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
2020-02-09
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 bis 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 our 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/f4IFFFFM
0
大学英语六级
相关试题推荐
FeedingtheMassesaLoadofManureTheGreenRevolutionMyth,NormanBorlaug,andWorldHunger[A]Mostpeopledon’tkno
FortravelerstoEurope,fromJanuary2002there’ssomethingspecialonofferbesidesalltheusualsights.It’sthechancetob
TradingModernistforMcmansion[A]In1949W.ClintonBackusandhiswifehireda43-year-olddesignernamedGretaMagnusson
Anybrainexerciseisbetterthanbeingatotalmentalcouchpotato.Buttheactivitieswiththemost【C1】______arethosethatr
Oncetheydecidedtohavechildren,MiShelandCarlMeissnertackledthenextbigissue:Shouldtheytrytohaveagirl?Itwas
ThemilitaryaspectoftheUnitedStatesCivilWarhasalwaysattractedthemostattentionfromscholars.Theroarofgunfire,t
A、Invarioustents.B、Inuniversitybuildings.C、Inahospital.D、Inanauditorium.A录音中出现的theuniversityathleticfield并没有在选项中出
A、Topreserveitlonger.B、Togiveitaparticulartaste.C、Tomakeitsmoother.D、Toincreasethefermentation.B①四个选项都是动词不定式结构
A)Reduce,reuse,andrecycle.RecyclinghasbecomeapartofAmericanlife.Italsoisanimportantpartofthewaste-processin
Oneofourexpectationsabouteducationisthatitwillpayoffintermsofupwardmobility.Historically,thecorrelationbetw
随机试题
一患者颈部淋巴结无痛性肿大,应考虑哪些疾病?需要进一步做哪些检查才能确诊?
设z=f(x+y,xy)可微,求全微分dz.
DearJose,YouhaveaskedmeforsuggestionsonhowtogetalongintheUnitedStates.Itisdifficulttogiveadvice,butI
肺动脉高压的超声所见哪一项是错误的:
项目利益相关者是指与项目有()关系,并对项目的()有直接或间接影响的所有各方。
应急发电机组有柴油发电机组和燃气轮机发电机组两种。燃气轮机组的空气使用量是柴油机组的()。
根据《专利法》的规定,下列说法不正确的是()。
()isapropertyofobject-orientedsoftwarebywhichanabstractoperationmaybeperformedindifferentwaysindifferentc
在嵌入式实时系统中,主要有三个指标来衡量系统的实时性,即响应时间、吞吐量和生存时间,针对这三个指标,以下叙述中错误的是()。
学生的记录由学号和成绩组成,N名学生的数据已在主函数中放入结构体数组S中,请编写函数fun,它的功能是:把分数最高的学生数据放在h所指的数组中,注意:分数最高的学生可能不止一个,函数返回分数最高的学生的人数。注意:部分源程序在文件PROG1.C中
最新回复
(
0
)