Oh, you must have been a spoiled(宠坏的) kid. You must be really bossy. I wonder what you're going to be like to deal with? That's often the response Angela Hult gets when people find out she's an only child, she told ABC News, Despite such negative(消极的) remarks, Hult has decided to have only one child herself. And she's not alone.
According to the US' Office for National Statistics, women approaching the end of their childbearing years had an average of l.9 children in 2004, pared with 3.1 for their counterparts in 1976. The percentage of one-child families in Britain had risen from 18 percent in 1972 to 26 percent in 2007.
But even though only children are being increasingly mon, the traditional view that they're selfish, spoilt and lack social skills holds strong. Even parents of only children, like Hult, are made to feel guilty about having only one child. Worried that they're being selfish and endangering their child's future, they flock to online discussion forums seeking advice. Soon, however, they ask themselves: is this social prejudice really reasonable?
There have been hundreds and hundreds of research studies that show that only children are no different from their peers(同龄人) , Susan Newman, a social psychologist at Rutgers University in the US, told ABC News.
This raises another question: why are only children still viewed with such suspicion?
There is a belief that's been around probably since humans first existed that to have just one child is somehow dangerous, both for you and for the continuation of your race, Toni Falbo, a professor of educational psychology, told the Guardian. In the past a lot of children died, You'd have had to be crazy to only have one.
Times, of course, have changed and infant mortality(婴儿死亡率) has largely reduced. So what do only children themselves say?
Kayley Kravitz, a blogger for The Huffington Post, grew up as an only child and highly remends the experience. Being an only child taught me the most valuable skill of all: the ability to be alone, she said.
【小题1】Which of the following could be the best title for the text?A．Are only children lonely?B．Are only children mon?C．Are only children dangerous?D．Are only children different?【小题2】What does Susan Newman mean?A．Only children are as good as their peers.B．Only children are more selfish and spoiled.C．Parents feel guilty about having only one child.D．Parents will endanger their only child's future.【小题3】What is the mon belief since human existed?A．The infant death rate always stays high.B．People are crazy to have only one child.C．It's easy for only children to earn their living.D．It's hard to continue the family line with only one child.【小题4】An only child like Kayley .A．must be difficult to persuadeB．can possibly learn to be aloneC．should value special skillsD．need ignore bad experience【小题5】What's the author's attitude towards having only one child?A．Neutral.B．Negative.C．Positive.D．Doubtful.D
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(答案→)D
解析：文章讲述了独生子女这一问题。社会传统观念认为多子多福，而现在，独生子女越来越多，社会上对独生子女有太多的偏见，认为他们自私、娇惯、缺乏生存技能。文章也给出了独生子女的观点，他们其实与同龄人一样，也能学会独立照顾自己。
【小题1】根据“Hult has decided to have only one child herself. And she's not alone...is this social prejudice really reasonable?...hundreds of research studies that show that only children are no different from their peers(同龄人) ”可知，文章主要说的独生子女是否有不同之处，大量研究显示独生子女与同龄人没有不同。故选D。
【小题2】根据“There have been hundreds and hundreds of research studies that show that only children are no different from their peers(同龄人) ,”可知，Susan Newman认为独生子女和同龄人一样，没有什么不同，故选A。
【小题3】根据“There is a belief that's been around probably since humans first existed that to have just one child is somehow dangerous, both for you and for the continuation of your race,”可知，人类有史以来都有一种观念--种族的延续，独生子女不利于家族的延续，。故选D。
【小题4】根据“Being an only child taught me the most valuable skill of all: the ability to be alone,”可知，即使是独生子女，他们也能学会独立。故选B。
【小题5】根据“Times, of course, have changed and infant mortality(婴儿死亡率) has largely reduced. So what do only children themselves say?”可知，作者在文中提到了传统观念，又说到了独生子女的看法，作者对独生子女的态度是中立的。故选A。