剑桥雅思14Test1阅读Passage1真题文本
READINGPASSAGE1
Youshouldspendabout20minutesonQuestions1-13,whicharebasedonReadingPassage1below.
THEIMPORTANCEOFCHILDREN’SPLAY
Brickbybrick,six-year-oldAliceisbuildingamagicalkingdom.Imaginingfairy-taleturretsandfire-breathingdragons,wickedwitchesandgallantheroes,she’screatinganenchantingworld.Althoughsheisn’tawareofit,thisfantasyishelpinghertakeherfirststepstowardshercapacityforcreativityandsoitwillhaveimportantrepercussionsinheradultlife.
Minuteslater,Alicehasabandonedthekingdominfavourofplayingschoolswithheryoungerbrother.Whenshebosseshimaroundashis‘teacher’,she’spractisinghowtoregulateheremotionsthroughpretence.Lateron,whentheytireofthisandsettledownwithaboardgame,she’slearningabouttheneedtofollowrulesandtaketurnswithapartner.
‘Playinallitsrichvarietyisoneofthehighestachievementsofthehumanspecies,’saysDrDavidWhitebreadfromtheFacultyofEducationattheUniversityofCambridge,UK.‘Itunderpinshowwedevelopasintellectual,problem-solvingadultsandiscrucialtooursuccessasahighlyadaptablespecies.’
Recognisingtheimportanceofplayisnotnew:overtwomillenniaago,theGreekphilosopherPlatoextolleditsvirtuesasameansofdevelopingskillsforadultlife,andideasaboutplay-basedlearninghavebeendevelopingsincethe19thcentury.
Butweliveinchangingtimes,andWhitebreadismindfulofaworldwidedeclineinplay,pointingoutthatoverhalfthepeopleintheworldnowliveincities.‘Theopportunitiesforfreeplay,whichIexperiencedalmosteverydayofmychildhood,arebecomingincreasinglyscarce,’hesays.Outdoorplayiscurtailedbyperceptionsofrisktodowithtraffic,aswellasparents’increasedwishtoprotecttheirchildrenfrombeingthevictimsofcrime,andbytheemphasison‘earlierisbetter’whichisleadingtogreatercompetitioninacademiclearningandschools.
InternationalbodiesliketheUnitedNationsandtheEuropeanUnionhavebeguntodeveloppoliciesconcernedwithchildren’srighttoplay,andtoconsiderimplicationsforleisurefacilitiesandeducationalprogrammes.Butwhattheyoftenlackistheevidencetobasepolicieson.
‘Thetypeofplayweareinterestedinischild-initiated,spontaneousandunpredictable-but,assoonasyouaskafive-year-old“toplay”,thenyouastheresearcherhaveintervened,’explainsDrSaraBaker.‘Andwewanttoknowwhatthelong-termimpactofplayis.It’sarealchallenge.’
DrJennyGibsonagrees,pointingoutthatalthoughsomeofthestepsinthepuzzleofhowandwhyplayisimportanthavebeenlookedat,thereisverylittledataontheimpactithasonthechild’slaterlife.
Now,thankstotheuniversity’snewCentreforResearchonPlayinEducation,DevelopmentandLearning(PEDAL),Whitebread,Baker,Gibsonandateamofresearchershopetoprovideevidenceontheroleplayedbyplayinhowachilddevelops.
‘Astrongpossibilityisthatplaysupportstheearlydevelopmentofchildren’sself-control,’explainsBaker.‘Thisisourabilitytodevelopawarenessofourownthinkingprocesses—itinfluenceshoweffectivelywegoaboutundertakingchallengingactivities.’
InastudycarriedoutbyBakerwithtoddlersandyoungpre-schoolers,shefoundthatchildrenwithgreaterself-controlsolvedproblemsmorequicklywhenexploringanunfamiliarset-uprequiringscientificreasoning.‘Thissortofevidencemakesusthinkthatgivingchildrenthechancetoplaywillmakethemmoresuccessfulproblem-solversinthelongrun.’
Ifplayfulexperiencesdofacilitatethisaspectofdevelopment,saytheresearchers,itcouldbeextremelysignificantforeducationalpractices,becausetheabilitytoself-regulatehasbeenshowntobeakeypredictorofacademicperformance.
Gibsonadds:‘Playfulbehaviourisalsoanimportantindicatorofhealthysocialandemotionaldevelopment.Inmypreviousresearch,Iinvestigatedhowobservingchildrenatplaycangiveusimportantcluesabouttheirwell-beingandcanevenbeusefulinthediagnosisofneurodevelopmentaldisorderslikeautism.’
Whitebread’srecentresearchhasinvolveddevelopingaplay-basedapproachtosupportingchildren’swriting.‘Manyprimaryschoolchildrenfindwritingdifficult,butweshowedinapreviousstudythataplayfulstimuluswasfarmoreeffectivethananinstructionalone.’Childrenwrotelongerandbetter-structuredstorieswhentheyfirstplayedwithdollsrepresentingcharactersinthestory.Inthelateststudy,childrenfirstcreatedtheirstorywithLego_withsimilarresults.‘Manyteacherscommentedthattheyhadalwayspreviouslyhadchildrensayingtheydidn’tknowwhattowriteabout.WiththeLegobuilding,however,notasinglechildsaidthisthroughthewholeyearoftheproject.’
