首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Everyone remembers the whitewashing scene in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. But how many recall the scene that precedes it? Havin
Everyone remembers the whitewashing scene in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. But how many recall the scene that precedes it? Havin
admin
2017-04-29
37
问题
Everyone remembers the whitewashing scene in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. But how many recall the scene that precedes it? Having escaped from Aunt Polly, Tom is teaching himself to whistle when he spies a "newcomer" in his village—a newcomer with "a citified air". They quarrel and wrestle in the dirt. Tom wins the battle but returns home late and is thus commanded to whitewash the famous fence.
After this incident, the reader’s sympathies are meant to lie with Tom. But imagine how a boy like Tom Sawyer would be regarded today. As far as I can tell, that fight is not just "inappropriate behavior", to use current educational terminology(术语), but is also one of the many symptoms of "oppositional defiant disorder"(ODD), a condition that Tom manifests throughout the book. And Tom is not merely ODD: He clearly has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder(ADHD)as well, judging by his inability to concentrate in school.
In fact, Tom manifests many disturbing behaviors. He blames his half-brother for his poor decisions, demonstrating an inability to take responsibility for his actions. He provokes his peers, often using aggression. He deliberately ignores rules and demonstrates defiance toward adults. He is frequently dishonest, at one point even pretending to be dead. Worst of all, he skips school—behavior that might, in time, lead him to be diagnosed with conduct disorder.
I am not being entirely sarcastic here: I have reread "Tom Sawyer" several times in recent years, precisely because Twain draws such fascinating portraits of children whose behavior is familiar, even if we now describe it differently. As a mother of boys, I find this weirdly reassuring: Although ADHD and ODD are often dismissed as recently "invented" disorders, they describe personality types and traits that have always existed. A certain kind of boy has always had trouble paying attention in school.
But if the behavior or actions of the children and the parents are familiar, the society surrounding them is not. Tom Sawyer turns out fine in the end. In 19th-century Missouri, there were still many opportunities for impulsive kids who were bored and fidgety(坐立不安的)in school: The very qualities that made him so tiresome—curiosity, hyperactivity, recklessness—are precisely the ones that get him the girl, win him the treasure and make him a hero.
Nothing like that is available to children who don’t fit in today. Instead of striking out into the wilderness, they get sent to psychologists and prescribed medication—if they are lucky enough to have parents who can afford that sort of thing. Every effort will be made to help them pay attention, listen to the teacher, stop picking fights in the playground. Nowadays, there aren’t any other options.
How did the author feel when she reread The Adventures of Tom Sawyer?
选项
A、The portrait of Tom was extremely ironical.
B、Schooling was fascinating but troublesome.
C、She was familiar with and interested in the life of Tom’s time.
D、She took strange comfort from Twain’s description.
答案
D
解析
转载请注明原文地址:https://jikaoti.com/ti/YaNFFFFM
0
大学英语六级
相关试题推荐
A、Hebrokethelocktofreethebaby.B、Hepulledthebabyoutofthewindow.C、Hecrawledclosetothebabyontheground.D、He
A、Sheistheorganizer.B、Sheiscontributingtosomepartofit.C、SheistheheadoftheAlumniAssociation.D、Shewasastude
ImprovingthebalancebetweentheworkingpartofthedayandtherestofitisagoalofagrowingnumberofworkersinrichWe
WilmaSubrahadnointentionofbecomingapublicspeaker.After【B1】______fromcollegewithdegreesinchemistryandmicrobiolog
TheInternetandInternetuserscanbetargetsforhackers.Hackersarepeoplewhousetheircomputerstogain【B1】______accesst
CertainphrasesonecommonlyhearsamongAmericanscapturetheirdevotiontoindividualism:"Doyourownthing.""Ididitmywa
Negotiationsworkwonders.Thisisparticularlysoininternationalbusinesssinceitismostlythroughnegotiationsthatexport
Itiscommonlyheldthatdrinkingmoderateamountsofalcoholcanreducetheoddsofhavingadeadlyheartattack.More【B1】_____
Forthispart,youareallowed30minutestowriteashortessayentitledOnlineShopping.Youshouldwriteatleast150wordsb
Everyonearrivingatahospital’semergencyroom(ER)wishestobeseenquickly,butforstrokepatientsitcanbeamatteroflif
随机试题
在单侧检验中,给定显著性水平α和P值,可以拒绝原假设的是()。
患者,女性,61岁,3年前腰椎手术史,术后开始左下肢感觉减退、麻木、无力,左足隐痛,期间无外伤史,左足拇趾曾不明原因窦道形成,后自愈,现左足持续疼痛、肿胀,加重半个月,左下肢跛行。其X线及CT图像如下,诊断左足病变为
男性,38岁。在跑步后,突然左腰部绞痛,相继出现肉眼血尿,左腰部有轻度压痛和叩击痛,无肌紧张,应首先考虑为()
男性,27岁。右足底被铁钉刺伤10天后突然出现张口困难,继之出现苦笑面容,角弓反张,每次发作数秒钟。声响及触碰病人时均可诱发上述症状,发作间歇期肌肉仍不能完全松弛,神志一直清楚,无发热。
招标人向投标人发出的中标通知书是()
下列关于贷款担保作用的说法,错误的是()。
导游人员有下列行为的,根据《导游人员管理条例》相关规定,由旅游行政管理部门责令改正,暂扣导游证3至6个月;情节严重的由省、自治区、直辖市人民政府旅游行政部门吊销导游证并予以公告()。
机体缺乏维生素K可引起()。
吸毒对人体危害极大,贩毒更是一种严重的刑事犯罪。虽然世界各国都严厉打击贩毒,但贩毒活动仍然十分猖獗,其原因在于( )
Her______toldherthathewasn’ttobetrusted.
最新回复
(
0
)