Teenagers and social networking
A) As a parent of two boys at primary school, I worry about the issues associated with teenagers and social media. Newspapers are constantly filled with frightening accounts of drug addiction and aggressive behaviour supposedly caused by violent video games. But even when these accounts touch on real concerns, they do not really reflect the great mass of everyday teenage social behaviour: the online chat, the texting, the surfing, and the emergence of a new teenage sphere that is conducted digitally.
B) New technologies always provoke generational panic, which usually has more to do with adult fears than with the lives of teenagers. In the 1930s, parents worried that radio was gaining “an irresistible hold of their children". In the 80s, the great danger was the Sony Walkman (随身听). When you look at today's digital activity, the facts are much more positive than you might expect,
C) Indeed, social scientists who study young people have found that their digital use can be inventive and even beneficial. This is true not just in terms of their social lives, but their education too. So if you use a ton of social media, do you become unable, or unwilling, to engage in face-to-face contact? The evidence suggests not. research by Amanda Lenhart of the Pew Research Centre, a US think tank, found that the most passionate texters are also the kids most likely to spend time with friends in person. One form of socialising doesn't replace the other. It expands it.
D) "Kids still spend time face to face," Lenhart says. Indeed, as they get older and are given more freedom, they often case up on social networking. Early on, the web is their “third space", but by the late teens, it's replaced in reaction to greater independence. They have to be on Facebook, to know what's going on among friends and family, but they are ambivalent (有矛盾心理的) about it, says Rebecca Eynon, a research fellow at the Oxford Internet Institute, who has interviewed about 200 British teenagers over three years. As they gain experience with living online, they begin to adjust their behaviour, struggling with new communication skill, as they do in the real world.
E) Parents are wrong to worry that kids don't care about privacy. In fact, they spend hours changing Facebook settings or using quick-delete sharing tools, such as Snapchat, to minimise their traces. Or they post a photograph on Instagram, have a pleasant conversation with friends and then delete it so that no traces remain.
F) This is not to say that kids always use good judgment. Like everyone else, they make mistakes- sometimes serious ones. But working out how to behave online is a new social skill. While there's plenty of drama and messiness online, it is not, for most tens, a cycle of non- stop abuse: a Pew study found only 15% of tens said someone had bullied them online in the last 12 months.
G) But surely all this short form writing is affecting literacy? Certainly, teachers worry. They say that kids use overly casual language and text-speak in writing, and don't have as much patience for long reading and complex arguments. Yet studies of first-year college papers suggest these anxieties may be partly based on misguided nostalgia (怀旧). When Stanford university scholar Andrea Lunsford gathered data on the rates of errors in “freshman composition" papers going back to 1917, she found that they were virtually identical to today.
H) But even as error rates stayed stable, student essays have blossomed in size and complexity. They are now six times longer and, unlike older "what I did this summer" essays, they offer arguments supported by evidence. Why? Computers have vastly increased the ability of students to gather information, sample different points of view and write more fluidly.
I) When linguist Naomi Baron studied students' instant messaging even there she found surprisingly rare usage of short forms such as “u” for “you", and as students got older, they began to write in more grammatical sentences. That is because they want to appear more adult, and they know how adults are expected to write. Clearly, teaching tens formal writing is still crucial, but texting probably isn't destroying their ability to learn it.
J) It is probably true that fewer kids are heavy readers compared with two generations ago, when cheap paperbacks boosted rates of reading. But even back then, a minority of people—perhaps 20%—were lifelong heavy readers, and it was cable TV, not the internet, that struck a blow at that culture in the 1980s. Still, 15% or more of kids are found to be deeply bookish. In fact, the online world offers kids remarkable opportunities to become literate and creative because young people can now publish ideas not just to their friends, but to the world. And it turns out that when they write for strangers, their sense of "authentic audience" makes them work harder, push themselves further, and create powerful new communicative forms.
K) Few would deny that too much time online can be harmful. Some of the dangers are emotional: hurting someone from a distance is not the same as hurting them face to face. If we re lucky, the legal environment will change to make teenagers' online lives less likely to haunt them later on. Just last week, California passed a law allowing minors to demand that internet firms erase their digital past and the EU has considered similar legislation.
L) Distraction is also a serious issue. When kids switch from chat to music to homework, they are indeed likely to have trouble doing each task well. And studies show that pupils don't fact-check information online “smart searching" is a skill schools need to teach urgently. It's also true that too much social networking and game playing can cut into schoolwork and sleep. This is precisely why parents still need to set firm boundaries around it, as with any other distraction.
M) what's the best way to cope? The same boring old advice that applies to everything in parenting: moderation. Rebecca Eynon argues that it's key to model good behaviour. Parents who stare non-stop at their phones and don't read books are likely to breed kids who will do the same. As ever, we ought to be careful about our own behaviour.
