【文章內(nèi)容簡介】 About six years ago I was eating lunch in a restaurant in New York City when a woman and a young boy sat down at the next table, I couldn’t help overhearing parts of their conversation. At one point the woman asked, “So, how have you been?” And the boy — who could not have been more than seven or eight years old — replied. “Frankly, I’ve been feeling a little depressed lately.” This incident stuck in my mind because it confirmed (確認(rèn) ) my growing belief that children are changing. As far as I can remember, my friends and I didn’t find out we were “depressed”, that is, in low spirits, until we were in high school. Undoubtedly a change in children has increased steadily in recent years. Children don’t seem childlike anymore. Children speak more like adults, dress more like adults and behave more like adults than they used to. Whether this is good or bad is difficult to say, but it certainly is different. Childhood as it once was no longer exists. Why? Human development is depended not only on born biological states, but also on patterns of gaining social knowledge. Movement from one social role to another usually involves learning the secrets of the new social positions. Children have always been taught adult secrets, but slowly and in stages。 traditionally, we tell sixth graders things we keep hidden from fifth graders. In the last 30 years, however, a secretrevelation (揭示 ) machine has been equipped in 98 percent of American homes. It is called television. Television passes information to all viewers alike, whether they are children or adults. Unable to resist the temptation (誘惑 ) , many children turn their attention from printed texts to the less challenging, more attractive moving pictures. Communication through print, as a matter of fact, allows for a great deal of control over the social information which children will gain. Children must read simple books before they can read plex materials. 55． According to the author, feeling depressed is ________. A． a sure sign of a mental problem in a child B． a mental state present in all humans, including children C． something that cannot be avoided in children’s mental development D． something hardly to be expected in a young child 56． Traditionally, a child is supposed to learn about the adult world _________. A． through connection with society B． gradually and under guidance C． naturally without being taught D． through watching television 57． According to the author, that today’s children seem adultlike results from ______. A． the widespread influence of television B． the poor arrangement of teaching content C． the fast pace of human scientific development D． the rising standard of living 58． What does the author think of munication through print for children? A． It enables children to gain more social information. B． It develops children’s interest in reading and writing. C． It helps children to read and write well. D． It can control what children are to learn. C Chinese are very generous (慷慨 ) when it es to educating their children. Not caring about the money, parents often send their children to the best schools or even abroad to England, the United States or Australia. They also want their children to take extracourse activities where they will either learn a musical instrument or ballet（芭蕾舞） , or other classes that will give them a head start in life. The Chinese believe that the more expensive an education is, the better it is. So parents will spend an unreasonable amount of money on education. Even poor couples will buy a puter for their son or daughter. However, what most parents fail to see is that the best early education they can give their children is usually very cheap. Parents can see that their children’s skills vary, skilled in some areas while poor in others. What most parents fail to realize though, is that today’s children lack selfrespect and selfconfidence (自信 ). The problem is that parents are only educating their children on how to take multiplechoice tests and how to study well, but parents are not teaching them the most important skills they need to be confident, happy and clever. Parents can achieve this by teaching practical skills like cooking, sewing and doing other housework. Teaching a child to cook will improve many of the skills that he will need later in life. Cooking demands patience and time. It is an enjoyable but difficult experience. A good cook always tries to improve his cooking, so he will learn to work hard and gradually finish his job successfully. His result, a wellcooked dinner, will give him much satisfaction and a lot of selfconfidence. Some old machines, such as a