgrounds for the youngsters’ pleasure, equip large schools for their education, and train skilled specialists for their welfare. Whole industries in America are devoted to making children happy, healthy and wise. But this interest in childhood is relatively new. In fact, until very recently people considered childhood just a brief, unimportant prelude to adulthood and the real business of living. By and large they either ignored children, beat them, or fondle them carelessly, much as we would amuse ourselves with a lot of puppies. When they gave serious thought to children at all, people either conceived of them as miniature adults or as peculiar, uniformed animals. Down through the ages the experiences of childhood have been as varied as its duration. Actions that would have provoked a beating in one era elicit extra loving care in another. Babies who have been cared exclusively by their mothers in one epoch are left with day-care workers in another. In some places children have been trained to straddle unsteady canoes, negotiate treacherous mountain passes, and carry heavy bundles on their heads. In other places they have been taught complicated piano concerto and long multiplication tables. But diverse as it has been, children have one common experi