In bringing up children, every parent watches eagerly the child's acquisition of each new
skill-the first spoken words, the first independent steps, or the beginning of reading and writing.
It is often tempting to hurry the child beyond his natural learning rate, but this can set up
dangerous feelings of failure and states of worry in the child. This might happen at any stage.
A baby might be forced to use a toilet too early, a young child
might be encouraged to learn
to read before he knows the meaning of the words he reads. On the other hand, though, if a
child is left alone too much, or withou
t any learning opportunities, he loses his natural enthusiasm
for life and his desire to find out new things for himself.
Parents vary greatly in their degree of strictness towards their children. Some may be
especially strict in money matters, others are severe over times of coming home at night or
punctuality for meals. In general, the controls imposed represent the needs of the parents and
the values of the community as much as the child's own happiness.
As regards the development of moral standards in the growing child, consistency is very
important in parental teaching. To forbid a thing one day and excuse it the next is no foundation
for morality (道德). Also, parents should realize that "example is better than
precept". If they
are not sincere and do not practice what they preach (說教),their children may grow confused
and emotio
nally insecure when they grow old enough to think for themselves, and realize they
have been to some extent fooled.
A sudden awareness of a marked difference between their parents' principles and their
morals can be a dangerous disappointment.
1. Eagerly watching the child's acquisition of new skills .
A. should be avoided
B. is universal among parents
C. sets up dangerous states of worry in the child
D. will make him lose interest in learning new things
2. In the process of children's learning new skills parents .
A. should encourage them to read before they know the meaning of the words they read
B. should not expect too much of them
C. should achieve a balance between pushing them too hard and
leaving them on their own
D. should create as many learning opportunities as possible
3. The second paragraph mainly tells us that .
A. parents should be strict with their children
B. parental controls reflect only the needs of the parents and the values of the community
C. parental restrictions vary, and are not always enforced for the benefit of the children alone
D. parents vary in their strictness towards their children according to the situation.
4. The underlined word"precept" in Para.3 probably means" "
A. idea
B. punishment
C. behaviour
D. instruction
5. In moral matters, parents should .
e marked difference between adults and children