Whitebread,whodirectsPEDAL,trainedasaprimaryschoolteacherintheearly1970s,when,ashedescribes,‘theteachingofyoungchildrenwaslargelyaquietbackwater,untroubledbyanyseriousintellectualdebateorcontroversy.’Now,thelandscapeisverydifferent,withhotlydebatedtopicssuchasschoolstartingage.
‘Somehowtheimportanceofplayhasbeenlostinrecentdecades.It’sregardedassomethingtrivial,orevenassomethingnegativethatcontrastswith“work”.Let’snotlosesightofitsbenefits,andthefundamentalcontributionsitmakestohumanachievementsinthearts,sciencesandtechnology.Let’smakesurechildrenhavearichdietofplayexperiences.’
_Lego:colouredplasticbuildingblocksandotherpiecesthatcanbejoinedtogether
Questions1-8
Completethenotesbelow.
ChooseONEWORDONLYfromthepassageforeachanswer.
Writeyouranswersinboxes1-8onyouranswersheet.
Questions9-13
DothefollowingstatementsagreewiththeinformationgiveninReadingPassage1
Inboxes9-13onyouranswersheet,write
TRUEifthestatementagreeswiththeinformation
FALSEifthestatementcontradictstheinformation
NOTGIVENifthereisnoinformationonthis
9Childrenwithgoodself-controlareknowntobelikelytodowellatschoollateron.
10Thewayachildplaysmayprovideinformationaboutpossiblemedicalproblems.
11Playingwithdollswasfoundtobenefitgirls’writingmorethanboys’writing.
12ChildrenhadproblemsthinkingupideaswhentheyfirstcreatedthestorywithLego.
13Peoplenowadaysregardchildren’splayaslesssignificantthantheydidinthepast.
剑桥雅思14test1阅读passage1原文译文
passage1
儿童嬉戏玩耍的重要性
几分钟之后,Alice抛下了这个王国,开始和她的小弟弟玩起了假装上学的游戏。当她扮演他的“老师”指挥他干这干那的时候,她是在通过这种假扮行为练习如何控制自己的情绪。再后来,等他们玩腻了这个游戏,坐下来开始进行一局棋盘游戏的时候,她是在学习了解:需要遵守规则并与搭档交替出手。
对游戏之重要性的认可并非什么新鲜事:两千多年以前,希腊哲学家柏拉图(Plato)就热烈赞美了它的好处,认为它是为成年生活开发各项技能的手段,而自从19世纪以来就不断在发展出各种寓学习于游戏的理念。
但我们生活在变化中的时代里,而Whitebread注意到了玩耍这件事在全球范围内的缩减,他指出:全世界有一半以上的人口现在居住在城市里。“自由玩耍,我在童年里几乎每天都有机会体验,现在却正变得越来越稀缺,”他说道。户外玩耍活动之所以被削减,是出于对交通事故风险的担忧,以及家长们逐渐攀升的、保护自己孩子不受犯罪行为侵害的愿望,同时还由于当前对“更早就是更好”的强调,这导致了在学科学习和学校中更激烈的竞争。
“我们所感兴趣的那类游戏是儿童自己开启的、自发进行的和不可预测的——但是,一且你让一个五岁大的孩子‘去玩儿吧’,那你作为研究者就已经是进行了干预,”SaraBaker博士这样解释。“而我们想要了解游戏的长线影响是什么。这是个真正的挑战。”
JennyGibson博士表示同意并指出:虽然在游戏究竟何等重要、以及为什么如此重要这个谜题中,有一些阶段已经得到了审视研究,然而在它对儿童之后的人生究竟产生何种影响这个方面,还是数据寥寥。
现在,多亏了这所大学新成立的“教育发展学习型游戏研究中心”(简称PEDAL)Whitebread、Baker、Gibson这些人和一支研究团队希望能提供出证据,展示游戏在一个儿童成长的过程中到底扮演何种角色。
Baker博士在一项对幼儿和学龄前儿童展开的研究中发现:在探索一个需要引入科学分析的陌生领域时,有着更强自控力的儿童能更快地解决问题。“这类证据令我们确信,给予儿童嬉戏玩耍的机会从更长远来看将会让他们成长为更成功的问题解决者。”
研究者们认为,如果游戏体验确实能促进这个方面的发展,这对于教育领域该如何举动来说就是极度重要的,因为已经有证据证明:自我管控能力是学业成就高低的一个关键性预示因素。
Gibson补充说:“游戏行为还是健康的社交和情感发展的一个重要指标。在先前的研究中,我曾了解过观察游戏中的儿童如何可以为我们提供重要线索,从而看出他们是否处在良好的成长状态,甚至还能为诊断出例如自闭症这样的神经发展失调问题提供帮助。”
剑桥雅思14test1阅读passage1答案解析
Question1
答案:creativity
关键词:magicalkingdom,help
定位原文:原文第1段,Brickbybrick,six-year-oldAliceisbuildingamagicalkingdom.…Althoughsheisn’tawareofit,thisfantasyishelpinghertakeherfirststepstowardshercapacityforcreativityandsoitwillhaveimportantrepercussionsinheradultlife.
