Each summer, no matter how pressing my work schedule, I take off one day exclusively for my son. We call it dad-son day. This year our third stop was the amusement park, where he discovered that he was tall enough to ride one of the fastest roller coasters (过山车) in the world. We blasted through face-stretching turns and loops for ninety seconds. Then, as we stepped off the ride, he shrugged and, in a distressingly calm voice, remarked that it was not as exciting as other rides he’d been on. As I listened, I began to sense something seriously out of balance.
Throughout the season, I noticed similar events all around me. Parents seemed hard pressed to find new thrills for indifferent kids. Surrounded by ever-greater stimulation, their young faces were looking disappointed and bored.
Facing their children’s complaints of “nothing to do”, parents were shelling out large numbers of dollars for various forms of entertainment. In many cases the money seemed to do little more than buy transient relief from the terrible moans of their bored children. This set me pondering the obvious question: “How can it be so hard for kids to find something to do when there’s never been such a range of stimulating entertainment available to them?”
What really worries me is the intensity of the stimulation. watch my little daughter’s face as she absorbs the powerful onslaught(冲击) of arousing visuals and bloody special effects in movies.
Why do children immersed in this much excitement seem starved for more? That was, I realized, the point. I discovered during my own reckless adolescence that what creates excitement is not going fast, but going faster. Thrills have less to do with speed than changes in speed.
I’m concerned about the cumulative effect of years at these levels of feverish activity. It is no mystery to me why many teenagers appear apathetic(麻木的) and burned out, with a “been there, done that” air of indifference toward much of life. As increasing numbers of friends’ children are prescribed medications—stimulants to deal with inattentiveness at school or anti-depressants to help with the loss of interest and joy in their lives—I question the role of kids’ boredom in some of the diagnoses.
My own work is focused on the chemical imbalances and biological factors related to behavioral and emotional disorders. These are complex problems. Yet I’ve been reflecting more and more on how the pace of life and the intensity of stimulation may be contributing to the rising rates of psychiatric problems among children and adolescents in our society.
11. The author felt surprised in the amusement park at the fact that_____.
12. According to the author, children are bored_____.
13. From his own experience, the author came to the conclusion that children seem to expect_____.
14. In Paragraph 6, the author expresses his doubt about the effectiveness of trying to change children’s indifference toward much of life by_____.
15. In order to alleviate children’s boredom, the author would probably suggest______.
问题1选项
A.his son was not as thrilled by the roller coasters ride as expected
