英语四级长篇阅读原文来源及答案Word格式文档下载.docx
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sdesiretobuildandsmash.Two
30?
somethingwomenwereeagerlyseekingfeedbackforanappcalledKnockKnockFamily,aimedat1-to-4-year-olds.“Wewanttomake
sureit'
seasyenoughforbabiestounderstand,”oneexplained.
ThegatheringwasorganizedbyWarrenBuckleitner,aIongtimereviewerofinteractivechildren'
smediawholikestobringtogether
developers,researchers,andinterestgroups—andoftenplentyof
kids,somestillindiapers.ItwentbytheHarryPotter—ishname
DustorMagic,andwasheldinadraftyoldstone-and-woodhallbarelyamilefromthesea,thekindofplacewhereBathildaBagshot
mightretireafterpackingupherwand.Buckleitnerspentthebreaks
testingwhetherhisownremote-controlhelicoptercouldreachthehall'
ssecondstory,whilevariouschildrenwhohadcomewiththeirparentslookedupinaweanddelight.Butmostlytheylookeddown,attheiPadsandothertabletsdisplayedaroundthehalllikesomanyopenboxesofcandy.Iwalkedaroundandtalkedwithdevelopers,andseveralparaphrasedafamoussayingofMariaMontessori'
s,a
quoteimportedtoennobleatouch-screenagewhenveryyoungkids,whooncecouldbecountedononlytochewonasquareofaluminum,arenowengagingwithitinincreasinglysophisticatedways:
“Thehandsaretheinstrumentsofman'
sintelligence.”
What,really,wouldMariaMontessorihavemadeofthisscene?
The30orsochildrenherewerenotdownattheshorepokingtheirfingersinthesandorrunningthemalongmossystonesordiggingforhermitcrabs.Insteadtheywereallinside,aloneoringroupsoftwoorthree,theirfacesafewinchesfromascreen,theirhandsdoingthingsMontessorisurelydidnotimagine.Acoupleof3-year-oldgirlswereleaningagainstapairofFrenchdoors,readinganinteractivestorycalledTenGigglyGorillasandfightingoverwhichapetoticklenext.Aboyinanearbycornerhadturnedhisfingertipintoaredmarkertodrawanuglypictureofhisolderbrother.Onanoldoaktableatthefrontoftheroom,agiantstuffedAngryBirdbeckonedthechildrentocomeandtestouttabletsloaded
withdozensofnewapps.Someofthechairshadpillowsstrappedtothem,sincean18-month-oldmightnototherwisebeabletoreachthetable,thoughshe'
dknowhowtoswipeonceshedid.
Notthatlongago,therewasonlythetelevision,whichtheoreticallycouldbekeptintheparents'
bedroomorlockedbehindacabinet.NowtherearesmartphonesandiPads,whichwashupinthedomesticclutteralongsidekeysandgumandstrayhairties.“Mom,everyonehastechnologybutme!
”my4-year-oldsonsometimeswails.Andwhyshouldn'
thefeelentitled?
Inthesamespanoftimeittookhimtolearnhowtosaythatsentence,thousandsofkids'
appshavebeendeveloped—themajorityaimedatpreschoolerslikehim.Tous(hisparents,Imean),Americanchildhoodhasundergoneasomewhatalarmingtransformationinaveryshorttime.Buttohim,ithasalwaysbeenpossibletodosomanythingswiththeswipeofafinger,tohavehundredsofgamespackedintoagadgetthesamesizeasGoodnightMoon.
In2011,theAmericanAcademyofPediatricsupdateditspolicyonveryyoungchildrenandmedia.In1999,thegrouphaddiscouragedtelevisionviewingforchildrenyoungerthan2,citingresearchonbraindevelopmentthatshowedthisagegroup'
scriticalneedfor
“directinteractionswithparentsandothersignificantcare
givers.”Theupdatedreportbeganbyacknowledgingthatthingshadchangedsignificantlysincethen.In2006,90percentofparentssaidthattheirchildrenyoungerthan2consumedsomeformofelectronicmedia.Nonetheless,thegrouptooklargelythesameapproachitdidin1999,uniformlydiscouragingpassivemediause,
onanytypeofscreen,forthesekids.(Forolderchildren,theacademynoted,“high-qualityprograms”couldhave“educationalbenefits.”)The2011reportmentioned“smartcellphone”and
“newscreen”technologies,butdidnotaddressinteractiveapps.Nordiditbroachthepossibilitythathaslikelyoccurredtothose90percentofAmericanparents,queasythoughtheymightbe:
thatsomegoodmightcomefromthoselittleswipingfingers.
Ihadcometothedevelopers'
conferencepartlybecauseIhopedthatthisparticularsetofparents,enthusiasticastheywereaboutinteractivemedia,mighthelpmeoutofthisconundrum,thattheymightoffersomeguidingprincipleforAmericanparentswhoareclearlynevergoingtomeettheacademy'
sideals,andatsomeleveldonotwantto.Perhapsthisgroupwouldbeabletoarticulatesomebenefitsofthenewtechnologythatthemorecautiouspediatriciansweren'
treadytoaddress.Inurturedthishopeuntilaboutlunchtime,whenthedevelopersgatheringinthedininghallceasedbeingvisionariesandrevertedtobeingordinaryparents,trying
tosettletheirtoddlersinhighchairsandgetthemtoeatsomethingbesidesbread.
