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
2019-04-30
50
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://kaotiyun.com/show/1LX7777K
0
大学英语六级
相关试题推荐
A、Inslums.B、InAfrica.C、Indevelopingcountries.D、Inpre-industrialsocieties.C录音中演讲者自问自答:极端贫穷发生在哪里呢?只发生在发展中国家。因此可以确定C项正确。
A、Itallowsthemtomeetstudentsfromotheruniversities.B、Itpromotestheconceptofself-learning.C、Itallowsmoreflexibil
Directions:Forthispart,youareallowed30minutestowriteanessaycommentingontheissuenowadayswhetherpeopleshouldh
Thehumannoseisanunderratedtool.Humansareoftenthoughttobeinsensitivesmellerscomparedwithanimals,butthisislar
HowtoDuckCabinFeversandOtherAchesonaPlane?[A]Onthefirstlegofthisseason’sholidaytraveltour,Ihadthedeligh
A、Askquestionsabouttheassignedreading.B、Giveanexampleofactivelearning.C、Explainrecentresearchonrecallingchildho
A、Byspendingtaxmoneytocleanabandonedcarsoffthestreet.B、Bytowingthemwiththemoneyfromtherecyclingofmetalint
A、Almosteveryoneknowsthelanguage.B、Onlyafewpeopleknowthelanguage.C、ItissimilartoGermaniclanguages.D、Itshares
VictoriaBarzilaiopenedhermouthwidesothedoctorcouldlookathersorethroat.Not【C1】______aremarkableevent,exceptth
Who’sReallyAddictingYoutoTechnology?[A]"NearlyeveryoneIknowisaddictedinsomemeasuretotheInternet,"wroteTonyS
随机试题
营养性缺铁性贫血的预防措施是
下列关于其他资产价值确定,说法正确的是()。
A企业出纳员赵某在每日终了时所进行的财产清查工作属于()。
关于民事责任的损害赔偿金,下列论述不正确的是( )。
深圳证券交易所对专项资产管理计划收益权份额协议交易实行()回转交易。
某公司在民政部门主办的大型赈灾义演晚会上,当众宣布向民政部门设立的救灾基金捐赠800万元,并签订了书面的赠与合同。事后,该公司迟迟未支付捐款。下列说法中,正确的是()。
自年度资产负债表日至财务会计报告批准报出日之间发生的下列事项中,属于非调整事项的有( )。
阅读以下文字,完成以下问题。千百年来,人们裹在梦幻的柔纱里,忘却尘世的喧嚣,单纯的心灵只愿意接受这一个李白:诗仙、醉圣、谪仙人……不,历史是斑驳的杂色!“安能摧眉折腰事权贵,使我不得开心颜”是______;“生不用封万户侯,但愿一识韩荆州”是___
若一条二次曲线把(-∞,0)内的曲线段y=ex和(1,+∞)内的曲线段连接成一条一阶可导的曲线,则定义在[0,1]上的这条二次曲线为_________________________。
ChestCompressions:MostImportantofCPRCardiopulmonaryresuscitation,orCPR,cansavethelifeofsomeonewhoseheartha
最新回复
(
0
)