B.his son blasted through the turns and loops with his face stretched
C.his son appeared distressed but calm while riding the roller coasters
D.his son could keep his balance so well on the fast moving roller coasters
问题2选项
A.unless their parents can find new thrills for them
B.when they don’t have any access to stimulating fun games
C.when they are left alone at weekends by their working parents
D.even if they are exposed to more and more kinds of entertainment
问题3选项
A.a much wider variety of sports facilities
B.activities that require sophisticated skills
C.ever-changing thrilling forms of recreation
D.physical exercises that are more challenging
问题4选项
A.diverting their interest from electronic visual games
B.prescribing medications for their temporary relief
C.creating more stimulating activities for them
D.spending more money on their entertainment
问题5选项
A.adjusting the pace of life and intensity of stimulation
B.promoting the practice of dad-son days
C.consulting a specialist in child psychology
D.balancing school work with extracurricular activities
第1题:A
第2题:D
第3题:C
第4题:B
第5题:A
第1题:
【选项释义】
The author felt surprised in the amusement park at the fact that ________. 在游乐园里，作者感到惊讶是因为________。
A. his son was not as thrilled by the roller coasters ride as expected A. 他的儿子并没有像预期的那样对坐过山车感到兴奋
B. his son blasted through the turns and loops with his face stretched B. 他的儿子拉长了脸，飞快地转着圈
C. his son appeared distressed but calm while riding the roller coasters C. 他的儿子在坐过山车时看起来很痛苦，但很平静
D. his son could keep his balance so well on the fast moving roller coasters D. 他的儿子能在快速移动的过山车上保持平衡
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】第一步，寻找句内线索，定位到第一段第五句“然后，当我们下了车，他耸了耸肩，用一种令人沮丧的平静的声音说，这趟车不像他以前坐过的其他车那么刺激（as exciting as）”。第二步，寻找上下文线索，从关键词as…as可知“儿子”本来对过山车有期待的，但是坐完之后有点失望，因为感到惊讶，所以作者思考了这件事，因此答案选A选项“他的儿子并没有像预期的那样对坐过山车感到兴奋”。
【干扰项排除】
B选项“他的儿子拉长了脸，飞快地转着圈”定位到“我们在90秒的时间里不停地扭着脸”，这里虽然和B选项一致，但是这是事实，作者不会为此感到惊讶的；
C选项“他的儿子在坐过山车时看起来很痛苦，但很平静”，见B选项，C选项不是儿子坐过山车的反应；
D选项“他的儿子能在快速移动的过山车上保持平衡”，见B选项，D选项不是儿子坐过山车的反应。
第2题:
【选项释义】
According to the author, children are bored ________. 根据作者的说法，孩子们很无聊________。
A. unless their parents can find new thrills for them A. 除非他们的父母能为他们找到新的刺激
B. when they don’t have any access to stimulating fun games B. 当他们没有机会玩刺激有趣的游戏时
C. when they are left alone at weekends by their working parents C. 当他们在周末被工作的父母单独留下的时候
D. even if they are exposed to more and more kinds of entertainment D. 即使他们接触到越来越多的娱乐节目
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】第一步，精准定位，定位到文章第三段第三句话“这让我思考一个显而易见的问题：“在从来没有如此多的刺激娱乐活动可供他们选择的情况下，孩子们怎么能这么难（hard）找到事情做呢？”，第二步，综合理解，作者认为很奇怪，因为即使有这么多刺激的东西，孩子还是觉得无聊，所以答案选D选项“即使他们接触到越来越多的娱乐节目”。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“除非他们的父母能为他们找到新的刺激”，定位到文章第三段第二句话“在许多情况下，这些钱似乎只是暂时缓解（relief）了孩子们无聊的可怕呻吟”，由此可知即使父母给他们寻找刺激，孩子还是无聊，这里属于反向干扰；
B选项“当他们没有机会玩刺激有趣的游戏时”，见正确选项解析，这里属于反向干扰；
C选项“当他们在周末被工作的父母单独留下的时候”，文章没有提及周末孩子被父母单独留下，这里属于无中生有。
第3题:
【选项释义】
From his own experience, the author came to the conclusion that children seem to expect ________. 作者从自己的经历中得出结论，孩子们似乎期待________。
A. a much wider variety of sports facilities A. 更多种类的运动设施