解题思路:选择magicalkingdom和help作为关键词,空格做develop的宾语,所以可知是名词,句意问的是“帮助发展…”。回到原位定位第1段。第一段后半部分说到,由helpinghertakeherfirststepstowardshercapacityforcreativity可知,帮助她发展的是capacityforcreativity,填一个名词,选择creativity,创造力。
Question2
答案:rules
关键词:boardgames,turn-taking
定位原文:原文第2段,Lateron,whentheytireofthisandsettledownwithaboardgame,she’slearningabouttheneedtofollowrulesandtaketurnswithapartner.
解题思路:利用boardgames及turn-taking可以直接定位到原文第2段最后一句。由题干可知,空格做involve的宾语,并且和turn-taking构成并列关系。在定位句中,turn-taking换成了taketurns,与taketurns构成并列关系的是followrules,由于我们的答案只能写一个词,所以involve和follow构成替换关系,答案为rules。
Question3
答案:cities
关键词:changes,populations
定位原文:原文第5段,Butweliveinchangingtimes,andWhitebreadismindfulofaworldwidedeclineinplay,pointingoutthatoverhalfthepeopleintheworldnowliveincities.
解题思路:利用changes定位到原文第5段的changingtimes。题干中问的是“…的人口增长了”,所以进一步利用populations定位,空格做of的宾语,是名词或动名词。在定位句中,populations换成了people,句中说的是“世界上超过半数的人口现在生活在城市中”,由此可知,是“城市的人口增长了”。
Question4
答案:traffic
关键词:opportunities,fear
定位原文:原文第5段,‘Theopportunitiesforfreeplay,whichIexperiencedalmosteverydayofmychildhood,arebecomingincreasinglyscarce,’hesays.Outdoorplayiscurtailedbyperceptionsofrisktodowithtraffic,…
解题思路:根据填空题的顺序性,利用opportunities可以确定大致定位。题干中的limited替换原文的curtailed(缩减),fear替换原文的risk,所以fear(害怕)的是traffic。
Question5
答案:crime
关键词:fear,并列关系
定位原文:原文第5段,Outdoorplayiscurtailedbyperceptionsofrisktodowithtraffic,aswellasparents’increasedwishtoprotecttheirchildrenfrombeingthevictimsofcrime,…
Question6
答案:competition
关键词:increased,schools
定位原文:原文第5段,…andbytheemphasison‘earlierisbetter’whichisleadingtogreatercompetitioninacademiclearningandschools.
解题思路:题干问到“学校里增加的…”,需要一个名词。承接第四题和第五题,第六题信息与traffic及crime构成并列关系。在原文中,and的后面为答案所在的部分,其中,题干中的increased换成了greater,所以答案为competition。
Question7
答案:evidence
关键词:internationalpolicies,difficult
定位原文:原文第6段,InternationalbodiesliketheUnitedNationsandtheEuropeanUnionhavebeguntodeveloppoliciesconcernedwithchildren’srighttoplay,…Butwhattheyoftenlackistheevidencetobasepolicieson.
Question8
答案:life
关键词:impact,rest
定位原文:原文第7-8段,‘Andwewanttoknowwhatthelong-termimpactofplayis.…DrJennyGibsonagrees,pointingoutthatalthoughsomeofthestepsinthepuzzleofhowandwhyplayisimportanthavebeenlookedat,thereisverylittledataontheimpactithasonthechild’slaterlife.
解题思路:题干问的是,“调查需要研究玩耍对于孩子们余下的…的影响”空格处需要一个名词。impact在第7段和第8段各出现了一次,第7段的impact大致说明了research的内容,第8段的impact具体说到“theimpactithasonthechild’slaterlife”,所以题干中的rest相当于原文中的later,空格答案为life。
Question9
答案:TRUE
关键词:children,self-control
定位原文:原文第11段,…shefoundthatchildrenwithgreaterself-controlsolvedproblemsmorequicklywhenexploringanunfamiliarset-uprequiringscientificreasoning.‘Thissortofevidencemakesusthinkthatgivingchildrenthechancetoplaywillmakethemmoresuccessfulproblem-solversinthelongrun.’
解题思路:利用children和self-control定位到原文第11段,题干中的goodself-control替换成了greaterself-control。从定位句中可以看出,自控力更强的孩子处理问题会更快,引号中的句子进一步说明,inthelongrun(长期来看),这会使得孩子们更成功地解决问题。这层意思与题干中说到的,“自控力很强的孩子可能在之后的校园生活中表现更好”,是基本吻合的,所以答案选择TRUE。