One of our biggest fears nowadays is that our kids might some day get lost in a “sea of technology” rather than experiencing the natural world. Fear-producing TV and computer games are leading to a serious disconnection between kids and the great outdoors, which will change the wild places of the world, its creatures and human health for the worse, unless adults get working on child’s play.
Each of us has a place in nature we go sometimes, even if it was torn down. We cannot be the last generation to have that place. At this rate, kids who miss the sense of wonder outdoors will not grow up to be protectors of natural landscapes. “If the decline in parks use continues across North America, who will defend parks against encroachment(蚕食)?” asks Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods.
Without having a nature experience, kids, can turn out just fine, but they are missing out a huge enrichment of their lives. That applies to everything from their physical health and mental health, to stress levels, creativity and cognitive(认知的)skills. Experts predict modern kids will have poorer health than their parents — and they say a lack of outside play is surely part of it; research suggests that kids do better academically in schools with a nature component and that play in nature fosters(培养)leadership by the smartest, not by the toughest. Even a tiny outdoor experience can create wonder in a child. The three-year-old turning over his first rock realizes he is not alone in the world. A clump of trees on the roadside can be the whole universe in his eyes. We really need to value that more.
Kids are not to blame. They are over-protected and frightened. It is dangerous out there from time to time, but repetitive stress from computers is replacing breaking an arm as a childhood rite of passage(通过仪式).
Everyone, from developers, to schools and outdoorsy citizens, should help regain for our kids some of the freedom and joy of exploring, taking friendship in fields and woods that strengthen love, respect and need for landscape. As parents, we should devote some of our energies to taking our kids into nature. This could yet be our greatest cause.
According to the passage, children without experiencing nature will _________.
A.be less healthy both physically and mentally | B.keep a high sense of wonder |
C.be over-protected by their parents | D.change wild places and creatures for the better |
According to the author, children’s breaking an arm is _________.
A.the fault on the part of their parents | B.the result of their own carelessness in play |
C.the natural experience in their growing up | D.the effect of their repetitive stress from computers |
In writing this passage, the author mainly intends to _________.
A.blame children for getting lost in computer games |
B.show his concern about children’s lack of experience in nature |
C.encourage children to protect parks from encroachment |
D.inspire children to keep the sense of wonder about things around |