B. activities that require sophisticated skills B. 需要复杂技能的活动
C. ever-changing thrilling forms of recreation C. 不断变化的令人兴奋的娱乐形式
D. physical exercises that are more challenging D. 更具挑战性的体育锻炼
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】第一步，精准定位，定位到文章第五段“我在自己鲁莽的青春期发现，创造兴奋的不是快速，而是变得更快（faster）”。第二步，综合理解，从这里孩子们期待兴奋，而兴奋的来源是更快的速度，由此可知答案选C选项“不断变化的令人兴奋的娱乐形式”。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“更多种类的运动设施”，文章没有提及，属于无中生有；
B选项“需要复杂技能的活动”，文章没有提及，属于无中生有；
D选项“更具挑战性的体育锻炼”，文章没有提及，属于无中生有。
第4题:
【选项释义】
In Paragraph 6, the author expresses his doubt about the effectiveness of trying to change children’s indifference toward much of life by ________. 在第6段中，作者表达了他对通过________试图改变孩子们对生活冷漠态度的有效性的怀疑。
A. diverting their interest from electronic visual games A. 转移他们对电子视觉游戏的兴趣
B. prescribing medications for their temporary relief B. 为他们的暂时缓解开药物
C. creating more stimulating activities for them C. 为他们创造更多刺激的活动
D. spending more money on their entertainment D. 花更多的钱在他们的娱乐上
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】第一步，精准定位，第六段最后一句“随着越来越多朋友的孩子被开了药物治疗——用兴奋剂来治疗在学校的注意力不集中，用抗抑郁药来帮助他们在生活中失去的兴趣和快乐——我质疑（question）孩子的无聊在某些诊断中的作用。”，第二步，综合理解，由此可知现在孩子们治疗无聊的方法是吃药，但是作者对这种做法提出了质疑，所以答案选B选项“为他们的暂时缓解开药物”。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“转移他们对电子视觉游戏的兴趣”，文章没有提及这种解决无聊的方法，这里属于无中生有；
C选项“为他们创造更多刺激的活动”，定位到文章第三段第三句话“这让我思考一个显而易见的问题：“在从来没有如此多的刺激娱乐活动可供他们选择的情况下，孩子们怎么能这么难（hard）找到事情做呢？”，由此可知作者已经明说刺激活动解决不了孩子的无聊，这里的态度不是质疑的态度，这里属于偷换概念；
D选项“花更多的钱在他们的娱乐上”，定位到文章第三段第二句话“在许多情况下，这些钱似乎只是暂时缓解（relief）了孩子们无聊的可怕呻吟”，由此可知这是父母现在的做法，作者是持否定态度的，作者很肯定地说这种做法是没有用的，不是质疑态度，所以D选项属于偷换概念。
第5题:
【选项释义】
In order to alleviate children’s boredom, the author would probably suggest ________. 为了减轻孩子们的无聊感，作者可能会建议________。
A. adjusting the pace of life and intensity of stimulation A. 调整生活节奏和刺激强度
B. promoting the practice of dad-son days B. 提倡父子日的做法
C. consulting a specialist in child psychology C. 咨询儿童心理学专家
D. balancing school work with extracurricular activities D. 平衡学校工作和课外活动
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】第一步，寻找句内线索，定位到最后一段最后一句话“然而，我一直在越来越多地思考，生活的节奏和刺激的强度可能是导致（may be contributing to）我们社会中儿童和青少年精神问题发病率上升的原因”，作者推测出儿童感觉到无聊的原因，既然找出了原因那么作者最可能会根据这个原因来提出建议，所以答案选A选项“调整生活节奏和刺激强度”。
【干扰项排除】
B选项“提倡父子日的做法”，这是作者和自己的儿子之间的做法，只是文章没有说父子日的好处，如果作者想推行这个做法的话应该把好处一一列出来，所以这里属于推理过度；
C选项“咨询儿童心理学专家”，文章没有提及，属于无中生有；
D选项“平衡学校工作和课外活动”，文章没有提及，属于无中生有。
【文章来源】2006年英语六级真题
【参考译文】
每年夏天，不管我的工作安排有多紧迫，我都会专门为我的儿子抽出一天时间。我们称之为父子日。今年我们的第三站是游乐场，在那里他发现自己足够高，可以乘坐世界上最快的过山车之一。我们在九十秒内轰轰烈烈地经历了拉伸脸部的转弯和循环。然后，当我们走下过山车时，他耸了耸肩，用一种令人痛苦的平静声音说，这不像他坐过的其他过山车那样令人兴奋。听着听着，我开始感觉到有什么东西严重失衡了。
整个季节，我注意到我周围都有类似的事件。父母们似乎很难为冷漠的孩子们找到新的刺激。在越来越大的刺激面前，他们年轻的面孔显得失望和无聊。
面对孩子“无事可做”的抱怨，家长们在各种娱乐活动上花费了大量的金钱。在很多情况下，这些钱似乎只是暂时缓解了孩子们无聊的可怕呻吟。这让我思考了一个显而易见的问题：“孩子们在没有这么多刺激的娱乐活动的情况下，找点事情做怎么会这么难呢？”
真正让我担心的是刺激的强度。我看着我小女儿的脸，她接受了电影中令人兴奋的视觉效果和血腥特效的强大冲击。
为什么沉浸在这种兴奋之中的孩子们似乎渴望更多？我意识到，这就是关键所在。在我自己鲁莽的青春期，我发现让我兴奋的不是速度，而是更快。速度带来的刺激比速度的变化更大。
我担心的是多年来这种程度的狂热活动的累积效应。对我来说，为什么许多青少年对生活表现出一种冷漠和倦怠的态度，对生活的许多方面都表现出一种“已经去过，已经做过”的冷漠态度，这一点并不神秘。越来越多的朋友给他们的孩子开了药物——来解决他们在学校注意力不集中的兴奋剂，或帮助解决生活中失去兴趣和快乐的抗抑郁药——我质疑孩子们的无聊在某些诊断中所扮演的角色。
我自己的工作重点是与行为和情绪障碍相关的化学失衡和生物因素。这些是复杂的问题。然而，我一直在越来越多地思考，生活的节奏和刺激的强度如何可能导致我们社会中儿童和青少年精神问题比率上升。
