2008年12月大学英语四级真题试卷

That’s enough, kids

It was a lovely day at the park and Stella Bianchi was enjoying the sunshine with her two children when a young boy, aged about four, approached her two-year-old son and pushed him to the ground.

“I’d watched him for a little while and my son was the fourth or fifth child he’d shoved,” she says. “I went over to them, picked up my son, turned to the boy and said, firmly, ’No, we don’t push.’” What happened next was unexpected.

“The boy’s mother ran toward me from across the park,” Stella says. “I thought she was coming over to apologise, but instead she started shouting at me for ’ disciplining her child’. All I did was let him know his behaviour was unacceptable. Was I supposed to sit back while her kid did whatever he wanted, hurting other children in the process?”

Getting your own children to play nice is difficult enough. Dealing with other people’s children has become a minefield.

In my house, jumping on the sofa is not allowed. In my sister’s house it’s encouraged. For her it’s about kids being kids: “If you can’t do it at three, when can you do it?”

Each of these philosophies is valid and, it has to be said, my son loves visiting his aunt’s house. But I find myself saying “no” a lot when her kids are over at mine. That’s OK between sisters but becomes dangerous territory when you’re talking to the children of friends or acquaintances.

“Kids aren’t all raised the same,” agrees Professor Naomi White of Monash University. “But there’s still an idea that they’re the property of the parents. We see our children as an extension of ourselves, so if you’re saying that my child is behaving inappropriately, then that’s somehow a criticism of me.”

In those circumstances, ifs difficult to know whether to approach the child directly or the parent first. There are two schools of thought,

“I’d go to the child first,” says Andrew Fuller, author of Trick).’ Kids. “Usually a quiet reminder that ’we don’t do that here’ is enough. Kids have finely tuned antennae (直觉) for how to behave in different settings.”

He points out that bringing it up with the parent first may make them feel neglectful, which could cause problems. Of course, approaching the child first can bring its own headaches, too.

This is why White recommends that you approach the parents first. “Raise your concerns with the parents if they’re there and ask them to deal with it,” she says.

Asked how to approach a parent in this situation, psychologist Meredith Fuller answers: “Explain your needs as well as stressing the importance of the friendship. Preface your remarks with something like: ’I know you will think I’m silly but in my house I don’t want…’”

When it comes to situations where you’re caring for another child, White is straightforward: “Common sense must prevail. If things don’t go well then have a chat.”

There’re a couple of new grey areas. Physical punishment, once accepted from any adult, is no longer appropriate. “Now you can’t do it without feeling uneasy about it,” White says.

Men might also feel uneasy about dealing with other people’s children. “Men feel nervous,” White says. “A new set of considerations has come to the fore as part of the debate about how we handle children.”

For Andrew Fuller, the child-centric nature of our society has affected everyone. “The rules are different now from when today’s parents were growing up,” he says. “Adults are scared of saying, ’Don’t swear’, or asking a child to stand up on a bus. They’re worried that there will be conflict if they point these things out–either from older children, or their parents.”

He sees it as a loss of the sense of common public good and public courtesy(礼貌), and says that adults suffer from it as much as children.

Meredith Fuller agrees. “A code of conduct is hard to create when you’re living in a world in which everyone is exhausted from overwork and lack of sleep, and a world in which nice people are perceived to finish last.”

“It’s about what I’m doing and what I need,” Andrew Fuller says. “The days when a kid came home from school and said, ’I got into trouble’, and dad said, ’You probably deserved it’, are over. Now the parents are charging up to the school to have a go at teachers.”

This jumping to our children’s defence is part of what fuels the “walking on eggshells” feeling that surrounds our dealings with other people’s children. You know that if you remonstrate(劝诫) with the child, you’re going to have to deal with the parent. It’s admirable to be protective of our kids, but is it good?

“Children have to learn to negotiate the world on their own, within reasonable boundaries,” White says. “I suspect that it’s only certain sectors of the population doing the running to the school–better-educated parents are probably more likely to be too involved.”

White believes our notions of a more child-centred society should be challenged. “Today we have a situation where, in many families, both parents work, so the amount of time children get from parents has diminished,” she says.

