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We talk continuously about how to make children more “resilient (有恢复力的)”, but whatever we’re doing, it’s notworking. Rates of anxiety disorders and depression are rising rapidly among teenagers. What are we doing wrong?

Nassim Taleb invented the word “antifragile” and used it to describe a small but very important class of systems that gain from shocks, challenges, and disorder. The immune (免疫的) system is one of them: it requires exposure to certain kinds of bacteria and potential allergens (过敏原) in childhood in order to develop to its full ability.

Children’s social and emotional abilities are as antifragile as their immune systems. If we overprotect kids and keep them “safe” from unpleasant social situations and negative emotions, we deprive (剥夺) them of the challenges and opportunities for skill-building they need to grow strong. Such children are likely to suffer more when exposed later to other unpleasant but ordinary life events, such as teasing and social rejection.

It’s not the kids’ fault. In the UK, as in the US, parents became much more fearful in the 1980s and 1990s as cable TV and later the Internet exposed everyone, more and more, to those rare occurrences of crimes and accidents that now occur less and less. Outdoor play and independent mobility went down; screen time and adult-monitored activities went up.

Yet free play in which kids work out their own rules of engagement, take small risks, and learn to master small dangers turns out to be vital for the development of adult social and even physical competence. Depriving them of free play prevents their social-emotional growth. Norwegian play researchers Ellen Sandseter warned: “We may observe an increased anxiety or mental disorders in society if children are forbidden from participating in age adequate risky play.”

They wrote those words in 2011. Over the following few years, their prediction came true. Kids born after 1994 are suffering from much higher rates of anxiety disorders and depression than did the previous generation.

What can we do to change these trends? We can’t guarantee that giving primary school children more independence today will bring down the rate of teenage suicide tomorrow. The links between childhood overprotection and teenage mental illness are suggestive but not clear-cut. Yet there are good reasons to suspect that by depriving our naturally antifragile kids of the wide range of experiences they need to become strong, we are systematically preventing their growth. We should let go—and let them grow.

1.Why does the author mention the immune system in Paragraph 2?

A.To stress its importance. B.To analyze the cause of anxiety.

C.To question the latest discovery. D.To help understand a new word.

2.Parents overprotect children because ________.

A.they are concerned about their children’s safety

B.they want to keep children from being teased

C.parent-monitored activities are a must

D.children are not independent enough

3.According to the author, free play can ________.

A.promote children’s resilience

B.strengthen children’s friendship

C.reduce children’s risky behavior

D.develop children’s leadership skills

4.Which of the following does the author probably agree with?

A.Stop trying to perfect your child.

B.It takes great courage to raise children.

C.Prepare the child for the road, not the road for the child.

D.The more exposed the children are to the risks, the more resilient they would become.

高二英语阅读理解困难题

少年,再来一题如何?
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