36. Research has found the use of digital technology benefits not only teenagers' social lives but also their studies.
37. It is urgent that schools teach kids how to verify online information.
38. Students now write longer and more complex essays than their counterparts in previous decades while the error rates remain unchanged.
39. newspaper reports of teenagers give a false picture of their behaviour.
40. Parents are advised to mind their own digital behaviour and set a good example for their kids.
41. contrary to parents' belie, kids try hard to leave as few traces as possible on the web.
42. Students' ability to learn formal writing is unlikely to be affected by texting.
43. Historically, new technologies have always caused great fears among parents.
44. The reading culture was seriously affected by cable television some four decades ago.
45. Teachers say that kids' writing is too casual, using language characteristic of text messages.
答案解析：
36. 由题干中的关键词“use of digital technology benefits not only teenagers' social lives but also their studies”定位到C段。C段提到“Indeed, social scientists who study young people have found that their digital use can be inventive and even beneficial. This is true not just in terms of their social lives, but their education too.”，即研究年轻人的社会科学家发现，他们对数字技术的使用具有创造性，甚至有益，这不仅体现在他们的社交生活中，也体现在他们的教育上。所以选C。
37. 由题干中的关键词“urgent that schools teach kids how to verify online information”定位到L段。L段提到“And studies show that pupils don't fact-check information online ‘smart searching' is a skill schools need to teach urgently.”，即研究表明学生不会在线核实信息，“智能搜索”是学校急需教给学生的一项技能。所以选L。
38. 由题干中的关键词“Students now write longer and more complex essays...while the error rates remain unchanged”定位到H段。H段提到“But even as error rates stayed stable, student essays have blossomed in size and complexity.”，即尽管错误率保持稳定，但学生论文的篇幅和复杂性都有所增加。所以选H。
39. 由题干中的关键词“Newspaper reports of teenagers give a false picture of their behaviour”定位到A段。A段提到“Newspapers are constantly filled with frightening accounts of drug addiction and aggressive behaviour supposedly caused by violent video games. But even when these accounts touch on real concerns, they do not really reflect the great mass of everyday teenage social behaviour...”，即报纸上充斥着关于青少年吸毒和暴力行为的可怕报道，这些行为据说是由暴力电子游戏引起的，但这些报道并没有真正反映青少年日常社交行为的大多数情况。所以选A。
40. 由题干中的关键词“Parents are advised to mind their own digital behaviour and set a good example for their kids”定位到M段。M段提到“Rebecca Eynon argues that it's key to model good behaviour. Parents who stare non-stop at their phones and don't read books are likely to breed kids who will do the same.”，即Rebecca Eynon认为，树立良好行为榜样是关键，如果父母不停地盯着手机，不读书，那么他们的孩子也很可能会这样做。所以选M。
41. 由题干中的关键词“Contrary to parents' belie, kids try hard to leave as few traces as possible on the web”定位到E段。E段提到“Parents are wrong to worry that kids don't care about privacy. In fact, they spend hours changing Facebook settings or using quick-delete sharing tools, such as Snapchat, to minimise their traces.”，即父母担心孩子不关心隐私是错误的，实际上，孩子们会花几个小时更改Facebook设置或使用快速删除共享工具，如Snapchat，以尽量减少他们的痕迹。所以选E。
42. 由题干中的关键词“Students' ability to learn formal writing is unlikely to be affected by texting”定位到I段。I段提到“Clearly, teaching tens formal writing is still crucial, but texting probably isn't destroying their ability to learn it.”，即显然，教青少年正式写作仍然至关重要，但发短信可能并不会破坏他们学习正式写作的能力。所以选I。
43. 由题干中的关键词“Historically, new technologies have always caused great fears among parents”定位到B段。B段提到“New technologies always provoke generational panic, which usually has more to do with adult fears than with the lives of teenagers.”，即新技术总是会引发代际恐慌，这种恐慌通常更多地与成年人的恐惧有关，而不是与青少年的生活有关。所以选B。
44. 由题干中的关键词“The reading culture was seriously affected by cable television some four decades ago”定位到J段。J段提到“But even back then, a minority of people—perhaps 20%—were lifelong heavy readers, and it was cable TV, not the internet, that struck a blow at that culture in the 1980s.”，即使在那个时候，也只有少数人(可能是20%)是终身的阅读爱好者，而在20世纪80年代，对这种文化造成打击的是有线电视，而不是互联网。所以选J。
45. 由题干中的关键词“Teachers say that kids' writing is too casual, using language characteristic of text messages”定位到G段。G段提到“They say that kids use overly casual language and text-speak in writing, and don't have as much patience for long reading and complex arguments.”，即他们说孩子们在写作中使用过于随意的语言和短信语言，对长篇阅读和复杂论点的耐心不够。所以选G。
