In this age of Internet chat, videogames and reality television, there is no shortage of mindless activities to keep a child occupied. Yet despite the competition, my 8-year-old daughter Rebecca wants to spend her leisure time writing short stories. She wants to enter one of her stories into a writing contest, a competition which she won last year.
As a writer, I know about winning contests – and about losing them. I know what it is like to work hard on a story only to receive a rejection letter from the publisher. I also know the pressure of trying to live up to a reputation created by previous victories. What if she doesn’t win the contest again? That’s the strange thing about being a parent. So many of our own past scars and destroyed hopes can resurface in our children.
A revelation (启示) came last week when I asked her, “Don’t you want to win again?” “No,” she replied, “I just want to tell the story of an angel going to first grade.”
I had just spent weeks correcting her stories as she spontaneously (自发地) told them. Telling myself that I was merely an experienced writer guiding the young writer across the hall, I offered suggestions for characters, conflicts and endings for her tales. The story about a fearful angel starting first grade was quickly “guided” by me into the tale of a little girl with a wild imagination taking her first music lesson.
I had turned her contest into my contest without even realizing it.Staying back and giving kids space to grow is not as easy as it looks. Because I know very little about farm animals who use tools or angels who go to first grade, I had to accept the fact that I was co-opting my daughter’s experience.
While stepping back was difficult for me, it was certainly a good first step that I will quickly follow with more steps, putting myself far enough away to give her room but close enough to help if asked. All the while I will be reminding myself that children need room to experiment, grow and find their own voices.
小题1:What do we learn from the first paragraph?
A.A lot of amusements compete for children’s time nowadays. |
B.Children have lots of fun doing mindless activities. |
C.Rebecca is much too busy to enjoy her leisure time. |
D.Rebecca draws on a lot of online materials for her writing. |
小题2:What did the author say about her own writing experience?
A.She was constantly under pressure to write more. |
B.Most of her stories had been rejected by publishers. |
C.She did not quite live up to her reputation as a writer. |
D.Her road to success was full of pain and frustrations. |
小题3:Why did Rebecca want to enter this year’s writing contest?
A.She believed she possessed real talent for writing. |
B.She was sure of winning with her mother’s help. |
C.She wanted to share her stories with readers. |
D.She had won a prize in the previous contest. |
小题4:The author took great pains to improve her daughter’s stories because _______.
A.she wanted to help Rebecca realize her dreams of becoming a writer |
B.she was afraid Rebecca’s imagination might run wild while writing |
C.she did not want to disappoint Rebecca who needed her help so much |
D.she believed she had the knowledge and experience to offer guidance |
小题5:The underlined sentence probably means that the author was _______.
A.trying not to let her daughter enjoy her own life |
B.trying to get her daughter to do the thing as the author wished |
C.making sure that her daughter would win the contest |
D.helping her daughter develop real skills for writing |
小题6:What’s the author’s advice for parents?
A.Children should be given every chance to voice their opinions. |
B.Parents should keep an eye on the activities their kids engage in. |
C.Children should be allowed freedom to grow through experience. |
D.A writing career, though attractive, is not for every child to pursue. |