Japan is going through a complex national identity crisis. That may be no bad thing, says a new book by an American researcher.

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问题     Japan is going through a complex national identity crisis. That may be no bad thing, says a new book by an American researcher. The economy is ceased making progress, but the society is in motion. Japan is a difficult country to report on and analyze because things do not change in big, noticeable ways. They change in an increasing process, generally of small steps but which, over time, can add up to big movements. And just such a big movement seems to be taking place.
    Mr. Nathan has been observing Japan since the 1960s. Whereas most people look at economic data or the comings and goings of prime ministers, he is more interested in schools, novels, comic books, and the minds of young entrepreneurs and maverick (持不同意见的) local politicians. In particular, his focus is on whether Japan’s famously cohesive, conformist society may be breaking under the strain of economic stagnation (停滞), and on how such strains have been affecting the country’s sense of purpose and of national identity.
    Fractures (分裂) are what he looks for and fractures are what he finds. On balance, they are neither obviously dangerous nor obviously positive, but they are, as he says, signs of motion which could, in time, lead in unpredictable directions. The most worrying factures he writes about are in the schools where violence and truancy (逃学) have risen remarkably. Old Japan hands shrug wearily at such things, for worries about violence have long existed but have never really seemed terribly serious. Now, though, Mr. Nathan’s numbers do make the situation look grave.
    Such trends appear to be symptoms of two related phenomena: a widespread feeling of disillusionment, alienation, uncertainty or plain anger, which has spread to children, too; and a gradual breakdown of old systems of discipline — part familial, part social, part legal — which, appear to prevent schools and parents from dealing effectively with children behaving in a bad way.
    Japan is, in short, passing through a national identity crisis. However, there are plenty of positive aspects to it, too. One is a considerable increase in the number of actual or budding young entrepreneurs. The numbers remain modest, but are nevertheless surprisingly high given the state of the economy in recent years. Another is a new eagerness among popular writers and maverick politicians to try to define and encourage a new national pride.
What contributed to school violence and truancy in Japan?

选项 A、Schools and parents that refuse to handle misbehaving children effectively.
B、The reduced communication between parents and their children.
C、Violence that has wide spread among students who find it exciting.
D、Problems in the adult world spreading to children and rules being not strict enough.

答案D

解析 文章第四段提到两个与暴力和逃学有关的症候:普遍的幻灭感、疏离感、不稳定或愤怒也波及到了孩子;以及旧的(家庭的、社会的、法律的)纪律体系逐渐瓦解。D)“成人世界的问题波及到了孩子以及不够严格的法规”与原文意思相符,故为答案。第四段末句提到,旧纪律体系的瓦解使学校和家长无法有效处理行为不端的孩子,由此可知,并非学校和家长拒绝处理孩子的不良行为,故排除A)。文章并未提及家长与孩子的交流问题,故排除B)。文中没有提及学生认为暴力事件令人兴奋刺激,故排除C)。
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