We covet(垂涎)their food, their wine and their ability to stay slim while consuming both … but should we be admiring the French for their parenting skills, as well?In her very buzzy new book, “Bringing Up Bebe,” American mom and Paris resident Pamela Druckerman makes the argument that the French have a leg up on rearing their children.“There’s something about the way the French parent that makes it less of a grind and more of a pleasure,” writes Druckerman, a former Wall Street Journal reporter. She cites a 2009 study finding mothers in Ohio think caring for their children is far less pleasant than mothers in Rennes, France.What exactly do French parents do that’s so different from American parents? A few examples:Teaching kids patience and self-control through delayed gratification: French parents teach their children to wait for what they want from an early age—for a few minutes, usually—instead of immediately giving into kids’ demands.“ I’m now convinced that the secret of why French kids rarely whine or collapse into tantrums (發(fā)脾氣) —or at least do so less than American kids—is that they’ve developed the internal resources to cope with frustration,” Druckerman writes.Sleep training often begins at birth: In France, babies are expected to be sleeping through the night by the time they’re four months old. Parents don’t ignore their babies’ cries but they do pause before responding to them.“French parents believe it’s their job to gently teach babies to sleep well,” she writes. “They don’t view being up half the night with an eight-month-old as a sign of parental commitment.”They don’t give in to guilt over spending time away from their kids: French women believe that “it’s unhealthy for mothers and children to spend all their time together. …Children—even babies and toddlers—get to cultivate their inner lives without a mother’s constant interference.”
1.It can be inferred from the first paragraph that .A.French people are superior to AmericansB.French food is better than French wineC.French people are admirableD.French food is tasty
2.The underlined words “have a leg up” in Paragraph 2 probably means .A. offer helpB. gain advantageC. act fastD. stand up
3.Druckerman cites the 2009 study in order to show that .A.French parents are more friendly to their childrenB.American parents love their children very muchC.French parents are more skillfulD.American parents enjoy caring for children
4.It can be inferred from the passage that .A.American parents are more responsibleB.American parents often have to be up half the nightC.French parents often ignore babies’ criesD.French parents feel guilty spending time away from their kids
5.The writer may agree with the following statements except .A.French moms have more free timeB.French way of parenting is betterC.American kids are easily frustratedD.American kids are more independent
【答案解析】
1.【答案】D。解析:推斷題。定位于文中第一段We covet(垂涎)their food, their wine and...可知我們覬覦他們的食物,他們的酒,可以推斷出法國(guó)的食物更美味可口,故選D。
2.【答案】B。解析:推測(cè)詞義題。根據(jù)原文的基調(diào),法國(guó)父母在帶孩子方面比美國(guó)父母更出色,此外,a leg up表示占上風(fēng)的意思,故選B。
3.【答案】C。解析:推斷題。定位于第三段最后一句She cites a 2009 study finding mothers in Ohio think caring for their children is far less pleasant than mothers in Rennes, France推出。
4.【答案】B。解析:推斷題。定位于原文第八段They don’t view being up half the night with an eight-month-old as a sign of parental commitment,可知法國(guó)父母不認(rèn)為半夜應(yīng)該起來(lái),美國(guó)父母與其相反,故選B。
5.【答案】D。解析:推斷題,根據(jù)全文的理解,美國(guó)的父母在培養(yǎng)獨(dú)立性方面是不如法國(guó)父母的,所以D是錯(cuò)誤的。