“Also, sometimes when we talk about being child-centred, it’s a way of talking about treating our children like commodities (商品). We’re centred on them but in ways that reflect positively on us. We treat them as objects whose appearance and achievements are something we can be proud of, rather than serve the best interests of the children.”

One way over-worked, under-resourced parents show commitment to their children is to leap to their defence. Back at the park, Bianchi’s intervention(干预) on her son’s behalf ended in an undignified exchange of insulting words with the other boy’s mother.

As Bianchi approached the park bench where she’d been sitting, other mums came up to her and congratulated her on taking a stand. “Apparently the boy had a longstanding reputation for bad behaviour and his mum for even worse behaviour if he was challenged.”

Andrew Fuller doesn’t believe that we should be afraid of dealing with other people’s kids. “Look at kids that aren’t your own as a potential minefield,” he says. He recommends that we don’t stay silent over inappropriate behaviour, particularly with regular visitors.

Crime is increasing worldwide. There is every reason to believe the 【B1】______ will continue through the next few decades.

Crime rates have always been high in multicultural industrialized societies such as the United States, but a new 【B2】______ has appeared on the world 【B3】______ –rapidly rising crime rates in nations that previously reported few 【B4】______ . Street crimes such as robbery, rape, 【B5】______ and auto theft are clearly rising, 【B6】______ in eastern European countries such as Hungary and in western European nations such as the United Kingdom.

What is driving this crime 【B7】______ ? There are no simple answers. Still, there’re certain conditions 【B8】______ with rising crime: increasing heterogeneity(混杂) of populations, greater cultural pluralism, higher immigration, democratization of governments, 【B9】______

These conditions are increasing observable around the world. For instance, cultures that were previously isolated and homogeneous(同种类的) such as Japan, Denmark, and Greece, 【B10】______

Multiculturalism can be a rewarding, enriching experience, but it can. also lead to a clash of values. Heterogeneity in societies will be the rule in the twenty-first century, and 【B11】______

A bookless life is an incomplete life. Books influence the depth and breadth of life. They meet the natural 【S1】______ for freedom, for expression, for creativity and beauty of life. Learners, therefore, must have books, and the right type of book, for the satisfaction of their need. Readers mm 【S2】______ to books because their curiosity concerning all manners of things, their eagerness to share in the experiences of others and their need to 【S3】______ from their own limited environment lead them to find in books food for the mind and the spirit. Through their reading they find a deeper significance to life as books acquaint them with life in the world as it was and it is now. They are presented with a 【S4】______ of human experiences and come to 【S5】______ other ways of thought and living. And while 【S6】______ their own relationships and responses to life, the readers often find that the 【S7】______ in their stories are going through similar adjustments, which help to clarify and give significance to their own.

Books provide 【S8】______ material for readers’ imagination to grow. Imagination is a valuable quality and a motivating power, and stimulates achievement. While enriching their imagination, books 【S9】______ their outlooks, develop a fact-finding attitude and train them to use leisure 【S10】______ . The social and educational significance of the readers’ books cannot be overestimated in an academic library.

WORD BANK

[A] abundant [I] establishing

[B] characters [J] narrow

[C] communicating [K] naturally

[D] completely [L] personnel

[E] derive [M] properly

[F] desire [N] respect

[G] diversity [O] widen

[H] escape

If you’re a male and you’re reading this, congratulations: you’re a survivor. According to statistics, you’re more than twice as likely to die of skin cancer than a woman, and nine times more likely to die of AIDS. Assuming you make it to the end of your natural term, about 78 years for men in Australia, you’ll die on average five years before a woman.

There’re many reasons for this–typically, men take more risks than women and are more likely to drink and smoke–but perhaps more importantly, men don’t go to the doctor.

“Men aren’t seeing doctors as often as they should,” says Dr. Gullotta. “This is particularly so for the over-40s, when. diseases tend to strike.”

Gullotta says a healthy man should visit the doctor every year or two. For those over 45, it should be at least once a year.

Two months ago Gullotta saw a 50-year-old man who had delayed doing anything about his smoker’s cough for a year.

