Section B: Information Matching

Directions: In this section, you are going to read a passage with ten statements attached to it. Each statement contains information given in one of the paragraphs. Identify the paragraph from which the information is derived. You may choose a paragraph more than once. Each paragraph is marked with a letter. Answer the questions by marking the corresponding letter on your Answer Sheet.

Doctor's orders: Let children just play

[A] Imagine a drug that could enhance a child's creativity and critical thinking. Imagine that this drug were simple to make, safe to take, and could be had for free. The nation's leading pediatricians say this miracle compound exists. In a new clinical report, they are urging doctors to prescribe it liberally to the children in their care.

[B] “This may seem old-fashioned, but there are skills to be learned when kids aren't told what to do,” said Dr. Michael Yogman, a Harvard Medical School pediatrician. Whether it's rough physical play, outdoor play or pretend play, kids derive important lessons from the chance to make things up as they go, he said.

[C] The advice, issued Monday by the American Academy of Pediatrics, may come as a shock to some parents. After spending years fretting over which toys to buy, which apps to download and which skill-building programs to send their kids to, letting them simply play—or better yet, playing with them—could seem like a step backward. The pediatricians insist that it's not.

[D] “Play is not silly behavior,” the academy's report declares. It fosters children's creativity, cooperation, and problem-solving skills—all of which are critical for a 21st-century workforce. When parents engage in play with their children, it builds a wall against the harmful effects of all kinds of stress, including poverty. In the pediatricians' view, essentially every life skill that's valued in adults can be built up with play. The pediatricians' appeal comes as kids are being squeezed by increasing academic demands and the constant invasion of digital media.

[E] The trends have been a long time coming. Between 1981 and 1997, studies showed that the time children spent at play declined by 25 percent. Since the adoption of sweeping education reforms in 2001, public schools have steadily increased the amount of time devoted to preparing for standardized tests. The focus on academic “skills and drills” has cut deeply into recess and other time for free play.

[F] By 2009, a study of Los Angeles kindergarten classrooms found that five-year-olds were so burdened with academic requirements that they were down to an average of just 19 minutes per day of “choice time.” One in four Los Angeles teachers reported there was no time at all for “free play.” Increased academic pressures have left 30 percent of U.S. kindergarten classes without any recess.

[G] Pediatricians aren't the only ones who have noticed. Child advocates called the loss of play in early childhood “a tragedy, both for the children themselves and for our nation and the world.” Kids in play-based kindergartens end up equally good or better at reading and intellectual skills. New research demonstrates why playing with blocks might have been time better spent than early mathematics intervention aimed at preschoolers.

[H] Another playtime thief: the growing proportion of kids' time spent in front of screens and digital devices. Last year, Common Sense Media reported that children up through age eight spent an average of two hours and 19 minutes in front of screens each day. This increase comes with rising risks of obesity, sleep deprivation and cognitive delays, the academy warned in 2016.

[I] “I respect that parents have busy lives and it's easy to hand a child an iPhone,” Yogman said. “But there's a cost to that. For young children, it's much too passive. And kids really learn better when they're actively engaged and have to really discover things.”

[J] The decline of play is a special hazard for the roughly 1 in 5 children in the U.S. who live in poverty. These 14 million children most urgently need to develop the resilience that is cultivated with play. Instead, they are disproportionately affected by trends that are making play scarce: academic pressures at schools, outside play areas that are unsafe, and parents who lack the time or energy.

[K] Yogman also worries about the pressures for more affluent kids. “The notion that as parents we need to schedule every minute of their time is not doing them a great service,” he said. Even well-meaning parents may be “robbing them of the opportunity to have that joy of discovery and curiosity—the opportunity to find things out on their own.”

[L] UCLA pediatrician Carlos Lerner acknowledged that the new prescription may meet with skepticism from parents, who are anxious for advice on how to give their kids a leg up. They should welcome the simplicity: letting your child play is one of the most valuable things you can do. It doesn't involve spending a lot of money. They just don't recognize it right now as particularly valuable.

36. Increased use of digital devices steals away children's playtime.

37. Since the beginning of this century, an increasing amount of time has been shifted in public schools from recess to academic activities.

38. It has been acknowledged that while kids may welcome pediatricians' recommendation, their parents may doubt its feasibility.

39. According to some professionals, deprivation of young children's playtime will do harm not only to children themselves but to the country and the world.

40. By playing with children, parents can prevent them from being harmed by stress.

41. Playing with digital devices discourages kids from active discovery, according to pediatrician Dr. Michael Yogman.

42. The suggestion of letting children simply play may sound like going backwards to parents who want to help build their children's skills.

43. Dr. Michael Yogman believes the idea that parents should carefully schedule children's time may not be helpful to their growth.

44. One quarter of teachers in an American city said that children in kindergartens had no time for playing freely.

45. According to a pediatrician, no matter what kind of play children engage in, they are learning how to create things.

Answers & Explanations

36. H。解析：题干中的 digital devices steals away playtime 对应 [H] 段中的 Another playtime thief: ...screens and digital devices（另一个玩耍时间的小偷：屏幕和数字设备）。

37. E。解析：题干中的 Since the beginning of this century (即 2001) 对应 [E] 段的 Since the adoption of sweeping education reforms in 2001... cut deeply into recess（自 2001 年教育改革以来，大幅削减了课间休息时间）。

38. L。解析：题干中的 parents may doubt its feasibility 对应 [L] 段的 may meet with skepticism from parents... They just don't recognize it as particularly valuable（可能会遭到家长的怀疑...他们现在还没意识到它的价值）。

39. G。解析：题干中的 harm not only to children themselves but to the country and the world 对应 [G] 段的 a tragedy, both for the children themselves and for our nation and the world（对孩子、国家和世界都是悲剧）。

40. D。解析：题干中的 prevent them from being harmed by stress 对应 [D] 段的 builds a wall against the harmful effects of all kinds of stress（筑起一道墙，抵御各种压力的有害影响）。

41. I。解析：题干中的 discourages kids from active discovery 对应 [I] 段的 much too passive... kids really learn better when they're actively engaged and have to really discover things（太被动了...孩子们积极参与发现事物时学得更好）。

42. C。解析：题干中的 sound like going backwards 对应 [C] 段的 could seem like a step backward（似乎是在退步）。

43. K。解析：题干中的 carefully schedule children's time may not be helpful 对应 [K] 段的 The notion that... we need to schedule every minute of their time is not doing them a great service（我们需要安排他们每一分钟的想法，并没有给他们带来很大的好处）。

44. F。解析：题干中的 One quarter (四分之一) of teachers... had no time for playing freely 对应 [F] 段的 One in four Los Angeles teachers reported there was no time at all for free play（四分之一的洛杉矶老师报告说根本没有时间自由玩耍）。

45. B。解析：题干中的 no matter what kind of play... create things 对应 [B] 段的 Whether it's rough... outdoor... pretend play... make things up as they go（无论是打闹、户外还是假装游戏...在过程中编造创造事物）。