For more than six million American children, ing home after school means ing home to an empty house. Some deal with the situation by watching TV. Some may hide. But all of them have something in mon. They spend part of each day alone. They are called latchkey children. They’re children who look after themselves while their parents work. And their bad condition has bee a subject of concern.
Lynette Long was once the headmaster of an elementary school. She said, “We had a school rule against wearing jewelry. A lot of kids had chains around their necks with keys attached. I was constantly telling them to put them inside shirts. There were so many keys, it never came to my mind what they meant.” Slowly, she learned they were house keys.
She and her husband began talking to the children who had them. They learned of the impact(影响) working couples and single parents were having on their children. Fear is the biggest problem faced by children at home alone. One in each three latchkey children the Longs talked to reported being scared. Many had nightmares and were worried about their own safety.
The most mon way latchkey children deal with their fears is by hiding. It might be in a shower stall, under a bed in a closet. The second is TV. They’ll often play it at high volume. It’s hard to get statistics(情况, 材料)on latchkey children, the Longs learned. Most parents are slow to admit they leave their children alone.
1. The main idea about “latchkey children” is that they .
A. are growing in numbers
B. are also found in middle-class neighborhoods
C. watch too much television during the day
D. suffer problems from being left alone
2. Which sentence in the second paragraph is the topic sentence?
A. We had a school rule against wearing jewelry.
B. A lot of kids had chains around their necks.
C. I was constantly telling them to put inside their shirts.
D. They were house keys.
3. The main feeling these children have when they are at home by themselves is .
A. tiredness B. freedom C. loneliness D. fear
4. We may draw a conclusion that .
A. latchkey children enjoy having such a large amount of time alone
B. latchkey children try to hide their feeling
C. latchkey children often watch TV with their parents
D. it’s difficult to find out how many latchkey children there are1--4 DDDD
网友回答
(答案→)1--4 DDDD
解析：
本文介绍了美国一些“钥匙儿童”的生活情况这一社会问题。
1. D。主旨题。根据文章第 1 段第 5 句 They spend part of each day alone 及全文内容可推知此题答案为 D。
2. D。推断题。因为全文讲述的都是一些有关“钥匙儿童”的情况，再根据文章第 2 段最后一句 Slowly, she learned they were house keys 可推知此题答案为 D。
3. D。细节题。根据文章第 3 段第 3 句 Fear is the biggest problem faced by children at home alone 可推知此题答案为 D。
4. D。推断题。根据文章最后一段倒数第 2 句 It’s hard to get statistics(情况, 材料) on latchkey children, the Longs learned 可推知此题答案为 D。