Should parents ever hit their children?
Research suggests many of us are likely to respond “no”, and public support for spanking(打屁股) has been falling over the years.But surveys also show that 75 percent to nearly 90 percent of parents admit to spanking their child at least once.
I was raised in a zero-tolerance home for disrespect, and my parents often turned to physical punishment.And, no, I don' t feel I was damaged by it.
Nothing is more annoying than watching ill-mannered behavior from children.
But there is data to suggest that a return to old-school spanking isn't the answer.
Two years ago, Newsweek reported that it had found data suggesting that teens whose parents used physical punishment were more likely to become aggressive.
Murray Straus, professor at the University of New Hampshire in America, has studied the topic of children and spanking for decades.He said that children who were physically punished have lower IQs than their peers.It may be that children with lower IQs were more likely to get spanked, but the punishment may have been counterproductive (反作用的) to their mental development, as well.
Some researchers make the argument that occasional open-handed smacks (用巴掌打) on the bottom are not only harmless but can have some benefit.
Last year, Marjorie Gunnoe, a psychologist at Calvin College, studied teens who have never spanked.There are a greater number of children growing up without ever having been physically punished.Gunnoe’s research suggests they don' t turn out any better than those who were sometimes spanked.
There are some parents who simply cannot control their tempers (脾气).But I still believe that the best parents are the ones who are able to offer fair and firm discipline without ever turning to physical punishment.According to the first three paragraphs, the author was probably hit by her parents when .
A.they were dissatisfied with her grade |
B.she showed no respect for the elder |
C.they cannot control their temper |
D.their discipline turns out to be not strict enough |
According to Murray Straus, children who are physically punished ____ __.
A.are less aggressive toward others when they get older |
B.have slower physical development |
C.benefit from occasional spanking |
D.may develop lower IQs than their peer |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the article?
A.40 percent of children grow up without ever being spanked |
B.Children who suffer less physical punishment are better students |
C.Occasional open-handed spanking on the bottom are mentally harmful |
D.Researchers disagree over whether smacking is mentally harmful to children |
At this special rate,you'll save more than 73% off the cover price with our Continuous Renewal Guarantee ! You'll also get FREE access for 6 months to the Reader's Digest Digital Edition for iPad or Kindle Fire,with your paid subscription(订阅).
Subscribe to Reader'S Digest today and Read up!
Continuous Renewal(续订):
Your subscription will be automatically renewed at significant savings off the cover price,unless you tell us to stop.You authorize us to charge your credit card for your renewal subscription before your current subscription expires(到期)at the low renewal rate then in effect.If your credit card can't be charged for any reason we will bill you directly instead.This service will continue each year until you tell us to stop.Cancel at any time at www.rd.com/cutomer-care and get the money back on all unmailed issues.
Offer is good in U.S. only.
One-year cover price is $47.78.Each 1-year subscription includes 12 issues.Please allow
4-6 weeks for delivery of your first issue.Free access to the iPad edition is available one time only
for 6 months with paid subscription;the following print subscriptions will not qualify subscriber for free access to the iPad editions.
For customer service , please click here.You will save around________ against the cover price with Continuous Renewal Guarantee in
two years.
A.$46 | B.$73 | C.$23 | D.$71 |
Which of the following sentences is TRUE?
A.If you stop the continuous renewal,you can’t take the money back. |
B.If you continue to subscribe it,the former service will expire. |
C.If you want to stop the service,you can visit the website to cancel it. |
D.If your credit card can’t be charged,delivery of issues will directly be stopped. |
We can know from the advertisement ____.
A.only readers in America call get the discount |
B.1-year subscription covers 12 issues and free delivery |
C.all subscribers will be guaranteed to get free iPad editions |
D.if you Pay money,you can access the digital edition without limit |
What is the purpose of the advertisement?
A.To sell Reader’s Digest Digital Edition. |
B.To offer customer service to readers. |
C.To introduce subscription to Reader's Digest. |
D.To recommend continuous renewal subscription. |
This year the selfie earned its place as the Oxford English Dictionary’s 2013 Word Of The Year.It has taken over our culture-and our smartphones.The rise of the selfie has become universal-between presidents,celebrities(名人)and citizens alike-and the trend is only continuing to grow.
A recent survey conducted by the Pew Internet&American Life Project found that 54 percent of Internet have posted original photos online.And of those hundreds of millions of photos, many are of selfie photos.
For example,currently there are nearly 62 million posted selfie
photos on Instagram,the social media tool that has significantly contributed to the personal photo’s popularity.That figure,which continues to rise every day, does not even begin to include the selfies shared on Facebook and Twitter.
What makes the selfie so attractive-and why do we feel it a must to take one? According to Dr.Pamela Rutledge,psychologist and director of the Media Psychology Research Center,the desire to take,post and get“likes” on selfies goes back to a biological behavior of all humans.
