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Raising a Moral Child
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[1] 1. 1 Parents have always been preoccupied with instilling moral values in their children. 2. But in today’s fast-paced world, where reliable role models are few and acts of violence by children are increasingly common, the quest to raise a moral child has taken on new urgency. 3. Child criminals grow ever younger; in August, a 6-year-old California girl (with help from a 5-year-old friend) smothered her 3-year-old brother with a pillow. 4. Such horrific crimes awaken a dark, unspoken fear in many parents: Is my child capable of committing such an act? 5. And can I do anything to make sure that she won’t?

[2] 11. There are no guarantees. 2. But parents are increasingly aware that even very young children can grasp and exhibit moral behaviors—even if the age at which they become “morally accountable” remains under debate. 3. According to the Roman Catholic Church, a child reaches “the age of reason” by 7. 4. Legally, each state determines how old a child must be to be held responsible for his acts, ranging from 7 to 15. 5. Child experts are reluctant to offer a definitive age for accountability. 6. But they agree that in order to be held morally responsible, children must have both an emotional and a cognitive awareness of right and wrong—in other words, to know in their heads as well as feel in their hearts that what they did was wrong. 7. Such morality doesn’t appear overnight but emerges slowly, over time. 8. And according to the latest research, the roots of morality first appear in the earliest months of an infant’s life. 9. “It begins the day they’re born, and it’s not complete until the day they die,” says child psychiatrist Elizabeth Berger, author of “Raising Children with Character.”

(from “Raising a Moral Child” by Karen Springen: Newsweek, Special Issue, Fall/Winter 2000)

1

Crime among young children appears to be on the rise
A)True
B)False
2

The Roman Catholic Church teaches that a child is able to make moral judgments by the age of 7.
A)True
B)False
3

The age at which children can be held responsible for their acts is the same in every state.
A)True
B)False
4

Religions, government, and child experts agree on when children become morally responsible.
A)True
B)False
5

The word “instilling” in the first sentence of paragraph 1 means
A)forcing
B)teaching
C)filling with
D)demanding
6

The word “cognitive” in sentence 6, paragraph 2 means
A)intellectual
B)complicated
C)serious
D)definite
7

Which sentence best states the main idea of paragraph 1?
A)5
B)3
C)2
D)1
8

Which sentence best states the main idea of paragraph 2?
A)2
B)4
C)5
D)8





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