“When I finally saw him it had already spread and he has since died from lung cancer,” he says. “Earlier detection and treatment may not have cured him, but it would have prolonged (延长) Ns life.”

According to a recent ’survey, 95% of women aged between 15 and early 40s see a doctor once a year, compared to 70% of men in the same age group.

“A lot of men think they’re invincible (不可战胜的),” Gullotta says. “They only come in when a friend drops dead on the golf course and they think, ’Geez, if it could happen to him…’”

Then there’s the ostrich approach. “Some men are scared of what might be there and would rather not know,” says Dr. Ross Cartmill.

“Most men get their cars serviced more regularly than they service their bodies,” Camnill says. He believes most diseases that commonly affect men could be addressed by preventive check-ups.

Regular check-ups for men would inevitably place strain on the public purse, Cartmill says. “But prevention is cheaper in the long run than having to treat the diseases. Besides, the ultimate cost is far greater; it’s called premature death.”

High-quality customer service is preached (宣扬) by many, but actually keeping customers happy is easier said than done.

Shoppers seldom complain to the manager or owner of a retail store, but instead will alert their friends, relatives, co-workers, strangers–and anyone who will listen.

Store managers are often the last to hear complaints, and often find out only when their regular customers decide to frequent their competitors, according to a study jointly conducted by Verde Group and Wharton School.

“Storytelling hurts retailers and entertains consumers,” said Paula Courtney, President of the Verde group. “The store loses the customer, but the shopper must also find a replacement.”

On average, every unhappy customer will complain to at least four others, and will no longer visit the specific store. For every dissatisfied customer, a store will lose up to three more due to negative reviews. The resulting “snowball effect” can be disastrous to retailers.

According to the research, shoppers who purchased clothing encountered the most problems. Ranked second and third were grocery and electronics customers.

The most common complaints include filled parking lots, cluttered (塞满了的) shelves, overloaded racks, out-of-stock items, long check-out lines, and rude salespeople.

During peak shopping hours, some retailers solved the parking problems by getting moonlighting(业余兼职的) local police to work as parking attendants. Some hired flag wavers to direct customers to empty parking spaces. This guidance eliminated the need for customers to circle the parking lot endlessly, and avoided confrontation between those eyeing the same parking space.

Retailers can relieve the headaches by redesigning store layouts, pre-stocking sales items, hiring speedy and experienced cashiers, and having sales representatives on hand to answer questions.

Most importantly, salespeople should be diplomatic and polite with angry customers.

“Retailers who’re responsive and friendly are more likely to smooth over issues than those who aren’t so friendly,” said Professor Stephen Hoch. “Maybe something as simple as a greeter at the store entrance would help.”

Customers can also improve future shopping experiences by filing complaints to the retailer, instead of complaining to the rest of the world. Retailers are hard-pressed to improve when they have no idea what is wrong.

Playing organized sports is such a common experience in the United States that many children and teenagers take them for granted. This is especially true 【B1】______ children from families and communities that have the resources needed to organize and 【B2】______ sports programs and make sure that there is easy 【B3】______ to participation opportunities. Children in low-income families and poor communities are 【B4】______ likely to take organized youth sports for granted because they often 【B5】______ the resources needed to pay for participation 【B6】______ , equipment, and transportation to practices and games 【B7】______ their communities do not have resources to build and 【B8】______ sports fields and facilities.

Organized youth sports 【B9】______ appeared during the early 20th century in the United States and other wealthy nations. They were originally developed 【B10】______ some educators and developmental experts 【B11】______ that the behavior and character of children were 【B12】______ influenced by their social surroundings and everyday experiences. This 【B13】______ many people to believe that if you could organize the experiences of children in 【B14】______ ways, you could influence the kinds of adults that those children would become.

This belief that the social 【B15】______ influenced a person’s overall development was very 【B16】______ to people interested in progress and reform in the United States 【B17】______ the beginning of the 20th century. It caused them to think about 【B18】______ they might control the experiences of children to 【B19】______ responsible and productive adults. They believed strongly that democracy depended on responsibility and that a 【B20】______ capitalist economy depended on the productivity of workers.