In my experience, freshmen today are different from those I knew when I started as a counselor and professor 25 years ago. College has always been demanding both academically and socially. But students now are less mature and often not ready for the responsibility of being in college. It is really too easy to point the finger at parents who protect their children from life’s obstacle. Parents, who handle every difficulty and every other responsibility for their children writing admission essays to picking college courses, certainly may contribute to their children’s lack of coping strategies. But we can look even more broadly to the social trends of today.
How many people do you know who are on medication to prevent anxiety or depression? The number of students who arrive at college already medicated for unwanted emotions has increased dramatically in the past 10 years. We, as a society, don’t want to “feel” anything unpleasant and we certainly don’t want our children to “suffer”.
The resulting problem is that by not experiencing negative emotions, one does not learn the necessary skills to tolerate and negotiate adversity. As a psychologist, I am well aware of the fact that some individuals suffer from depression and anxiety and can benefit from treatment, but I question the growing number of medicated adolescents today.
Our world is more stressful in general because of the current economic and political realities, but I don’t believe that the college experience itself is more intense today than that of the past10 years. What I do think is that many students are often not prepared to be young “adults” with all the responsibilities of life. What does this mean for college faculty and staff? We are required to assist in the basic parenting of these students – the student who complains that the professor didn’t remind her of the due date for an assignment that was clearly listed on the syllabus and the student who cheats on an assignment in spite of careful instructions about plagiarism.
As college professors, we have to explain what it means to be an independent college student before we can even begin to teach. As parents and teachers, we should expect young people to meet challenges. To encourage them in this direction, we have to step back and let them fail and pick themselves up and move forward. This approach needs to begin at an early age so that college can actually be a passage to independent adulthood.
Question 35. According to the writer, students today are different from those she knew in that they are ____________.
A. too ready for college B. not as mature
C. not so academic D. responsible for their work
Question 36. The word “handle” in paragraph 2 mostly means ____________.
A. deal with B. gain benefits from
C. lend a hand to D. point at
Question 37. According to the writer, students’ difficulties to cope with college life are partly due to ____________.
A. the absence of parents’ protection B. the lack of parental support
C. the over-parenting from parents D. the lack of financial support
Question 38. The phrase “on medication” in paragraph 3 is similar in meaning to ________.
A. studying medicine at college B. doing medical research
C. receiving medical treatment D. suffering anxiety from depression
Question 39. Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the passage?
A. College faculty and staff are required to help in the parenting of problematic students.
B. The college experience itself is more intense today than that of the past 10 years.
C. Our world is more stressful because of the current economic and political situation.
D. Our society certainly doesn’t want our children to experience unpleasant things.
Question 40. Students who are not well – prepared to be young “adults” with all the responsibilities of life will need ______.
A. to be assigned more housework from adults B. to be given more social responsibilities
C. to be encouraged to meet challenges D. daily coaching from their teachers
Question 41. According to the writer, failure in life and less support from parents will ______.
A. help students to learn to stand on their own feet
B. allow students to learn the first lesson in their lives
C. defeat students from the very beginning
D. discourage students and let them down forever
Question 42. What is probably the writer’s attitude in the passage?
A. praising B. indifferent C. humorous D. critical
Đề thi thử THPT 2021 - Tiếng Anh - GV Vũ Thị Mai Phương - Đề 26 - có lời giải
