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
The Concept of Childhood in Western Countries The history of childhood has been a heated topic in social history since the h
The Concept of Childhood in Western Countries The history of childhood has been a heated topic in social history since the h
admin
2022-01-29
33
问题
The Concept of Childhood in Western Countries
The history of childhood has been a heated topic in social history since the highly influential book ’Centuries of Childhood’, written by French historian Philippe Aries, emerged in 1960. He claimed that ’childhood ‘is a concept created by modern society.
Whether childhood is itself a recent invention has been one of the most intensely debated issues in the history of childhood. Historian Philippe Aries asserted that children were regarded as miniature adults, with all the intellect and personality that this implies, in Western Europe during the Middle Ages (up to about the end of the 15th century). After scrutinising medieval pictures and diaries, he concluded that there was no distinction between children and adults for they shared similar leisure activities and work. However, this does not mean children were neglected, forsaken or despised, he argued. The idea of childhood corresponds to awareness about the peculiar nature of childhood, which distinguishes the child from adult, even the young adult. Therefore, the concept of childhood is not to be confused with affection for children.
Traditionally, children played a functional role in contributing to the family income in the history. Under this circumstance, children were considered to be useful. Back in the Middle Ages, children of 5 or 6 years old did necessary chores for their parents. During the 16th century, children of 9 or 10 years old were often encouraged or even forced to leave their family to work as servants for wealthier families or apprentices for a trade.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, industrialisation created a new demand for child labour; thus many children were forced to work for a long time in mines, workshops and factories. The issue of whether long hours of labouring would interfere with children’s growing bodies began to perplex social reformers. Some of them started to realise the potential of systematic studies to monitor how far these early deprivations might be influencing children’s development.
The concerns of reformers gradually had some impact upon the working condition of children. For example, in Britain, the Factory Act of 1833 signified the emergence of legal protection of children from exploitation and was also associated with the rise of schools for factory children. Due partly to factory reform, the worst forms of child exploitation were eliminated gradually. The influence of trade unions and economic changes also contributed to the evolution by leaving some forms of child labour redundant during the 19th century. Initiating children into work as ’useful’ children was no longer a priority, and childhood was deemed to be a time for play and education for all children instead of a privileged minority. Childhood was increasingly understood as a more extended phase of dependency, development and learning with the delay of the age for starting full-time work. Even so, work continued to play a significant, if less essential, role in children’s lives in the later 19th and 20th centuries. Finally, the ’useful child’ has become a controversial concept during the first decade of the 21st century, especially in the context of global concern about large numbers of children engaged in child labour.
The half-time schools established upon the Factory Act of 1833 allowed children to work and attend school. However, a significant proportion of children never attended school in the 1840s, and even if they did, they dropped out by the age of 10 or 11. By the end of the 19th century in Britain, the situation changed dramatically, and schools became the core to the concept of a ’normal’ childhood.
It is no longer a privilege for children to attend school and all children are expected to spend a significant part of their day in a classroom. Once in school, children’s lives could be separated from domestic life and the adult world of work. In this way, school turns into an institution dedicated to shaping the minds, behaviour and morals of the young. Besides, education dominated the management of children’s waking hours through the hours spent in the classroom, homework (the growth of ’after school’ activities), and the importance attached to parental involvement.
Industrialisation, urbanisation and mass schooling pose new challenges for those who are responsible for protecting children’s welfare, as well as promoting their learning. An increasing number of children are being treated as a group with unique needs, and are organised into groups in the light of their age. For instance, teachers need to know some information about what to expect of children in their classrooms, what kinds of instruction are appropriate for different age groups, and what is the best way to assess children’s progress. Also, they want tools enabling them to sort and select children according to their abilities and potential.
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage? In boxes on your answer sheet, write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
The rise of trade unions majorly contributed to the protection of children from exploitation in the 19th century.
选项
A、TRUE
B、FALSE
C、NOT GIVEN
答案
C
解析
在19世纪,工会的崛起大大地有利于保护儿童免受剥削。通过题干关键词 trade unions可定位到第4段“The influence of trade unions and economic changes also contributed to the evolution by leaving some forms of child labour redundant during the 19th century.”这句话是说工会和经济变革使得一些形式的童工劳动不再需要,并未提及这是否“大大有利于”儿童免受剥削。其实,之前的句子已提到真正保护儿童免受剥削的应该是《1833年工厂法》的颁布。因此,本题的答案为Not Given。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/m6AO777K
本试题收录于:
雅思阅读题库雅思(IELTS)分类
0
雅思阅读
雅思(IELTS)
相关试题推荐
Howisanewbornstarformed?Fortheanswertothisquestion,wemustlooktothefamiliarphysicalconceptofgravitat
FromNeolithicpotterytothe20thcenturyposters,theextantvarietiesofartsinChina______thosewhosearchforcontinuity;
Crosby’srecentstudyofAmericanhistoricaldemographyisblithelybasedonthereconstitutionoftherecordsofsingle
POSTSCRIPT:LETTER::
Onlysuperficiallyobnoxious,his______mannerendearedhimtothosewhorelishedthemordantwitofturn-of-the-centurybohemian
Theteacher’sdirectionsregardinghowtowriteourresearchpaperwerevery(i)______andvague,sowhenshereturnedthepapers
Althoughitisalmostalwaystakenforgranted,sleepisanessentialpartofmostcreatures’lives.Forgiraffes,twohoursad
Theauthorspendssomuchtimeonthisintricatedescriptionofscenerythatthereaderbecomeslostinthis______,andthepoin
Inherstartlinglyoriginalwriting,shewentfurtherthananyothertwentieth-centuryauthorinEnglish(perhapsinanylanguage
DespiteadramaticincreaseinthenumberofpeopleridingbicyclesforrecreationinParkville,arecentreportbytheParkvill
随机试题
麻醉后出现复视可能为
某35~110kV变电所35kV出线8回,110kV出线4回。此时宜采用的接线方式为下列何项?
已知圆O:x2+y2+4y=0,l是过(,一1)的直线,则直线l与圆O的位置关系是__________.
(2012)()学习和教学观深刻影响了世界范围内的教育改革,与程序教学运动、学科结构运动合称为20世纪三大教学运动。
传统经济是一种“资源一产品一消费一污染一排放”的单项式流程图组成的经济,循环经济是模拟自然生态系统中“生产者一消费者一分解者”的循环途径和食物链网,使经济活动组织成为“资源一产品一消费一再生一资源”的物质反复的闭环式流程。循环经济体现了现代的思维模式和活动
A.心房颤动B.心力衰竭C.乳头肌功能失调D.胸腔积液二尖瓣狭窄早期常见的并发症是
(中央财经大学2011年初试真题)下列关于税务机关实施税收保全措施的表述中,正确的有()。
社会意识是社会生活的精神方面,是社会存在的反映。下列选项属于社会意识的有()
请编制程序,其功能是:内存中连续存放着16个二进制字节数,在原16个数的第4和第5个数之间插入00H,在原16个数的第8和第9个数之间插入55H,在原16个数的第12和第13个数之间插入AAH,在原16个数的最后加入FFH。将按上述方法插入4个字节数后得到
窗体上有一个名称为Commandl的命令按钮,并有如下程序代码:PrivateSubCommand1Click()Staticaa=1:b=2:c=3Callf(a,b,c)Printa;b;cEndSubSubf(ByVa
最新回复
(
0
)