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
2020-09-03
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/kHP7777K
0
大学英语六级
相关试题推荐
Forthispart,youareallowed30minutestowriteanessayentitledElectivesforCollegeStudents.Youshouldwriteatleast1
Throughoutevolution,humanshavebeenactive.Ourancestorschasedpreyashunter-gatherersand【C1】______frompredators.Morer
A、Talentedpersonnel.B、Strategicinnovation.C、Competitiveproducts.D、Effectivepromotion.B女士问男士CucinTech公司的复兴是否都归功于战略革新,男士说
A、Theyrewardbusinessesthateliminatefoodwaste.B、Theyprohibitthesaleoffoodsthathavegonestale.C、Theyfacilitateth
A、Itwasmorerespected.B、Itwasusedbymorepeople.C、Itwasvandalizedbytourists.D、ItquicklydeterioratedagainafterLi
A、Howtochangethewayweliveandthewaywework.B、Howcanwemakesureeveryonehasafairshotatsuccessinthisnewecon
TheAmericanWorkplaceIsBroken.Here’sHowWeCanStartFixingIt.[A]Americansareworkinglongerandharderhoursthanever
Asitis,sleepissoundervaluedthatgettingbyonfewerhourshasbecomeabadgeofhonor.Plus,weliveinaculturethat【C1
A、TheyaretooafraidofAmazontoofferonline-groceryservice.B、Theywon’ttakeWalmart’sonline-grocerybusinessseriously.
A、Germany.B、Japan.C、TheUS.D、TheUK.B
随机试题
简述影响国际商务谈判的环境因素。
信息处理基础平台
根据高速公路交通事故统计,蓝色车辆较其他颜色的车辆出事故更多,由此推论驾驶蓝色车比其他颜色的车发生事故的危险性更高。该推论是
下列情况中,可以减免城镇土地使用税的是()。
大气环境二级评价项目现状监测时,以监测期间所处季节的主导风向为轴向,取上风向为0°,至少在约()方向上各设置1个监测点,主导风向下风向应加密布点。
钢管独角桅杆的吊装范围为( )。
甲实木地板厂为增值税一般纳税人,2007年5月有关生产经营情况如下:(1)从油漆厂购进钢琴漆200吨,每吨不含税单价1万元,取得油漆厂开具的增值税专用发票,注明货款200万元、增值税34万元。(2)向农业生产者收购木材30吨,收购凭证上注明
下列未全被列人《世界遗产名录》的有()。
美国的教育体制属于()
Advertiserstendtothinkbigandperhapsthisiswhythey’realwayscominginforcriticism.Theircriticsseemtoresentthem
最新回复
(
0
)