“ I think it influences our sense of social connection in the same way as it does when you go
to a party and people say‘Oh I love your dress,’” Rutledge told The Huffington Post.“Biological,social recognition is a real need and there is even an area of the brain that contributes to social activity.”
There is a way to adapt to the growing selfie culture.Whether you’re a selfie novice or an advanced poster,there are always things to be mindful of when you’re posting,Rutledge advises.
She offered two main principles to follow when it comes to posting on social media:
1.The Grandmother Rule
“Don't post anything online,whether text or visual,that you don't want grandmother or future
employer to see,” Rutledge said.“Selfies especially.”
2.The Elevator Rule
“You wouldn’t say something in an elevator that you or no one else wants to hear—the whole
world of social media is an elevator,” Rutledge said.“Be aware of the breadth of platform.It's easy to think you’re sharing a photo with a few people,but Instagram is public and people can come across things.”What's the main idea of the first paragraph?
A.The selfie is taking the lead. |
B.Many people are fond of smartphones. |
C.The selfie will take over everything. |
D.The selfie is an important new word. |
According to the passage,people like“selfie”so much,because they___________.
A.need to be acknowledged in social life |
B.want to show off their new dresses |
C.desire to share good things |
D.mean to amuse the public |
The underlined word“novice”in Paragraph 6 probably means“___________”.
A.publisher | B.greenhand | C.novelist | D.celebrity |
When it comes to posting on social media,Rutledge advises people to___________.
A.share photos only on Instagram |
B.talk about their photos in an elevator |
C.be cautious in posting things online |
D.follow rules set by their grandmothers |
The kindly“Chinese Fortune Grandpa”wearing Han Chineseclothing and holding a fortune bag debuted (亮相) at the Imperial Ancestral Shrine in Beijing on the day after Christmas.The final imageof the Chinese gift-giver was selected through a global design competitionagainst“Santa Claus”,according to a report by Guangming Daily.
Many Chinese cities have been filled with Christmas neon lights,Christmas songs,Christmas trees,and the images of“Santa Claus”in recent days.As a matter of fact,foreign festivals are becoming more popular than certain traditional Chinese festivals among the Chinese people,particularly the youth.“Certain traditional festivals have died out because people have forgotten their spiritual meanings,”said noted writer Feng Jicai.More and more Chinese people are beginning to exchange gifts on Valentine's Day and Christmas.However,many of them know nothing about Chinese New Year pictures or sugarcoated figurines(小糖人),and have never heard suona music.Certain folk customs on the Dragon Boat Festival,Tomb Sweeping Day,and other traditional festivals have gradually disappeared.Under such circum-stances,even the“Chinese Fortune Grandpa”is unlikely to defeat“Santa Claus”.
However,it is not a bad thing to some extent.It constantly reminds people to restore the“true
face”of traditional festivals.China has listed traditional Tomb Sweeping Day,Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival as legal holidays,which brings more paid leaves to the public,and helps to awake the public awareness of traditional festivals.
In modern society,festival is a carrier of culture and its meaning largelydepends on their understandings and usages by people.Compared with foreign festivals,traditional Chinese festivals are not inferior (次于) in cultural meanings,but lack of fashion sought by modern people.If people do not appreciate the historical culture contained by traditional festivals,and only take pleasure-seeking as the most important,the significance of traditional festivals will fade away and the inheritance (继承) of fine traditional culture will be cut off.The second paragraph implies that______________________.
A.traditional festivals should co-exist with foreign festivals |
B.all the Chinese festivals are disappearing in the near future |
C.western festivals are constantly impacting on our festivals |
D.the Chinese people have the public awareness of traditional festivals |
We can learn from the passage that______________.
A.an image designed by the Chinese people will be displayed |
B.many foreigners know nothing about Chinese festivals |
C.the Chinese gift-giver was intended to symbolize traditional culture |
D.the Chinese are beginning to exchange gifts on the Mid-Autumn Festival |
Many Chinese youth dislike traditional festivals because they think______________.
A.traditional festivals are out of fashion now |
B.the historical culture is more difficult to understand |
C.western festivals contain more cultural meanings |
D.the inheritance will cut off their contact with western festivals |
What would be the best title of the passage?
A.Gone are Chinese Traditional Festivals |
B.True Face of Chinese Traditional Culture |
C.Foreign Festivals Popular with Chinese |
D.Chinese Fortune Grandpa VS.Santa Claus |
NO matter which tourist destination you visit, chances are you’ll see Lonely Planet guidebooks in the hands of travelers.
Lonely Planet is one of the world’s largest travel guide brands, publishing more than 500 different guides in eight languages. This year marks the company’s 40th anniversary. The popular brand also produces television shows, websites and podcasts, all dedicated to travel.