Ifellintoconversationwithawomanwhohadhelpeddevelop
MontessoriLetterSounds,anappthatteachespreschoolersthe
Montessorimethodsofspelling.
ShewasaformerMontessoriteacherandamotheroffour.Imyselfhavethreechildrenwhoareallfansofthetouchscreen.
Whatgamesdidherkidsliketoplay?
Iasked,hopingforsuggestionsIcouldtakehome.
“Theydon'
tplayallthatmuch.”
Really?
Whynot?
“BecauseIdon'
tallowit.Wehavearuleofnoscreentimeduringtheweek,”unlessit'
sclearlyeducational.
Noscreentime?
Noneatall?
Thatseemsattheouteredgeofrestrictive,evenbythestandardsofmyovercontrollingparenting
set.
“Ontheweekends,theycanplay.Igivethemalimitofhalf
anhourandthenstop.Enough.Itcanbetooaddictive,too
HeranswersosurprisedmethatIdecidedtoasksomeoftheotherdeveloperswhowerealsoparentswhattheirdomesticgroundrulesforscreentimewere.Onesaidonlyonairplanesandlongcarrides.AnothersaidWednesdaysandweekends,forhalfanhour.Themostpermissivesaidhalfanhouraday,whichwasaboutmyruleathome.AtonepointIsatwithoneofthebiggestdevelopersofe-bookappsforkids,andhisfamily.Thetoddlerwasstartingtofussinherhighchair,sothemomdidwhatmanyofushavedoneatthatmoment—stuckaniPadinfrontofherandplayedashortmoviesoeveryoneelsecouldenjoytheirlunch.Whenshesawmewatching,shegavemetheuniversaltenselookofmotherswhofeeltheyarebeingjudged.“Athome,”sheassuredme,“Ionlylet
herwatchmoviesinSpanish.”
Bytheirpinchedreactions,theseparentsilluminatedformetheneurosisofourage:
astechnologybecomesubiquitousinourlives,Americanparentsarebecomingmore,notless,waryofwhatitmightbedoingtotheirchildren.Technologicalcompetenceandsophisticationhavenot,forparents,translatedintocomfortandease.Theyhavemerelycreatedyetanotherspherethatparentsfeeltheyhavetonavigateinexactlytherightway.Ontheonehand,parentswanttheirchildrentoswimexpertlyinthedigitalstreamthattheywillhavetonavigatealltheirlives;
ontheotherhand,theyfearthattoomuchdigitalmedia,tooearly,willsinkthem.
Parentsenduptreatingtabletslikeprecisionsurgicalinstruments,gadgetsthatmightperformmiraclesfortheirchild'
sIQandhelp
himwinsomeniftyroboticscompetition—butonlyiftheyareused
justso.Otherwise,theirchildcouldenduponeofthosesad,palecreatureswhocan'
tmakeeyecontactandhasanavatarforagirlfriend.
NormanRockwellneverpaintedBoySwipingFingeronScreen,andourownvisionofaperfectchildhoodhasneveradjustedtoaccommodatethatnow-commontableau.Addtothatourmodernfearthateveryparentingdecisionmayhavelastingconsequences—that
everyminuteofenrichmentlostormindlessentertainmentindulgedwilladduptosomepermanenthandicapinthefuture—andyouhave
deepguiltandconfusion.Todate,nobodyofresearchhasdefinitivelyprovedthattheiPadwillmakeyourpreschoolersmarterorteachhertospeakChinese,oralternativelythatitwillrustherneuralcircuitry—thedevicehasbeenoutforonlythreeyears,notmuchmorethanthetimeittakessomeacademicstofindfundingandgatherresearchsubjects.Sowhat'
saparenttodo?
In2001,theeducationandtechnologywriterMarcPrenskypopularizedthetermdigitalnativestodescribethefirstgenerationsofchildrengrowingupfluentinthelanguageofcomputers,videogames,andothertechnologies.(Therestofusaredigitalimmigrants,strugglingtounderstand.)ThistermtookonawholenewsignificanceinApril2010,whentheiPadwasreleased.iPhoneshadalreadybeentemptingyoungchildren,butthescreenswerealittlesmallforpudgytoddlerhandstonavigatewitheaseandaccuracy.Plus,parentstendedtobemorepossessiveoftheirphones,hidingtheminpocketsorpurses.TheiPadwasbigandbright,andacasecouldbemadethatitbelongedtothefamily.Researcherswhostudychildren'
smediaimmediatelyrecognizeditasagamechanger.
Previously,youngchildrenhadtobeshownbytheirparentshowtouseamouseoraremote,andtheconnectionbetweenwhattheyweredoingwiththeirhandandwhatwashappeningonthescreentooksometimetograsp.Butwit