Some people praise Lonely Planet books because they make traveling easy and affordable. They save you time and keep you from missing the very best things in a place. And of course, their reviews of hostels, hotels and restaurants, in addition to ticket information about your destination, are useful.
This can be great if you’re a nervous traveler, or if you haven’t traveled by yourself before. If you’re in a country where you don’t speak the language, sometimes there’s nothing better than getting into a taxi and opening up a guidebook. You simply point to a map, directing the taxi driver to a hostel that’s cheap and clean, with friendly staff and cold beer.
But others criticize Lonely Planet and other travel guide publishers. They say guidebooks take the fun and spontaneity(自发性)out of traveling, and that part of the enjoyment of travel comes from the fact that anything can happen. They also lament(哀叹)that if you follow a guidebook, you’ll end up doing the same things and having the same experiences as everyone else. You might end up seeing the same group of people over and over, because everyone is reading the same book and following the same trail.
Another criticism of travel guides is that they have an overly(过度的)large influence on local communities. For example, some locals dedicate their lives solely(仅仅)to behaving in ways that attract tourists. They fake a traditional lifestyle, wear traditional clothes and live in traditional houses just to attract tourists’ dollars.The Lonely Planet guidebook can bring you the following advantages EXCEPT that .
A.it can help you to save time and money when traveling |
B.you will not miss the best things without having to make choices |
C.it provides a lot of useful information about your destination |
D.you can easily find a nice place to stay in a strange city |
Who will find a Lonely Planet guidebook very useful?
A.Someone who always takes a taxi when traveling. |
B.A tourist who likes to repeat others’ experiences. |
C.A person who’s nervous touring an unfamiliar place. |
D.A native traveler who is traveling alone. |
People criticize the guidebook because .
A.the guidebook is not as useful as most travelers expect |
B.travelers using it will be bored with meeting the same people on their journey |
C.travelers using it may not get the chance to have unexpected adventures |
D.local people keep their old lifestyle under the guidebook’s influence |
What does the underlined word“fake”in the last paragraph probably mean?
A.mistake | B.learn | C.pretend | D.create |
Every time Lionel Messi breaks a record, it seems appropriate to compare him to the legends that came before him.
In 2012, he rewrote soccer history on multiple occasions, and his latest record came when he scored his 86th goal of the calendar year, breaking Gerd Muller’s previous mark, before wrapping up the year with 91 goals.
All statistics indicate that Messi is currently the best player in the world, and that he will go down in history as the top footballer of his generation. But when he is judged against all-time greats like Pele and Diego Maradona, he still has work to do.
We don’t know whether the Barcelona striker will have another year in which he records more than 90 goals, but he must still sustain(维持)a similar level of production for the next several seasons.
Messi has already taken part in three of Barcelona’s victorious Champions League(冠军联赛)campaigns, and he played an important role in two of them. In order to firmly establish himself as the greatest club football player in history, he must win the tournament a few more times.
Most importantly, the Argentine(阿根廷人)needs to win on the international stage. Regardless of what Messi does for Barcelona, his legacy will be incomplete if he cannot win the World Cup with Argentina.
Both Pele and Maradona led their countries to the top of international soccer during their careers, and Messi’s performances for his country have been severely disappointing.
While he was still a teenager in 2006-and his lackluster(平淡的)showing is excusable due to his youth-he cannot brush off the disappointment that characterized Argentina’s performance in 2010.
But the 4-0 loss to Germany in the 2010 World Cup Quarter Final seems to have sparked Messi. He scored 12 times for Argentina last year, and the next World Cup could finally be Messi’s breakout performance in blue and white stripes.
Due to all of his accomplishments, it is easy to forget that the extraordinary footballer is just 25 years old. If he can avoid injury or lengthy slumps(低潮状态)until his speed and skills start to decline due to age, he may continue to break records and win trophies.What will Messi have to do in order to be complete in his soccer career?
A.He must win the World Cup with Argentina. |
B.He must win the tournament a few more times. |
C.He must defeat Pele and Maradona. |
D.He must avoid injury or lengthy slumps. |
How was Messi’s performance in 2010 World Cup?
A.Excellent. |
B.Inspiring. |
C.Disappointing. |
D.Normal. |
What can we infer from the passage?
A.Messi has firmly established himself as the greatest club soccer player in history. |
B.Messi will try his best to win the next World Cup with Argentina. |
C.Messi can avoid injury and lengthy slumps to break records and win trophies. |
D.Pele and Maradona led their countries to the top of international soccer during their careers. |
What is the best title of the passage?
A.Lionel Messi, the Best Soccer Player of All Time |
B.Lionel Messi, the Greatest Soccer Player in History |
C.Barcelona and Lionel Messi |
D.World Cup and Lionel Messi |